Same Same… But Different?

(A personal take on Vietnam’s new Universal Life products - the most sold type of insurance)

On the surface, every new Universal Life (Manulife, Prudential, Sun Life, Chubb Life, Dai-ichi, AIA) brochures looks stunning. Same promises of “protection and investment in one perfect plan.”

Scratch that glossy layer though, and you’ll realise - they’re almost identical.

• Allocation charge? 150% of your premium gone in the first ten years.
• Surrender charge? 0 value for the first two years, and a polite farewell to about 45% in year three.
• Fund management fee? Around 2% annually - which conveniently cancels out the so-called “guaranteed return” for most years.

Apart from the loyalty bonus (which requires an actuary’s brain and a monk’s patience to decode), the rest are functionally non-competitive.

So, the real question is:

If all products are the same, what do insurers really compete on?

The obvious answer: distribution muscle.

• How big your agency is.
• How wide your bancassurance reach is.
• How loud your sales force can shout in the last week of the month.

And yes - for customers, that’s often what it comes down to:

Which agent they can trust.

But here’s the twist - they’re not truly identical.        

The hidden difference doesn’t sit in the brochure. It sits quietly in a table that most customers will not easily comprehend: the Sum Assured Multiplier (SAM) table - the ratio between protection value and annual premium.

That table, tucked deep inside actuarial spreadsheets, tells the real story of each insurer’s strategy. (I provide links below for a table of ratio for your own reading)

• Chubb has the widest range from a modest 5× (best for disciplined savers) to a dramatic 180× (designed for inheritance-minded policyholders).
• Manulife stretches from 50× to 150×, centering on the younger demographic (ages 30–35) who want strong early coverage.
• Sun Life runs 43× to 120×, narrower and more conservative - likely targeting customers with stable income and medium-term savings goals.
• Prudential, the traditionalist, sticks to a fixed 80×: simple to explain, less flexible to tailor.
• AIA, similar to Prudential, offers fixed (not range) sum assured on premium with higher protection value (also means higher COI charges).
• I cannot find Dai-ichi table, so let me know if you have found it and I will add into my analysis

These aren’t just numbers. They tell a story.

Why Do Insurers Offer Different Ranges?

Each insurer has a different risk appetite, product design philosophy, and target market:

• Wider range (e.g. Chubb): Designed for customers who want more flexibility. You can choose between protection-focused or savings-focused setups.
• Narrower range (e.g. Manulife): relatively more controlled - easier to manage pricing and guarantee stability.
• Fixed rate (e.g. traditional products): Simpler but less adaptable to lifestyle and financial changes.

Imagine buying a car:

• A fixed SAM product is like a car with a fixed engine size: safe, predictable, good for everyday driving but giving you no option to change or upgrade.
• A range SAM product is like a car where you can switch between eco mode and sport mode: more flexibility, but you must understand how it affects fuel use (your premium).

The Sum Assured Multiplier isn’t just a number. It’s your freedom dial:

• Higher SAM = stronger protection now, but less cash value later.
• Lower SAM = slower protection, but better long-term savings growth.

So the “best” SAM isn’t the highest or lowest; it’s the one that fits your life stage, financial goals, and family needs. Same goes for range SAM vs fixed SAM for different lifestyle choices such as freelancing vs salaried jobs.

Nowhere in the brochures does this trade-off appear. Not even a hint.

Why? Because in many insurers, the product brochure isn’t even owned by Marketing.

It sits with the Product or Actuarial function, often under Finance. Marketing simply gets the final PDF and is told to “make it look nice.”

And that’s where we’ve gone wrong.

If Customer & Marketing teams want to rebuild trust, they need to truly understand what’s behind these numbers. To translate technical truths into customer clarity.

That means helping customers see:

• What the protection value really means for them.
• How their COI changes with age.
• When a “guaranteed” return isn’t really guaranteed after fees.
• And ultimately, how to choose the right plan for their financial capacity and life stage, not the agent’s commission cycle.

Because let’s be honest - if after 26 years, we’re still selling on faith instead of facts, customers aren’t the only ones who need educating.

This isn’t an attack on the industry. It’s an invitation. An invitation for CMOs and CCMOs to start connecting the dots between actuarial design, customer experience, and marketing transparency.

When we understand the real meaning behind “same same but different”

Where Marketing really needs to step up

Now, here’s where I put my CMO hat back on.

If the Customer & Marketing (C&M) function is truly to become a business impact engine - not a cost center - it must start by understanding the real meaning behind the products it promotes.

Too often, marketing teams talk about brand love, customer experience, or creative campaigns… but can’t explain how a customer’s sum assured ratio will impact their long-term investment value.

That’s a problem.

Marketing should:

• Translate complex actuarial tables into plain language value stories.
• Collaborate with Product and Actuary to clarify who this product is really built for (and who it’s not).
• Coach agents to use the right language - from “protection” to “long-term balance” - so customers can make informed decisions.

If you want to build trust in this market, you don’t need more brand awards or heart-warming TVCs. You need transparency in how value is calculated and how protection evolves over time.

That’s what customers care about; not the font on your brochure.

The uncomfortable question for every CMO/CCMO

When every insurer’s universal life product looks identical, how do you make your brand stand out?

Here’s my personal answer:

You don’t. Until you understand the truth behind your own product.

That’s where Customer & Marketing must lead: by interpreting, clarifying, and communicating. Not just advertising.

Until then, the brochures will stay glossy, the numbers will stay hidden, and customers will keep asking the same question every year:

“So… how is this one different?”

And we’ll keep replying:

“Same same… but different!”