Broker intuition plus risk modelling for the win
“It is during large loss events like these that we realize that speed, empathy, communication and clarity of cover truly matter to our clients,” said Fanus Coetzee, CEO of Santam Broker Solutions. He told an audience of advisers and brokers gathered for the 2026 PSG Conference that the country’s leading insurer had settled more than R2 billion in claims in the aftermath of the aforementioned KZN floods. He added that the insurer had navigated countless catastrophes, economic and insurance market cycles, and regulatory reforms in its 108-year history.
Championing intermediated distribution
As a long-time champion of the intermediated distribution model, Coetzee explained that loss events tested the relationship between broker and insurer. He pointed out that shortcomings in insurance cover and risk advice often exhibited at claims stage, causing friction between adviser and insurer, and negatively impacting the ‘shared’ client relationship. “Nobody wakes up being excited about an insurance policy, but they certainly do not forget a claims experience,” he said. “This is often the most emotional experience that our clients have.”
Stakeholders across the short-term insurance sector can learn valuable lessons by reframing the insurance claim from an administrative process to one of performing for the client. In this context, how a broker or insurer shows up at claims stage is what defines them. “The story of insurance has remained unchanged for decades: insurers carried the risk, brokers placed the business and clients paid the premium,” Coetzee said.
The arrival of the internet, and more recently, artificial intelligence (AI), is rewriting customer expectations across industries. Insurers have invested billions of rand in digital platforms and other technologies to offer efficiency at scale and meet consumers’ evolving demands for always-on, real-time products and services. Coetzee encouraged the audience not to lose sight of their humanity in an era where technology dominates. He said that modern consumers were obsessed with price, and that the role of the adviser would have to evolve accordingly.
Surviving the digital storm
FAnews readers serving as short-term insurance brokers will be quite familiar with the narrative shared during the presentation. Clients born into the Millennial or subsequent generations shop for their insurance online, obtain three quotes and then email their broker to cancel everything in favour of a direct policy. Happiness, until that first claim! “Today, your client can go online, compare, and then click to switch and save,” Coetzee said, before asking what brokers would have to do to remain relevant.
The important observation here is that the ‘product plus price’ advantage that broker plus insurer used to enjoy is no longer guaranteed. And consumers have cottoned on. Recent statistics suggest that only 56% of South African personal lines insureds still buy through the broker channel, rising to 78% for the complex world of commercial cover. Another troubling observation is that broker-led advice and servicing is costlier to provide. The lesson for brokers is clear: if you depend on price alone, then you are in trouble. You have to find ways to add value.
Brokers rely on their insurance partners to optimise the risk solutions they offer their clients. Large insurers like Santam have an edge in this regard thanks to their data and risk modelling prowess. Coetzee said that investments in algorithms, automation, data and risk modelling had significantly enhanced the insurer’s underwriting capability over time. He warned, however, that an overreliance on automation and risk modelling could lead to an insurable risk not being accepted for cover.
A human reassessment of risk
The presenter shared an example of a commercial farmer that sought to increase their spread of fire liability from R3 million to R20 million. The automated underwriting process spat out a firm “no” for a list of reasons including limited fire-fighting capability; a reliance on borehole water only; the distance to the nearest town; and the fact the property bordered a plantation. This risk was placed on cover after an adviser visited the site. “The adviser changed how the underwriters looked at this risk by completing the data,” Coetzee said.
It turns out there is a contextual, situational or tangible aspect to risk that is best framed around the broker-client relationship. As Coetzee noted, “leading insurance advisers know their clients face-to-face, understand the grey areas of underwriting, and have the ability to translate real risk into insurable truth.” This means that risk models and intuition have to overlap to deliver sustainable underwriting decisions. In the world of relationships, the focus shifts from price and value to trust.
On this topic, Coetzee referred back to the 3000-plus contingent business interruption claims that Santam fielded following the 2020 COVID pandemic and ensuing national lockdown. The insurer’s early decision not to pay these claims was based on a technical assessment of complex policy wordings, and described as “legally defensible and financially prudent”. Ultimately fairness trumped technicality, and insurers stepped up to the plate. Coetzee suggested that trust between broker and insurer actually improved through this difficult experience.
Differentiated client servicing
To differentiate your client service offering in a fast-paced underwriting landscape demands elevating your provider partnerships from purely transactional to collaborative. “Leading advisers, in future, will understand that transactional relationships will not make it, but that true partnerships will thrive,” Coetzee said. Apologies, dear reader, if that has somewhat of a marketing ring to it; but the message was being broadcast to advisers and brokers through a provider lens.
Today’s obsession over AI and automation deflects from a reality in which insurers and their partners have been leveraging digital technology for over a decade. The presenter recounted how Santam’s digital broker portal had been put to the test by severe storms in the Western Cape in 2017. “The system was tested with thousands of claims … it coped with the volumes … and we were able to maintain service levels,” Coetzee said. Around the same time, the insurer opted for a human-led approach when responding to the Knysna fire disaster.
Showing up at claims stage
The presentation closed with the often-used ‘the more things change, the more they stay the same’ quote. From a broker perspective, the background noise has increased; but the responsibility of giving trusted advice, optimising clients’ risk postures and showing up at claims stage has not changed. “People do not buy insurance from brokers because the brokers understand risk,” concluded Coetzee. “They buy it from people they trust, with the promise up front, and the knowledge that [broker and insurer] will deliver on the promise at the end of it.”
Writer’s thoughts:
It is unlikely that AI and automation will replace the broker’s ability to build trusted client relationships. How are you leveraging the efficiencies and scale offered by technology without diluting your human edge? Please comment below, interact with us on X at @fanews_online or email us your thoughts [email protected].
