reliance on agents. examples include the liberalisation of fire and motor tariffs, and the requirement under the life framework for companies to offer pure protection term products through direct and online channels since july 2017, and starting in july 2018, to extend this to pure protection critical illness and pure protection medical and health products. at the same time, the regulatory expectations on the conduct of agents have also intensified. it is the aim of bank negara malaysia to continuously strengthen the professionalism of insurance and takaful agents. this is not to speak of the impact of technology. in the case of agents and intermediaries more generally, the information revolution can be a particular source of anxiety. in an age of apps, aggregators and “ ask me anything ” chatbots, suppliers and consumers are closer than ever before, potentially bypassing the agents or intermediaries altogether. with the emergence of fintech and insurtech, insurers in other countries are starting to experiment with chatbots capable of independently maneuvering sales and servicing processes. product aggregators are also fast growing in prominence. an accenture survey revealed that aggregators account for 70 % of new business premiums in the uk private automobile insurance market. indeed, two product aggregators platforms are already operating within bank negara malaysia ’ s regulatory sandbox. the bank is reviewing the regulatory framework to enable the aggregators to operate by the end of this year. 1 / 5 bis central bankers'speeches these are headwinds that the industry has to tackle head - on, and like it or not, they will further intensify. while we cannot stop these changes, we can certainly choose how we respond to it. with challenges are opportunities. these can only be reaped through a combination of traits – greater proactiveness, a willingness to adapt and clear strategic thinking. i do not doubt that this is much harder than it sounds, but i believe a good place to start would be focusing on three priorities. allow me to elaborate on each in turn. technology that matters the vision for the life insurance and family takaful industry is to achieve a penetration rate of 75 % of the malaysian population. within this, the takaful industry has set a 25 % target to be achieved by 2020. for this to happen, it is crucial that the industry gets to grips with the shift in market demographics, especially where interactions with technological platforms are concerned. it is imperative that agents embrace technology. a 2017 study 1 by bain & company

indicates that nearly 60 % of insurance customers in malaysia are digitally active. this is not surprising given that 40 – 50 % of our workforce are made up of technology - savvy millennials. any industry player seriously looking to achieve long - term sustainability will need to master the integration of technology within their operating models beyond just setting up websites or establishing a social media presence. instead, consider the interesting reality that customers use multiple channels before deciding to purchase protection. in the united states, half of the insurance customers that responded to a survey2 preferred to purchase life insurance in person with agents or advisors, as compared to purchasing online. similarly, in the same bain & company study from earlier, it was found that inperson interactions still generate higher loyalty scores than other channels in most european countries. the fact is that customers employ a mix of on - and offline channels. many of us already do this in other parts of our lives. we search for something online, then make the purchase at a bricksand - mortar outlet. and sometimes the other way round. the key takeaway here is that often, customers use digital channels to complement, not replace, traditional channels3. this bodes well for agents going forward – but only if the right conditions are in place. agents and takaful operators need to work hand in hand to develop a comprehensive ecosystem catering to all segments of customers, whether online or off - line – or in marketing speak, an “ omnichannel ” approach. while it is imperative that takaful operators seek to provide as seamless an experience as possible in terms of online content for consumers, this does not have to lead to the substitution of agents. on the contrary. agents can in fact enrich the process by being trained and equipped with useful tools to guide and advise potential customers. agents should also work with aggregators as a means to develop an online presence, in the same way real estate agents are featured on property websites. it is important to note, however, that technology is only a platform, a tool. without strategy or purpose, the adoption of tech alone cannot spur change. what is needed to complement this is a fresh approach to business. this means broadening one ’ s horizons beyond given market conventions, and being courageous to compete in new, unexplored strategic areas. compete better – and more broadly to truly capture the market of the future, agents will need to sharpen their competitive edge. there are many ways to go about this,