One of the bigger challenges we face in our field of specialist insurance is in educating our brokers to the point that they can speak with authority on liability covers when they meet with their clients.
Underwriting Management Agencies (UMAs) are fortunate in that they generally have a big team of legal specialists and underwriters that are able to focus on specific exposures. Most brokers are however not so fortunate and learning about all these exposures and specialist covers can be a daunting task for any broker.
Revolutionary offering
An electronic product is better than traditional training because it provides the broker with the information during the sales process, as and when needed.
SHA (Stalker Hutchison Admiral) launched the Pocket Underwriter (PU) which is an online walk-through sales tool and interactive guide to litigation risk, focusing on thirty of the most common South African business sectors.
It is geared to identify exposures in real time and brokers can simply log onto the PU platform during client consultations and the system will help them to explain the cover typical to that business type. This is done with interactive video, risk calculators and constantly updated claims examples.
First-of-its-kind
The PU is the only application where you can actually watch a claim unfold on video, and the best part of it is that it is designed to be used right in front of the client. It facilitates discussions with policyholders about specialist insurance such as:
• Broad form Liability;
• Directors and Officers Liability;
• Employment Practices Liability;
• Personal Accident;
• Professional Indemnity;
• Cyber Liability; and many others.
Brokers can simply log on to the Pocket Underwriter on any device, such as their iPad or laptop, and they are provided with instant access to this first-of-its-kind liability tool. Each broker will receive a unique username and password so that all their work remains safe and secure as it is stored in the cloud.
Structuring the right program
It does not end there either, if the broker captures the client’s information in the system, the PU also produces critical documentation to support the Record of Advice required in terms of the Financial Advisory and Intermediary Services (FAIS) Act and Treating Customers Fairly (TCF).
Brokers are familiar with the fact that keeping accurate records of advice is a necessary process in terms of the FAIS Act but it is also an administrative burden. With the PU doing it for them, this means more time can be spent structuring the right insurance program.
The PU helps brokers to understand a variety of different legal exposures. It does this by simplifying pieces of legislation such as the Compensation for Occupational Injuries and Diseases Act (COID Act), the Road Accident Fund (RAF), the new Companies Act, the Labor Relations Act and even the Consumer Protection Act.
The PU also tells the broker what types of cover other, similar businesses are buying so that they are not reinventing the wheel during each meeting.
Real time for real situations
Bumping up to the 1 000 user mark, the PU has two kinds of users that have given positive feedback. Firstly, the brokers who use the tool before they go into a meeting as a sort of preparation process - they quickly research all the exposures in that type of business and then discuss them with the client offline.
And then there are the brokers who actually sit with the client and go through the PU together. This group uses the Record of Advice tool and sticks to a more structured meeting.
Information delivered in real time, for real situations is what this tool is all about whilst helping to comply with the regulatory environment.
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