BY TEH SHI NING

ONE of Mark Mitchell's passions is collecting Asian art pieces - paintings, sculptures, installations. In his view, the art scene here is vibrant and diversified, a 'melting pot' of cultural influences. In fact, not unlike the insurance industry in which he has established his career over the past 23 years.

'What's unique about Singapore's insurance industry is that you have talent coming in from all around the world, strong local talent, but also foreign talent, which contributes to Singapore's identity as a hub for insurance in Asia. It is a dynamic market with a global outlook,' Mr Mitchell says.

Mr Mitchell, who took up his current position as the chief executive officer of RSA Group Singapore last September, is himself an example of the talent Singapore's insurance industry has attracted from abroad.

His career in insurance started out as a summer job after leaving high school, back in his Australian hometown of Ballarat, some distance north of Melbourne.

Having decided to continue in insurance instead of pursuing full time university studies, Mr Mitchell obtained his associateship from the Australian Insurance Institute, and did part-time studies in management at Deakin University, on a programme sponsored by his employer then.

'Like many people, I fell into insurance, and stayed because it seemed like there were almost limitless opportunities to progress, if you were mobile and willing to work hard,' he says. Indeed, he sees mobility as key in his career advancement thus far, whether in terms of a readiness to move to another country, or another business segment.

He first arrived here to work in 1999 and stayed till 2004, when he was transferred to Hong Kong. In late 2006, he returned to Singapore, where he now lives with his Singaporean wife and their young son.

Over the years, Mr Mitchell has moved from handling claims to reinsurance, although the bulk of his experience has been in underwriting property and engineering lines.

Prior to joining RSA, Mr Mitchell says, he felt that he had 'hit a bit of a ceiling' in his previous job with Chubb Insurance Group. Thus, when the opportunity arose for him to switch from the more 'technical, hands-on, market-facing side of the insurance business' to his current leadership role, involving management and strategic planning, he decided to make the move.

One hobby of Mr Mitchell's is flying, and the unrestricted private pilot's licence he holds allows him to fly privately in most of the world's airspaces, which in fact mirrors the flexibility and adaptability he credits with allowing him to take off in the world of insurance.

Why insurance

'I have never had any thoughts of moving into another industry,' Mr Mitchell says. 'It's a global industry and the only one I know of that gives you the opportunity to test a wide range of skills - from sales to mathematical analysis, from technical know-how to customer service skills and of course business and management expertise as well. There are not too many jobs that can provide all of the above,' he explains.

Succeeding in a line such as his, which has everything to do with risk, Mr Mitchell says, 'you need to be comfortable with risk-taking, it's difficult to go far without a risk-taking nature'. But, it also requires being 'ready to be accountable for the decisions you make', and to be able to 'turn losses into opportunities', he says.

A very challenging aspect of the insurance industry, in his experience, is the 'cyclical nature of the business and the need to be constantly adjusting strategy to remain profitable at all stages of the market cycles'.

New look for a new year

'2009 is already presenting a raft of challenges for insurers in the region,' says Graham Edwards, director of sales, marketing and communications at RSA Singapore. Mr Edwards observes that with the current market climate, 'rates in general will continue to fall, whilst insurer's investment income will be further impacted by falling interest rates due to the global economic slowdown'.

'Insurers will be under pressure from shareholders to continue to deliver growth so I would expect to see more insurers looking for vulnerable acquisition targets, niche product opportunities, and diversification into new product classes in order to generate the required premium levels,' he adds.

In such a context, Mr Mitchell says, RSA will need to manage the downturn's impact through a 'prudent investment strategy, effective rate planning and claims inflation initiatives'.

The RSA Group, whose Asian headquarters here are headed by Mr Mitchell, underwent a rebranding exercise last April. The substantial departure from its old name, the more cumbersome 'Royal and Sun Alliance', came with a new purple and magenta logo to replace the old blue and yellow one.

Last July, RSA Singapore also put in place a new retail structure to improve its sales and service. Under this new set-up, a dedicated sales team was created to service direct clients, agents, Investment Financial Advisors (IFAs) and insurance brokers, thus separating sales from underwriting responsibilities, Mr Edwards explains.

The staff have been enthusiastic and the restructuring has already resulted in an 'immediate increase in the number of enquiries and quotations', observes Mr Edwards.

It is with a new look both inside and out then, that RSA Singapore has entered this new year. Mr Mitchell says: 'The difficult economic climate will present some great opportunities for strong businesses such as ours. RSA will continue to manage the impact of the economic downturn through our prudent investment strategy, effective rate planning and claims inflation initiatives.'

In his view, this is not the time to slow down nor hide away. RSA Group will be launching a new trading unit this year, Specialty, which focuses on writing large and complex risks for clients in Asia and the Middle East.

There are other initiatives too, such as iCargo, a tool to speed up policy processes online for small and medium-sized enterprises, and an SME business package that will cater for multi-location programmes across numerous industry segments.

'We know that 2009 will certainly look and feel very different from 2008,' says Mr Mitchell.

Talent in Singapore

At any rate, it is not the current economic climate which is discouraging people from joining the insurance industry.

In Mr Mitchell's view, it could just be a lack of awareness that 'within the insurance industry, there is an enormous range of opportunities for talented and high calibre people'.

'Whether you work for a major international firm or a smaller specialist, there are opportunities to build a rewarding, challenging, long term career in one of the world's most significant industries,' Mr Mitchell says.

Even though Singapore has been able to attract talent from all over the world in recent years, it is an acknowledged fact that more people are needed.

'If Singapore is to continue to develop as a regional insurance hub, the insurance market needs to attract more graduates to enter the industry bringing fresh passion, energy and innovation,' says Mr Edwards.

This article was first published in The Business Times on January 21, 2009.