Dongbu Insurance CEO Kim Soon-hwan, third from left, carries packs of rice with members of Promy Volunteer Group at the company’s headquarters in southern Seoul in December 2009. Volunteers delivered rice to 590 low-income households across the country.

By Lee Hyo-sik
Staff Reporter

Dongbu Insurance is seeking to emerge as a globally competitive insurance provider, creating the best value for its customers, employees and shareholders.

In the long run, the company aims to emerge as a comprehensive financial services provider, offering not only non-life insurance products and services but also wealth management, as regulatory barriers separating banking, securities and insurance are taken down.

To secure a completive edge over its rivals, Dongbu will improve its profitability and strengthen its marketing and sales channels, while placing top priority on providing customers with comprehensive risk and asset management services.

In the aftermath of the global financial crisis, the non-life insurer will make every effort to more effectively manage risk and generate a stable cash flow, as well as find new growth engines overseas as the domestic insurance market has entered an era of low growth.

``Our vision is to become an excellent insurance provider with a globally competitive edge and commitment to creating customer value. We have successfully built an industry-leading business management framework, and solidified our competitive strength in products and services by pushing `C&C No.1,' our business innovation program launched in 2004,'' a Dongbu Insurance spokesperson said.

In the mid-to-long term, he said the company will turn itself into a universal financial services provider, developing the state-of-the-art business model to meet diverse client needs, ranging from non-life insurance coverage to wealth management.

``We are always trying to maintain the No.1 position in customer, employee and shareholder value creation, based on our strong presence and competitiveness of global magnitude in the insurance industry,'' he said.

Reflecting its commitment to excellence and sustainable growth, Dongbu was selected Korea's top insurer by the Dow Jones Sustainable Index (DJSI) in October 2009.

One of the world's largest financial news providers, Dow Jones, and the Switzerland-based credit ratings agency SAM have announced a list of leading enterprises in sustainability across the globe. In Korea, Dongbu Insurance and 19 other companies were chosen as the most sustainable business in their respective fields.

``This indicates that the global business community highly regards our risk management, corporate governance structure and the quality of our workforce. The index also measures businesses' corporate social responsibility and environment friendliness. The recognition has and will boost our corporate value and image,'' the spokesman stressed.

Additionally, New Jersey-based A.M.Best, a credit rating organization covering the financial services industry, issued Dongbu Insurance a credit rating of `A' with a stable outlook in November last year, reflecting its solid market profile, sound underwriting performance and adequate capitalization level.

Dongbu also received a `A plus' rating from Global Reporting Initiative (GRI), a sustainability ratings agency, early this month, the highest in the non-life insurance industry. This reflects that the insurer is a responsible corporate citizen that not only pursues profit, but also cares about social and environment concerns.

``We have also begun participating in a ``carbon disclosure project'' to help fight global warming and protect the environment through energy conservation, promotion of renewable energy use and other environment-friendly activities,'' the spokesman said.

In a bid to find new sources of growth, Dongbu has been expanding its overseas presence over the years. Currently, it operates three branch offices in the United States ― Guam, Hawaii and Los Angeles ― and two representative offices in Beijing and London.

The company established its Guam branch in 1974, which has grown into the region's largest and most profitable non-life insurance product and service provider. It opened its Hawaii branch in 2006, serving not only the Korean immigrant community but also locals. It earned $8.5 million in premiums in its first year

In December 2009, Dongbu set up a branch office in L.A, home to the largest number of ethnic Koreans outside Korea. ``We will first target Korean immigrants in the U.S. But we will grow into a major player and compete with U.S. insurance companies for the world's largest insurance market,'' the spokesman stressed.

leehs@koreatimes.co.kr