Closing the intermediary gap with broker portals
For the insurance industry in 2015 technology could prove to be a real game-changer as it addresses issues ranging from regulatory compliance to the economy to the need to stimulate savings rates.
Brokers can take advantage of the opportunity to add value to the products they are selling by using innovative technologies. This can help them to get a better understanding of what is available on the market to offer better solutions to clients.
With change happening so rapidly, brokers need to be innovative in how they serve clients and what better way to do this than with the use of technology. FAnews chatted to Marc Fletcher, Director at Intervate, a T-Systems company, about the use of technology in the industry and how it can assist financial intermediaries.
Amped efficiency levels
According to Fletcher, the purpose of technology is to make intermediaries more efficient by providing them with a level of self-service which assists them to deliver service to customers in a more efficient manner. This allows the intermediaries to spend more time with their customers.
“Traditionally this industry has been very reliant on paper and manual processes. However, people engage more effectively and efficiently when they have better access to information. This translates to providing more real-time access for intermediaries. Delivering this level of information access to intermediaries can only benefit the customers from a service delivery perspective and the overall industry. There is inevitably a first-mover advantage for intermediaries in terms of using technology to improve efficiency and collaboration,” said Fletcher.
Fletcher believes consumers have been driving demand for online access over the last 10 years and the industry is responding, albeit a little slower in some areas yet quicker in others. “I believe technology and online access are rapidly becoming defining factors of choice for consumers which may accelerate this transformation further. The speed, or lack thereof, can be attributed to complexity, security and scale of some solutions that need to be delivered to meet the business needs in terms of a value proposition,” he said.
Assisting brokers
“The successful implementation of a new solution or technology boils down to change management. Many organisations fail to heed the warnings that change management can be one of the most critical elements of success,” said Fletcher.
A good example of this is how Intervate assisted Santam to close the ‘intermediary’ gap with its extranet broker portal. “Santam did a fantastic job of change management by socialising its intermediaries throughout the process with the extranet portal established, ensuring that the feedback gathered is cycled back to the relevant teams,” continued Fletcher.
The purpose is to create an intuitive digital interface for its network of intermediariesto enhance its reach and scalability. With such a strong emphasis on the network of intermediaries, a digital solution to facilitate the interactions between intermediaries and the company was required for intermediaries to easily, immediately and cost-effectively manage their customers’ portfolios – preferably in a self-service manner.
This means intermediaries are able to access a wide range of services – from booking new business, to modifying policies, to submitting and tracking claims.
It also provides an enabling environment for rapidly rolling out new features and applications in the future, to cater for a dynamic and increasingly competitive industry.
Michael Probyn, Programme Manager at Santam, said that within just the first six months, 84% of its intermediaries had registered on the portal.
Speeding up relevant processes
Fletcher pointed out that early adopters of new technologies that address business challenges and/or needs, which outweigh the costs and risks will surely experience better outcomes. The other aspect of this is the specific early mover advantage within the industry. “It could be argued that by embracing this change and enabling technology as a ‘first-mover’ and improving the intermediary and customer experience, there is an advantage over those that have not gone this route,” he said.
Technology is speeding everything up by delivering information and enabling intermediaries to start processes through the click of a button.
“Brokers are also not reliant on office hours enabling them to be more flexible with their work. Information management is about automating manual processes and removing the labour intensive aspects that enable increased productivity,” concluded Fletcher.
Editor’s Thoughts:
Technology definitely is an enabler and transforms the way business is done. Whether it is used to change policy details or anything else, information is readily available at the click of a button. Many financial intermediaries have already adopted these, but for those who have not, it is highly encouraged to speed up the process of things in an efficient manner. Please comment below, interact with us on Twitter at @fanews_online or email me your thoughts [email protected].
Comments
In practise anyway. Report Abuse
1. There is no longer a check on communication. The response is instant and not subject to oversight.
2. In practice the real effect is that brokers are spending less time with clients, both as a cost saving measure and because they spend their time replying to a larger volume of "correspondence"that they are expected to respond to instantaneously. Report Abuse