KUALA LUMPUR (Aug 16): Aeon Credit Service (M) Bhd said it has obtained Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM)’s approval to acquire insurance and takaful broking firm Insurepro Sdn Bhd for RM1.7 million.

Insurepro’s primary business focus is to provide comprehensive insurance services to strategic and specialised industries in Malaysia, particularly in Sarawak, Aeon Credit said in a statement.

It said the acquisition, which is expected to be completed in October, will allow the group to distribute both commercial and personal insurance products, including life insurance products by leveraging on the Aeon Group Retail network and Eco system.

“Currently, the overall income earned from the insurance is less than 5% of the company’s total income and the company sees a huge potential for us to expand into, as we believe that there are prospective business opportunities due to the rising demand of insurance,” said Aeon Credit.

It added that the newly acquired subsidiary will be transformed into a digital insurtech company, with its main strategy being the direct-to-consumer approach.

With the new Insurtech availability in the market, the group said Insurepro can offer vast insurance and protection schemes to consumers via online tools with more pricing and product options as an advantage of being a broker.

“Furthermore, we shall provide a one-stop service to our customer base of more than three million mainly from the B40 group, as well as to enhance our service offerings as compared to aggregators with stricter compliance from BNM guidelines.

“Similar with AEON Credit’s main strategy, the company shall continue to serve the underserved customer segments with micro-insurance products, by offering affordable premium with simple insurance plans,” added Aeon Credit.

The group’s share price settled unchanged at RM11.70, giving it a market capitalisation of RM2.99 billion.