NTUC Income AR 2017

DIRECTORS’ REPORT FOR THE FINANCIAL YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2017 SHAREHOLDERS The Directors have proposed a dividend of 6.0% for the financial year ended 31 December 2017. OUR FINANCIAL STRENGTH AND CORPORATE GOVERNANCE Our financial strength is reflected by our strong credit ratings of AA- by Standard & Poor’s, which we have held since 2009. It underscores the strong business network and operating performance of our diversified investment portfolio. In 2017, Income maintained a healthy capital adequacy ratio of 282%. We embrace and uphold the highest standards of corporate governance, transparency and disclosure, while continuing to expand and further deepen our capabilities towards becoming a high-performing organisation, capable of meeting the diverse and evolving insurance needs of our policyholders. COMMITTED TO SERVE OUR CUSTOMERS BETTER Income is now the first insurer in Singapore to offer Integrated Shield Plan (IP) via an online portal. This increases accessibility, convenience and speed, and defines the new standard in which IP can be purchased and accessed anytime and anywhere. In 2017, Income also announced a strategic partnership with Fullerton Fund Management Company to appoint Fullerton as the investment manager of a significant portfolio of Income’s assets. In turn, Income owns a significant stake in Fullerton, while Temasek remains the majority shareholder. This strategic partnership with Fullerton leverages economies of scale and deepens investment capabilities to create more value for our policyholders. CREATING SOCIAL IMPACT IN OUR COMMUNITY As a social enterprise, we regard delivering a positive social impact in the community that we serve a business imperative. This means that we offer products and services for the benefit of social good, with the aim to maximize value for our policyholders, and by catering products for the elderly and the underserved, who otherwise may have little or no insurance options in Singapore. Family Protect We introduced ‘Family Protect’, to offer protection to individuals who are responsible for multiple dependents. Known as the “sandwiched” generation, these individuals typically have children and elderly parents to care for and in turn, are often underinsured given their higher financial commitments. ‘Family Protect’ is an affordable plan which gives greater peace of mind through additional benefits such as retrenchment benefits and booster benefits for surviving dependents. Offering the silver community greater insurance access Against the backdrop of Singapore’s ageing population and improved life expectancy, Income recalibrated our underwriting requirements to meet the needs of the growing silver population through our revamped health questionnaire. We recognise that it may become more difficult to obtain insurance as one grows older, due to underwriting requirements. As such, we embarked on an initiative to review our health questionnaire, so that more elderly in Singapore can have easier access to insurance. With the new health questionnaire, significantly more elderly customers will require no follow-ups, as they enjoy greater peace of mind and coverage of an insurance plan. Future Development Programme Our flagship initiative, the Income OrangeAid Future Development Programme (FDP) continues to support students from low-income families studying at the Institute of Technical Education and polytechnics with bursaries, financial literacy training as well as personal and career guidance. Designed to level the playing field by helping youth-in-need stay in school, Income disbursed 400 bursaries amounting to $1.0 million in 2017 and conducted financial literacy as well as personal and career guidance workshops for close to 300 FDP beneficiaries. 5 EVERY DAY MADE DIFFERENT ANNUAL REPORT 2017