Singapore Entrepreneurs

Among all Singapore CEOs, Mr Tan Kin Lian is definitely one of the most bold and interesting personalities for being the only CEO who holds a corporate blog to his name. In the recent Spirit of Enterprise Awards 2006, we met up with Mr Tan and invited him to come and contribute to our blog. Immediately without hesitation, he accepted our invitation. So, we are honoured to have him sharing with us his experiences as CEO of NTUC income, his thoughts about the insurance and financial planning market and advice to young entrepreneurs and also his future plans after NTUC Income.

SGE: Mr Tan, on behalf of SG Entrepreneurs, thank you for accepting our interview. To start off, we like to ask you about your background. What brought you into the world of insurance and financial planning?
Tan Kin Lian: I left school after secondary 4 exactly 40 years ago, to start full time work in an insurance company. It allowed me to pursue an actuarial qualification on a part time basis. This is how I entered into the life insurance field.

SGE: For a Singaporean CEO, you are very different from the rest by starting a corporate blog, particularly, what prompted you to write a corporate blog?
Tan Kin Lian: I wish to communicate with the public and educate them on insurance and financial planning. I also want to express my views on social issues. A blog provides an excellent platform for me to express my views. When I write to the newspapers, I also post my letter into my blog. Sometimes, the newspapers do not print my letter. The public can still read my view in my blog.

I hope that the public will get to know more about me through my blog, and they are convinced to be customers of NTUC Income.

SGE: In your industry, are there any important lessons that our young entrepreneurs can draw that might help them in understanding the market and create value for the consumers?
Tan Kin Lian: Our young entrepreneurs should always remember to find the best way to serve the consumers. They want good products at low cost, and they want to be treated fairly. They want the product to serve their needs and enhance their quality of life.

By adopting this approach, the young entrepreneur will find the road to success. Sometimes, they may not get the right product at the initial stage. By persisting, and keeping to the principle of serving the customer, they will find the right product after a few attempts.

SGE: What are the most difficult challenges face in your industry?
Tan Kin Lian: The key challenge is to change the business model and find a new way to deliver the insurance products to meet the needs of customers at a lower cost.

Insurance products have been made too complex. They require a trained agent to explain and sell the product to the customer. It takes a lot of effort to make a sale. As the agent has to be sufficient remunerated, this method of selling adds to the cost of the insurance product, and become too expensive for the customer.

A better way is for the product to be simplified and made attractive for customers to buy. This will benefit all the parties.

SGE: Are there any entrepreneurial ventures that might arise from the insurance industry? What do you foresee are the trends that will drive this insurance and financial planning market?
Tan Kin Lian: There are many opportunities to use technology and the new way of selling, to improve productivity and reduce the cost of the product to the consumers. This gives opportunities for innovation to be introduced. The basic strategy is to simplify the product and make it easy for consumers to learn about the products through the website or FAQ (frequently asked questions).

Consumers who do not require much explanation from an insurance agent should be given the option of buying directly from the insurance company at a lower price.

SGE: What are your five most important lessons in management that you think that entrepreneurs should take home with?
Tan Kin Lian: The important lessons are:

1. keep things simple
2. act promptly
3. be open and transparent
4. learn by trial and error
5. be willing to decide amidst uncertainty

SGE: In your industry, sales are particularly important. What do you believe are the important values of an insurance agent when it comes to engaging his/her customer?
Tan Kin Lian: The insurance agent should educate the customer about the insurance product, and offer the suitable, low cost product that meet the needs of the customer. By looking after the interest of the customer, the agent will gain their trust. The customer will refer their friends to the agent. This will increase the agent’s productivity and reduce the time taken to make a sale.

The agent should avoid selling an expensive products to customer so that they can earn a high commission.

SGE: There are two routes to become an entrepreneur: one is to go through the corporate route and then do a startup, and the other is to immediately do it after graduation. Which one do you think that you have chosen if you are to start all over again?
Tan Kin Lian: It is better to work for a large corporation for 5 to 10 years and be an entrepreneur after gaining some work experience. The chance of success is better, when you have working experience and knows the business world. At that time, you will have good business contacts and a better understanding of the needs of customers.

SGE: We understand that you will be stepping down from your current appointment from NTUC Income. What are your future plans?
Tan Kin Lian: I intend to build the technology platform and business strategy for “the Insurance Company of the 21st Century”. Details can be found in my personal website, www.tankinlian.com . You can also read about some of the key points in my blog. www.tankinlian.blogspot.com

I also intend to take consultancy and training assignments to help companies to transform their business methods and build innovative and distinctive competencies.

SGE: Thank you once again. We wish you success on your new venture and look forward to hearing from you in the future.

About Tan Kin Lian: (Reference: http://www.tankinlian.com) Since 1977, Mr Tan has been the CEO of NTUC Income, a position he has been holding for 29 years now.

Since assuming this position, the insurance cooperative’s asset base has escalated from $40M to over $17B in 2004. He served as Chairman of the Intellectual Cooperative and Mutual Insurance Federation (ICMIF) from 1992 to 1997 and is also Chairman of the Singapore National Cooperative Federation from 1996 to 2002.

In 1978, he was conferred Friend of Labour Award and obtained the Public Service medal in 1983, Rochale Medal in 1992, Financial Personality of the year award in the year 2000, international Managment Action Award in 2001, Public Service Star in 2004 and was the Leading CEO in the year 2005.