How to revolutionise disability insurance
Roadshows add value to a brand! That’s why FMI – South Africa’s leader in temporary income benefit cover – embarked on a countrywide launch of enhancements to their Business Persons Elect (BPE) product during August. The company is constantly enhancing it
The FMI team that presented the group’s product enhancements are all experienced financial services professionals. Brad Toerien, CEO of FMI, acted as Master of Ceremonies, Paul McKillen, FMI Product Development Actuary, talked the guests through the enhanced product offering and Stuart Cumming, Head of Distribution at FMI, gave detailed descriptions of the complementary sales support and marketing material.
Economist Dr Roelof Botha, guest speaker at each of the four events, captivated his audiences by balancing serious economic and political matters with comments on the lighter side of life. It is no surprise that Dr Botha is a past recipient of the Sake-24/ABSA award for Economist of the Year and that he has authored more than 100 articles, books and research publications.
FMI Capital Disability launch
From a product perspective the highlight of the road show was the introduction of an FMI Capital Disability benefit. In the past this was the only chink in the disability insurer’s product range. Now, more than ever before, financial advisers can rely on a single product platform that enables holistic income and lump sum disability planning.
By adding a capital disability benefit to their existing temporary and permanent income protection offering the company has materially reduced the benefit interaction, aggregation and claim assessment risks that customers and intermediaries face when a disability insurance portfolio is constructed across multiple products.
Reduced Rates
The group also announced significant premium decreases in their Temporary Income Protection (TIP) product. The re-rating has resulted in extremely competitive premiums being offered on this benefit, particularly to middle-aged and older clients.
Premium reductions were made possible thanks to a revised risk assessment model that rewards business owners and classifies them in a non-traditional way. This involves identifying a unique behavioural psychology in business owners and self-employed individuals, which is not priced into the products currently available in the market.
New risk assessment criteria identify customers that qualify, resulting in extremely preferential premium rates being offered to segments of the market. Financial advisers were also treated to a redesigned ‘New Quotes Package’ and company website, both unveiled at the various roadshows.
Leveraging claims experience
FMI also launched a number of enhancements and new supplementary benefits, including market leading future insurability and dependant insurance options, aimed at providing clients with a more comprehensive and flexible income insurance solution. The enhancements to BPE and other products were made after an in-depth study of the insurer’s long term claim experience and based on feedback from intermediaries and customers.
None of FMI’s competitors specialise solely in the provision of disability solutions and this exclusive focus contributed to FMI developing a core expertise in this space. The launch of BPE enhancements will further entrench FMI as a market leader in the provision of disability insurance.
“We have received a great deal of positive feedback from the financial advisers that were in attendance at these events, and they have expressed an excitement to take our enhancements to the market,” commented Toerien. “We are equally excited to offer our customers and intermediaries a single product platform that enables holistic income and lump sum disability planning.”
