Top insurance companies recognised

South African intermediaries gave recognition to the top insurance companies at an awards ceremony that was held on 3 June 2010 at Emperors Palace in Johannesburg.

The 2010 Financial Intermediaries Association’s (FIA) Industry Recognition Awards paid tribute to those insurance product providers who receive favourable ratings in the FIA’s annual intermediary satisfaction benchmark survey conducted by Bluestream Research. The top contenders per segment for 2010 were, in most results, no surprise with Discovery, Momentum and Santam taking the top positions. Sanlam also made a major impact and for the first time won both the Investment Categories. CIA, backed by Compass, won the new UMA Category for Underwriters.

Seamus Casserly, President of the FIA, said that the awards add value to the industry by providing benchmark best practice statistics for intermediary satisfaction. Furthermore, participating in the survey provides a platform for intermediaries to rank their interactions with insurance companies and in so doing, encourage healthy competition amongst providers.

Introduced in 1998 and a highlight on the financial services industry calendar, the awards see intermediaries and insurers acknowledging one another’s roles as they meet the needs of individuals and companies throughout South Africa. This research results are highly valued by the industry and major players are keen to obtain the benchmark information. According to Pieter Aucamp from Bluestream Research, the results over the past 5 years has had a positive influence on competitive behaviour in the insurance industry. The fact that over 6000 insurance contracts were rated this year, makes it one of the most comprehensive exercises on the benchmarking of intermediary satisfaction in the insurance industry. The stability and validity of the measurement have been practically proven over this time.

The benchmark could be regarded as a “true tool” to be used to measure, understand and improve business best-practice behaviour as well as to get more insight into the competitor landscape. The availability of the research has provided criteria for performance measurement and it is obvious that the information is being used to improve business processes.

The results are obtained through FIA members rating over 6000 contracts of their product providers with regards to the perceptions, views, expectations, awareness levels and opinion on:

· Product quality.

· Service quality.

· Relationship quality.

· Overall satisfaction with their supporters.

The 2010 award winners in the following categories are:

· Personal Lines - Santam

· Commercial – Santam

· Corporate – Santam

· Life/Risk – Discovery

· Investment (Investment Products Single Premium) – Sanlam

· Investment (Investment Products Recurring Premium) – Sanlam

· UMA – CIA (Commercial and Industrial Acceptances)

· Medical Aid – Discovery

· Employee Benefits - Momentum

FIA members currently act as intermediaries for more than 85 percent of all short-term insurance and the majority of financial planning business, healthcare planning as well as employee benefit business in South Africa. The association represents thousands of financial services intermediaries, of which many participated, included in the survey. Following the official awards ceremony on 03 June, interested parties may contact the FIA to ascertain how they may obtain copies of the report.