Intermediaries rate top insurance companies

The country’s top-performing insurance product providers were announced last night at the 2009 Financial Intermediaries Association of Southern Africa’s (FIA) Industry Recognition Awards at the Sandton Convention Centre.

At this annual awards ceremony, the FIA and its members pay tribute to those product suppliers who stand out of the mix by delivering excellent products, quality and service.

In the short-term insurance category, Santam scooped all three awards across the Personal, Commercial and Corporate Lines categories. Discovery Life was rated best provider in the long-term insurance (Risk/Life) category, while Momentum won the best Investment provider and Liberty took top place in the newly introduced Employee Benefits category. Discovery Health was rated top product supplier in the healthcare category.

“The FIA awards afford intermediaries the opportunity to rank their interactions with insurance providers and in so doing, encourage healthy competition among providers,” says FIA President Arnold van der Linde. “FIA members rate the top insurers in terms of product quality, service quality, quality of relationships and overall satisfaction.”

The awards ceremony is the culmination of a scientific, independent research process conducted by Bluestream Consulting for the fourth consecutive year. The survey’s applied methodology undergoes external academic review by doctors in research and statistics. The outcome of the research was based on the evaluation of 4 300 insurance contracts.

“The FIA’s annual research initiative helps develop benchmark best practice statistics to rate insurance products and services,” says Van der Linde.

FIA members currently act as intermediaries for more than 85 percent of all short-term insurance and 40 percent of financial planning business in South Africa. The association represents thousands of financial services intermediaries, of which more than 10 percent were included in the survey.

Van der Linde says the awards acknowledge the partnership between intermediaries and insurance companies in providing valuable financial advice to their clients. “With so many changes in legislation, it’s not always easy for the financial intermediary to keep his/her head above water, but the support and service of our product providers make the challenge so much easier to meet.

“Just as intermediaries expect insurers to deliver excellent products and service, so the FIA encourages its members to aspire to high standards of professionalism, integrity and reliability in their dealings with clients,” he says.