Life insurer AIA New Zealand was established in New Zealand in 1981, but has roots going much deeper: it is part of the AIA Group, which was founded in Shanghai in 1919 and is now the largest independent publicly listed pan-Asian life insurance group in the world.
The AIA Group is present in 17 markets, including a 26% joint venture in India.
Diverse Enterprise
As an enterprise that spans the breadth of Asia Pacific’s cultures and populations, the AIA Group is a truly diverse company, and over time, AIA New Zealand has evolved its business model to reflect this and best to serve New Zealand’s changing population.
According to the 2013 census, more than 155,000 people living in New Zealand identify as belonging to the Indian ethnic group, and the majority (106,000) live in Auckland. A little over three-quarters were born overseas.
Multicultural Platform
As our national demographics continue to shift, AIA New Zealand has dedicated itself to a diversity platform that not only reaches Indian New Zealanders as potential customers but also creates opportunities for advisory careers for those attracted to financial services.
In an acknowledgement of the group’s footprint and the evolving nature of the New Zealand population, many years ago AIA New Zealand founded AIA FSN (Financial Services Network), a subsidiary that is today New Zealand’s leading insurance provider to the Asian community.
Multilingual Specialists
AIA FSN works with around 30 insurance specialists, mostly migrants of Asian (including Indian) heritage, to advice individuals, families and businesses of all ethnicities throughout the country.
Between them, the AIA FSN advisers speak Chinese (Cantonese and Mandarin), Hindi, Thai, Japanese, Korean, Malaysian and Afrikaans, among other languages.
AIA’s passion for diversity and dedication to serving the needs of New Zealand’s swelling migrant communities has led to a host of community-focused programmes and initiatives.
These include AIA Marae DIY, the award-winning TV show of which the company is the long-time primary sponsor; the 2013 Taniwha & Dragon Festival; and the 2015 Indian Newslink Indian Business Awards, of which AIA New Zealand is proud to be a sponsor and to introduce a new award category, ‘Best Financial Adviser (Mortgage & Insurance).’
As a leading life insurer, AIA New Zealand is a member of the Financial Services Council (FSC), the Insurance and Savings Ombudsman Scheme (ISO) and the Health Funds Association of New Zealand (HFANZ).
Global reach
In addition to its local presence in the form of AIA New Zealand, the AIA Group has wholly-owned branches and subsidiaries in Hong Kong, Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, China, Korea, the Philippines, Australia, Indonesia, Taiwan, Vietnam, New Zealand, Macau, Brunei, a 97% subsidiary in Sri Lanka, and a Representative office in Myanmar as well as the joint venture in India.
The AIA Group is a market leader in the Asia-Pacific region based on life insurance premiums and holds leading positions across the majority of its markets. It had total assets of US$159 billion as of May 31, 2014.
Through an extensive network of agents, partners and employees across Asia-Pacific, the AIA Group serves the holders of more than 28 million individual policies and over 16 million participating members of group insurance schemes.
AIA New Zealand is the Sponsor of the ‘Best Financial Advisor (Mortgage & Insurance) Category of the Indian Newslink Indian Business Awards 2015.
