Prudential Hong Kong invests in AI, clinics to capture share of booming policy sales to visitors from mainland China
- The technology investment does not aim to replace staff or agents, and in fact the company plans to hire 4,000 more agents this year, CEO says
- Prudential boss optimistic about outlook for Hong Kong business as visitors from mainland continue record buying spree
Prudential Hong Kong will continue to add more agents, open more health clinics and invest in technology including artificial Intelligence (AI) to boost its insurance business, as it sees a buying spree among visitors from mainland China continuing, according to its top boss.
The insurer, which is headquartered in London but has its business focus in Asia and Africa, has been investing in AI and other technology to speed up the sales process and enhance client service, according to Lawrence Lam, CEO of Prudential Hong Kong.
“Technology or AI is not to replace any of our staff or agents, but the investment aims at enhancing the productivity of our agents,” Lam said in a media briefing last week. “We plan to hire 4,000 extra agents this year to boost our sales team to over 20,000.”
The goal is to encourage all financial firms in Hong Kong to adopt new technologies, including AI and distributed ledgers, to enhance their services, reduce costs and enhance the city’s capabilities as an international financial centre.