HONG KONG (Nikkei Markets) -- AIA Group expects the new coronavirus to have a "significant" but fleeting impact on business growth, and sees digital initiatives and balance sheet strength providing a cushion against disrupted client meetings and falling interest rates.
The pan-Asia life insurer has met with "success" in online sales of policies to customers in mainland China, with about 60% of all sales over the past two weeks taking place digitally, company executives said on Thursday, although they added that online sales couldn't fully replace face-to-face meetings with clients. In the home market of Hong Kong, also the company's largest, AIA is in talks with the local insurer regulator to expand the range of products that can be sold remotely.
