Liberty Insurance and Kurnia Insurance transform trauma and regret into art pieces

Liberty Insurance and Kurnia Insurance are reinventing regret by turning physical reminders of traumatic experiences into uplifting works of art. The campaign, titled "Reinvent regret", sees the insurance companies tackle the emotional damage left behind by insurable situations in a video series.

Every year, thousands of Malaysians suffer home fires and burglaries, with damaged household items such as burnt appliances or smashed windows often serving as a physical reminder of negative emotions such as guilt, fear or regret. In collaboration with independent creative agency The Clan, the campaign sees local artists Anni Tai, Kaiyi Wong and duo Celine Tan and Oscar Lee of 'co2_karbondioksida' give these negative physical reminders an overhaul as uplifting works of art. 

In the first campaign video, the series host shares facts of home burglaries in the nation and why house insurance is important. She later speaks about regret and brings on Tai to share how she's transformed a torn T-shirt as a result of a home burglary into a bag. When unzipped, the cocoon-shaped bag reveals a butterfly charm. The video then reveals how Tai managed to craft the bag from the T-shirt. 

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The second campaign video tackles the topic of home break-ins. The host shares articles of home break ins and how such an event not only impact's one's mental wellbeing, but emotional wellbeing too. She invites Wong from Unreality Studio to showcase how trauma can be turned into art. Using shattered windows from a break-in, Wong created multiple glass orbs and arranged them into a stunning statue display replicating a beautiful garden. 

The final campaign video invites duo artists co2_karbondioksida to show how they turned a burnt laptop from a house fire into a phoenix statue, and how just like a phoenix, victims of home fires can rise from the ashes and rebuild themselves. 

At the end of each video, the host invites viewers to share their stories in the comments for a chance to win the art pieces. According to a statement seen by A+M. the campaign videos achieved over 10 million views in less than a month across Facebook and YouTube. A public contest to win the art pieces also saw an outpouring of real-life stories, many of which were highly personal and emotionally open.

"The area beyond the claims disbursement hasn’t really been addressed. When The Clan came to us with the concept of "Reinvent regret", it immediately struck us as fresh territory that we were keen to explore," said Grace Quah, chief distribution officer at Liberty and Kurnia insurance. 

“Art - both the creation and the experience of it - is known for its therapeutic benefits,” said Yow Kuan Wai, executive creative director at The Clan. “For thousands of years, mankind has been using art to process complex emotions. So, we thought, what if an insurance company used it to help people process a traumatic experience?” 

"Insurance usually just replaces what’s broken. We figured - why not transform it into something beautiful instead? Breaking away from fear-based messaging, we focused on empowerment and creativity to make insurance more inspiring," said Teh Sue May, head of copy, The Clan. 

"Reinvent regret" is a unique approach to insurance campaigns, with plenty of recent campaigns skewing its focus to fun and lighthearted topics. Most recently, Prudential Malaysia aimed to empower Malaysians to take control of their health through dance. Meanwhile, across the border, Income Insurance in Singapore tapped onto local comedians to drive home the need for EV coverage. The campaign saw local comedians bantering over insurance. 

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