Abstract Based on the underlying intentions of life insurance, if managers of insurance companies truly understands the importance of insurance to the society, their management philosophy would be grounded on care for the needs of the public and implement such philosophy as their management objective. Yet, according to the year 2004 statistics published by the Life Insurance Association of the Republic of China, the average insured value of new life insurance contracts is merely NTD 780,000 in 2004. The average insured value of effective contracts is NTD 780,000, while the ratio of insurance coverage is 166.3% (effective contract divided by total population). This indicates that the average payout for every death is only NTD 1,290,000, indicating significant inadequacy of life cover. There is a popular saying in the insurance business, ¡§birds would be found where there are trees, and business achievements would be found where there are people¡¨. The majority of sales departments in life insurance companies focus on achievement of new contracts; new staff will bring sales to the company. Increased rates of ineffective policies arising from low retention rate of new salespeople, lack of professionalism among salespeople, or inadequate service were not considered. Therefore, insurance salespeople are not only the key elements in the business achievements of insurance companies, but also the key personnel underlying long term performance indices. The objectives of this study are: 1)What are the characteristics of salesperson that exhibit excellent performance? 2)Which recruiting channel recruits the best insurance salesperson? 3)What are the methodologies for recruiting and selecting insurance salesperson? 4)What are the impacts of such recruiting methods on the performance of the insurance company? 5)Are the insurance salesperson recruited through such channels appropriate to the needs of the company? A case study is adopted as the research method. The subject company ¡V Prudential of Taiwan (POT), clearly understands that business performance is grounded on having professional insurance salespeople. Hence the long term business objective of POT is to recruit and nurture professional life insurance planners, which is different to the management approach adopted by majority of the insurance companies in Taiwan. The recruiting and selecting methodology of the case company was studied. The business philosophy, sources of recruitment, recruiting and selecting methods and processes were reviewed. Furthermore, in-depth staff interviews to gain their viewpoints on recruitment were conducted. Results of the study into the recruitment methodology and interviews were compared to reflect the results of long term key performance index of insurance company. The findings of this study are: the long term performance index of POT, namely staff retention rate, individual average insured value per new policy, insurance company retention rate, persistency rate of the policy, rate of passing staff qualification tests and, MDRT membership qualification rate, the incremental rate of the premium income, were all rated above competitors. ¡iKeywords¡j Prudential of Taiwan¡ALife Insurance¡ARecruiting¡ASelecting¡ALifePlanner

台灣壽險業自1987年開放美商進入市場，及1993年開放國人設立保險公司後，產業蓬勃發展，截至今年止，已有逾30家壽險公司，競爭激烈。在此競爭的情況下，如何開創公司的藍海，避免在紅海裡廝殺，公司的營運模式策略將會影響公司未來的發展；且因壽險商品本就屬不具專利權的金融商品，同業間商品的模仿甚易，再加上金融產業疆界日益模糊，跨業交叉銷售成為一新趨勢，故壽險公司之競爭大部份決定於公司的營運模式的選擇與發展。另，就以LIMRA在2003年對美國壽險公司CEO的調查中顯示 ，該調查的最高管理階層認為，其未來工作中面臨四項最大的挑戰，其中營運模式、通路發展即為其中之一，可見該要素對現今公司策略的重要性。 因此，各家公司採取何種營運策略、模式，實就影響該公司的營運績效與未來成就；並且從該公司的營運模式策略，可以觀之是否能永續經營。尤其，壽險產業是確保客戶人生的風險保障，提供客戶長期承諾的行業，經由所提供的服務，使保戶能獲得財務上的安全，並且得到心靈上的平和。壽險公司能如何能信守對客戶的長期承諾，而不是短線經營，短期獲取利益，實值得好好深思與探討。 本研究將透過國內壽險市場的發展與現況分析，試歸納出目前壽險產業的營運模式，並藉由個案公司保德信人壽的研究，分析其營運模式策略與該公司之經營績效。且透過個案公司與其他公司-全球、紐約人壽的經營指標比較，及金融海嘯對其影響之因素，來探討在不同營運模式策略下，各自的營運成效，並試著從中研究、探尋壽險業較適之營運模式。 另經由此研究對個案公司及對壽險業，提出個人的淺見與建議，以供個案公司、業界做為日後的參考，並亟盼未來我國壽險市場運作能更加健全與蓬勃發展。 關鍵字：保德信人壽、壽險顧問、營運模式、策略 / Since its opening up to American insurers in 1987 and then to private domestic insurers in 1993, the Taiwan life insurance industry has thrived and now consists of more than 30 firms engaged in fierce competition. Given such a competitive market, it is crucial to develop blue ocean strategies and avoid price wars. Business strategies and corresponding business models will have an important impact on the future of a firm. As life insurance is not a patented financial product, it is very vulnerable to imitation by other firms. Moreover, the boundaries of the financial sector are becoming less defined and cross-industry selling is the latest trend. As a result, competition among life insurers is mainly determined by the selection and development of business models. According to a 2003 survey conducted by LIMRA on CEOs of American life insurers, management at the highest level believed that business models and distribution channel development would be the greatest challenges for them in the future, highlighting the importance of these factors on companies’ strategy. Therefore, the selection of business strategies and models has a real impact on the current and future performance of a firm and reflect its potential for sustainable development. The life insurance industry is in the business of offering long-term risk protection, providing the insured with financial security and peace of mind. How life insurance companies can focus on keeping their promises to clients over the long term, as opposed to simply seeking short terms gains, is a subject worth considering. This study will analyze the current state and development of the domestic life insurance market and summarize the business models presently employed. A case study of Prudential Life Insurance Company of Taiwan will further provide an analysis of its business model and performance. A comparison is made between the case study and other firms, including TransGlobe and New York Life Insurance Taiwan, and with respect to the impact of the financial crisis in order to discuss individual performance under different business models and propose optimal business models for life insurers. Keywords: Prudential Life Insurance Company of Taiwan, Lifeplanner, Business model, Strategy