Consultants sound insurance alarm

Consultants are urging Asian-based insurers to focus on automation and building new channels to reach customers other than agency sales forces if they are to survive. Chia Tek-yew, partner at PriceWaterhouseCoopers in Singapore, says insurers are lagging behind banks and fund managers when it comes to gathering assets. For example, he notes the average insurance company in this region budgets $20-50 million annually for information technology. Banks and fund managers often have budgets of $200-300 million.