In Aviva's 2008 Consumer Attitudes to Savings Survey, two thirds of the 28,525 global respondents agreed that life in general is more risky than it used to be.
In Aviva's 2008 Consumer Attitudes to Savings Survey, two thirds of the 28,525 global respondents agreed that life in general is more risky than it used to be. The score was notably higher in Eastern European countries such as Hungary (86.8%) and Romania (70.1%) and lowest in Asia Pacific countries such as Hong Kong (51%). Malaysia was the second lowest at 55%, and none of the 25 countries surveyed scored less than 50%.
With such uncertainty on the horizon, it is not surprising that the participants were also insecure about investing. Across Europe, a growing number of people agreed that the value of investing is uncertain when you do not know what the investments will be worth in the future. Uncertainty was especially high in Russia and Malaysia, with 60.7% and 37.7% of interviewees respectively being insecure about investing.
Respondents who agreed that there is no point investing for the future
| Countries | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 |
| Italy | 20% | 20% | 21% | 24% |
| France | 22% | 29% | ||
| Russia | 53.9% | 60.7% | ||
| Malaysia | 37.7% | |||
Note : Malaysia surveyed for the first time in 2008
When it comes to return on their investments, consumers are increasingly more receptive towards products which are safer and come with financial guarantees or capital protection rather than investments which offer potentially higher returns. Globally, 54.1% of respondents opted for "getting a lower, but safer, rate of return" and "getting a guaranteed rate of return" as compared to the 28.3% who chose "getting the very best performance available in the market" and "getting a competitive rate, but not necessarily the best".
In fact, the Malaysians interviewed said that the three most important things that a financial services provider could do to increase trust is to offer products with financial guarantees, offer products which give value for money and improve their customer service.
What financial services providers could do to increase customers' level of trust?
| Offer products with financial guarantees | 22.3% |
| Offer products with better value for money | 19% |
| Improve customer service | 15.7% |
Hence, financial services providers which offer products with financial guarantees are best positioned to satisfy the risk appetite of today's consumers.
CIMB Bank Berhad is one such bank, recently launching EasyLife Solutions, a range of easy-to-understand insurance plans underwritten by CIMB Aviva Assurance Berhad. In particular, the EasyLife Money Back Plan offers:
- 100% guaranteed refund of premiums at the end of the policy, in the event no claims are made during the cover period
- lump sum death benefit in the event of untimely demise during the 15-year policy term
- lump sum disability benefit in the event of total and permanent disability
- protection for the family for 15 years by paying a regular premium for just 10 years
- flexible payment options - monthly, quarterly, semi-annually and annually
In addition, CIMB Bank offers four other EasyLife plans that are all designed to be simple, transparent, affordable and easy to understand. Financial advisors are also on hand at CIMB Bank's wide network of 367 branches to give free advice to customers on the most suitable EasyLife Solutions plan to meet their savings, investment and protection needs.
EasyLife Solutions comprises some of Aviva's best bancassurance offerings in the Asia-Pacific region, which have been localised and made available to Malaysians. The products leverage on Aviva's proven regional product and customer service infrastructure.
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If you have further queries or require more information, please contact:
Tricia Loh
Head, Brand & PR
CIMB Aviva
Telephone: 03 - 2614 3599
E-mail: effendy.hamid@cimb.com
Notes to editors:
About CIMB Bank
CIMB Bank is the commercial banking arm of CIMB Group while CIMB Islamic is the Group's global Islamic banking and finance franchise. Both CIMB Bank and CIMB Islamic offer their retail banking services to over 4.7 million customers on a dual banking platform in 367 branches nationwide.
CIMB Group is Malaysia's second largest financial services provider and one of Southeast Asia's leading universal banking groups. Headquartered in Kuala Lumpur, its key regional offices are located in Singapore, Indonesia and Thailand. CIMB Group is owned by Bumiputra-Commerce Holdings Bhd, which is listed on Bursa Malaysia with a market capitalisation of over US10 billion. The Group has over 24,000 employees located in 9 countries.
About CIMB Aviva
CIMB Aviva is a joint venture between CIMB Group and Aviva plc. CIMB Group is Malaysia's second largest financial services provider and one of Southeast Asia's leading universal banking groups, and Aviva is the world's fifth largest insurance group* and the largest insurance services provider in UK.
CIMB Aviva offers a comprehensive range of life insurance and Takaful products and services available at CIMB Bank and CIMB Islamic which operate on a dual banking platform in 367 branches in Malaysia.
CIMB Aviva also rides on the global expertise of Aviva, which services 45 million customers in 27 countries around the world. Aviva recorded total sales of £49.2 billion (RM337.5 billion) at 31 December 2007 and funds under management of £359 billion (RM2.28 trillion) at 30 June 2008.
*based on gross worldwide premiums
Average exchange rate 1£ = RM6.86 (2007), RM6.34 (6-month 2008)
About Aviva's 2008 Consumer Attitudes to Savings Survey
The survey covered 28,525 respondents in 25 countries with 1000 people surveyed in each market, except for China and India where a larger representative sample was used.