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Andrea Pawlyna

AS CONSUMERS BECOME increasingly knowledgeable about insurance and financial planning, insurers find they need to keep pace by providing better trained planners and agents.

Public awareness about retirement planning, in particular, increased markedly after the introduction of the Mandatory Provident Fund scheme in 2000, said Marie Yung, assistant director of marketing at The Prudential Assurance Company.

Insurance products are becoming recognised as among the most important financial planning tools.

'They protect people against risks that cause financial losses and are a good tool for investing in mid- to long-term stable returns,' Ms Yung said.

Realising the need for financial planning professionals, Prudential set up a special training section called the Academy of Financial Services last year, to provide forward-looking and comprehensive training and development programmes for its consultants.

Training covers both technical knowledge and soft skills.

'We offer programmes that cover the key attributes of a financial planner, namely professional knowledge, trust-building skills, communication skills, team building, networking and marketing,' Ms Yung said.

'A professional financial planner needs to have all-round skills in order to provide the best services.

'The training never stops because we keep fine-tuning the programmes to keep them updated.'

In-house seminars on subjects such as asset planning, investment, health and tax affairs are held.  Training in basic sales techniques, insurance and financial services products is provided as well.

The company encourages its agents to gain professional qualifications, such as Certified Financial Planner (CFP) and Chartered Financial Practitioner certifications.

All existing agents are eligible to participate in Prudential's training programmes, each of which is designed for different levels.

To encourage more of its consultants to seek professional credentials, the company has established the PRUFinancial Planners Club, which provides specialised training and support, including benefits such as the use of the financial planner title on name cards and the exclusive use of a financial planning information database and software.

Discounts are offered for those who enrol in CFP programmes, with reimbursement of examination fees upon passing.

Those who have completed one of the professional training programmes can take further Prudential programmes in areas such as business insurance or high net worth client planning to enhance their professional skills.

The company's financial planners advise clients on how insurance products can help them achieve their financial goals.

'Clients learn how life insurance can protect their wealth and how investment-linked insurance can help them increase their capital,' Ms Yung said.

'We focus on risk-management-based financial planning so that customers are well-prepared for their different goals at different stages of life.'

Customers are provided with total financial analysis and risk-management-based planning through the company's links with other professionals.

'When it comes to issues regarding estate planning, tax and certain legal issues, we have developed alliances with lawyers and accountants to provide the best services to clients,' she added.

'Financial products have become more varied and complex. With professional training, our financial planners help clients make the best decisions about their money and develop plans to cover their total financial welfare and resource constraints.'

Prudential has 180  qualified financial planners, along with another 70 who are in the process of gaining their qualifications.

'To keep our financial team strong and competitive, we have a strict recruitment system to ensure that all the planners are serious and determined.

'We're looking for people who have career aspirations in this industry and who perceive insurance consulting as their life-long career,' Ms Yung said.

'By selecting the right candidates, we're able to have a better retention rate.'

The company is putting greater emphasis on recruiting professionals such as lawyers, accountants, bankers and university graduates with a finance background.

Each year, the company organises an internship programme to provide learning opportunities in the insurance field for university graduates. Ms Yung said there was still a shortage of qualified financial planners in the financial services industry, with less than 3,000 employed overall.

But she believed that market demand, coupled with the burgeoning variety of financial products, would cause those numbers to increase.

'We find that high-net worth individuals, for instance, prefer to be served by qualified professional financial planners,' Ms Yung said.

As the roles of banks and insurance companies become increasingly blurred, she said it was up to insurance companies such as Prudential to be proactive and to accommodate market trends.

'We have to keep investing resources into upholding the professionalism of our practitioners to differentiate ourselves from others,' she said.



Training never stops for professionals at Prudential Assurance