HSBC Life is recognised for building a strong, company-wide learning and development culture that consistently engages all year round and lands where it matters the most: impacting customer outcomes.
The quality of the people behind a service is a key determinant in a customer’s choice of financial services providers. Customers notice when talking to an adviser, the clarity of advice and the speed with which a query is resolved.
HSBC Life (International) Limited, this year’s Best People & Culture Initiative, has treated that link as a design principle, building a learning programme that runs all year and connects directly to how colleagues serve customers.
The programme is built around four quarterly themes: healthtech, compliance and conduct, ESG and sustainability, and customer centricity, each following a repeatable rhythm of communication, multi-format delivery, reinforcement through quizzes and updates, and feedback. Their Insurance Academy, established in 2017, has reached over 45,510 participants across more than 11,370 training hours.
This philosophy was applied to other areas of the business, such as staff career development.
HSBC Life’s Young Flyer Development Programme applied a structured support system for young talents, with exchange tours, mentoring, management coffee chats, team-building events, and an offsite visit to the Insurance Centre of Excellence in Foshan. A study sponsorship program was introduced for high-potential staff, enabling to widen their knowledge base across areas such as technology and sustainability, while also showcasing the company’s willingness to invest in its employees.
On the technological front, AI remains critical and staff development has been advanced through participation in The Digital Insurer’s GenAI Explorer Programme, which generated more than 250 hours of interactive learning around behavioural adoption rather than focusing on technical instruction alone.
Impressive business results make it clear that this approach is effective. HSBC Life held first place in Hong Kong for total individual life new business premiums for a fourth consecutive year in 2025, at HK$51.4bn (US$6.6bn) and 15.5% market share. It also led in total annualised new premiums, with a 17.6% market share overall and 42.1% share in the bank channel.
