Changes in the industry will facilitate industry education

Despite the shifting sands that the industry finds itself in, newly appointed President of the Insurance Institute of Southern Africa (IISA), Peter Todd, tells the FAnews in an interview that the IISA hopes to play a role in tackling some of these challenges on behalf of the industy, during his term as President.

Todd has spent most of his career in the industry and having had to deal with an ever-changing industry over the years will be to his advantage.

 

"One must remember that the short-term industry is a cyclical industry and we have seen a steady decline in the cycle over the past 12 months, coming off the back of a sustained good cycle, making the future seem a bit uncertain. This means we have the pressure of having to turn the cycle, while at the same time having to cope with an influx of new regulation, but if we look beyond the cycles, the industry is in good shape - competition is fierce and there are a number of new entrants to the market” says Todd.

 

We also live in a riskier world, making the demand for insurance as strong as it has ever been. This is a good position to be in when having to deal with unprecedented change.

Todd replaces Junior Ngulube as the president of the IISA and it seems as if education and training will be high on his agenda. He sees it as a priority to continue the momentum the IISA has created in educational matters and in particular the IISA’s role in accrediting and tracking CPD points.

He adds that most of the members of the industry who received certifications at this year’s IISA conference are remaining in the industry, which is a positive sign. "I was also impressed with the number of Black students, which is key to us transforming our industry”, says Todd.

The annual insurance Conference, which is jointly hosted by the IISA, FIA and SAIA is gaining in stature and has become an important event on the insurance calendar. The conference presents a great opportunity for the different industry players to engage around the many challenges facing the industry.

 

A major talking point of this year’s conference was its growth and the expectation that it will grow even further in the foreseeable future. However, Todd says that while it is good that the conference is growing, there needs to be broader representation to ensure that all industry stakeholders are able to participate in the many important debates that take place at the conference.

 

"The measure of the conferences' success in 2014, will be the breadth of representation achieved at the conference. The content is getting better each year, but I still feel that the smaller independent brokers are under-represented and this is a missed opportunity for the industry as a whole. Given the financial pressures on these smaller brokerages, it is understandable why they are not as well represented as the large corporates. I’m sure many insurers would be happy to support more of these smaller firms in attending the conference, however, the current Conflict of Interest regulations prohibit this. I believe we should engage with the FSB to find a solution to this as it is also in their interests to have a broader representation at the conference " says Todd.

 

Todd points out that one of his personal goals during his time as President will be to highlight the positive news, which comes out of the industry.

"We need to do more to tell the world about the good things we are doing as an industry. It saddens me that so much of what you read about our industry focuses on the negative” says Todd.