A promise made, a promise kept
How reliable protection helps families across Asia and Africa face longer lives and rising costs with greater confidence
[The content of this article has been produced by our advertising partner.]
“A promise made is a debt unpaid.”
— Robert W. Service
A promise to protect one’s family cannot be kept with empty talk. When you want your child to have options, your partner to be financially secure and your parents to receive the care they need, actions speak louder than words.
In that sense, insurance remains a reliable way of turning a commitment to loved ones into something they can count on, making a promise real.
This is the idea behind Prudential’s latest proposition, “Promises, made real”.
As Priscilla Ng, Group Chief Customer and Marketing Officer at Prudential plc, puts it, every policy is the expression of a promise made to someone who matters.
Prudential’s commitment is to help customers gain greater financial confidence and reliable protection when they need it most, she says.
A changing context
The promises people make to their families are becoming more important amid longer lives, rising healthcare costs and greater economic uncertainty.
Living longer can mean more years in which healthcare and financial support may be required. Medical inflation is outpacing income growth in parts of Asia, while AI and automation are making some careers less predictable.
Paying for medical treatment, protecting household income, supporting children and preparing for retirement must therefore be considered over increasingly long time horizons.
Protection gaps remain considerable across Asia. Swiss Re Institute estimates that the region’s health protection gap reached US$258 billion in 2024, up 21 per cent from 2017.
Insurance can help families prepare for what may come by providing support when setbacks occur while longer-term financial planning helps them carry on with plans for themselves and their loved ones.
Customers need confidence that protection will come through when called upon.
According to Dentsu Connect’s Insurance Behaviors research in March 2026, 26 per cent of insurance customers believe that unless they fight for a claim, they risk losing what was promised to them.
Such doubts can leave customers uncertain whether their protection will come through when needed most. Confidence can only be earned when commitments are followed through with consistent action.
Over more than 178 years, Prudential has sought to understand customer needs and follow through on its commitments. Today, it provides life and health insurance and asset management to more than 17 million customers across 20 markets in Asia and Africa.
Proof can be found throughout the customer relationship, from making protection easy to understand and access to providing advice through preferred channels and dealing with claims efficiently.
That approach is carried through the “Promises, made real” campaign now running across eight Asian markets. Proof-led storytelling demonstrates Prudential’s commitment to helping customers keep the promises made to themselves and their loved ones.
Keeping up with changing needs
As lives become longer and customer expectations change, insurers are being called upon to respond to a wider range of health and financial needs.
Prudential is developing products and services for different customer segments, while digital tools make routine interactions simpler. PRUServices, for example, allows customers to update policy details, make online payments and obtain policy documents and statements.
Access matters too. Prudential has tens of thousands of active agents across Asia and Africa, supported by more than 200 bank partners. Technology helps advisers work more efficiently, while bank partnerships provide another route for health and protection products to reach customers.
Healthcare brings different demands. Patients may need help finding appropriate care, understanding treatment options and getting through diagnosis, treatment and recovery.
Prudential seeks to make this process easier by connecting customers with trusted healthcare providers and offering policies suited to different budgets and coverage needs. Work with healthcare providers is intended to keep costs and premium increases more predictable, while simpler claims processes can reduce the hassle associated with treatment.
These efforts support the group’s broader ambition to make health and financial protection simple and accessible, particularly in markets where protection gaps remain substantial.
Keeping a promise can therefore call for a series of concrete actions, from helping someone find suitable protection and advice to guiding a patient towards appropriate care and paying a valid claim when needed.
A regional promise with local expression
“Promises, made real” carries the same idea across eight Asian markets. Familiar people, situations and local proof points help the campaign connect with customers.
Cantopop singer and actor Eason Chan serves as a spokesperson for the campaign and brings a familiar face to stories about promises made to the people who matter most.
In Hong Kong, for example, Prudential handled more than 140,000 claims in 2025, with a successful claims rate of 96.6 per cent.
