The force awakens: profiling the digital broker

Today we are starting to see the changing face of insurance on a global scale.

Insurers in the Netherlands are now using Big Data strategies to price insurance policies. The Germans, more specifically Ergo Direkt, are selling policies online; customers use an electronic signature and receive their policies within three business days.

In South Africa, we are starting to see mass innovation with insurers finding a unique product offering to attract clients.

Keeping pace

It is clear that the world is changing, and it is imperative that insurers keep up. For instance, stuff insurers are grappling with is how to insure the driver-less cars and rocketships clients will invariably own in a few short years.

But insurers are not the only ones who need to adapt, brokers bear the real brunt of this change. They are in a precarious position; they have to keep up with the 175 South African insurers as well as understand the product and policy updates to best advise their clients on personal, business, commercial, or industrial insurance. It’s a mission.

Added to that, the fact that the consumers are evolving much faster than the insurer and that typical engagement and sales techniques that worked 10 or 20 years ago are now old hat and reserved for much older clientele.

Bank on digital?

Do brokers need a digital presence to succeed? Not necessarily. Let’s ask the question differently: Do brokers need a digital presence to prosper? This is an absolute.

We won’t launch into a soliloquy about the wonders of social media and the rise of digital in South Africa; if you are not somewhat aware of its pervasiveness and exponential growth, then we can honestly say we are surprised that you’re managing to read this article under that rock you call home.

A digital presence is essential. Not only to help you find, retain, and/or provide a personalised service to your customers, it can also aid you in back office administration. A digital capable broker can deliver faster at a more competitive rate.

Consider the consumer thirsting for innovation; digital can play an important role across all touch points, from underwriting to claims and collections. Both the broker and the insurer should be delivering improvements that benefit the customer – an omni-channel approach is an excellent departure point.

Trend setters

Near the end of 2015, Accenture’s Digital Life & Health Innovation Tracker identified five key trends shaping the insurance industry in mature markets:

• Extended ecosystems: Innovative insurers are partnering with players outside of the insurance sector and even beyond financial services.
• Culture of sharing: Insurers are generating new business opportunities and are enhancing their brands through social aggregation media and initiatives.
• Mobility: Mobile technology allows customers to use products and services when the need arises; anywhere, anytime.
• New market opportunities: Insurers are introducing new elements of competitive differentiation and increasing sales opportunities and new business.
• The customer experience: Improved customer experience enables brokers and insurers to increase the perceived value of their products and services by enhancing consumer satisfaction and meeting rising expectations.

There is a concern that going digital may be costly. And in some cases it is. But you have to weigh out the pros and cons to see it if will benefit your business in the long run.

Each of these trends are firmly rooted in digital. Bottomline, how can you keep up with these trends if you do not have a digital presence? How do you engage with extended ecosystems or new markets? How do you share?

More importantly, how are you keeping track of your customers’ satisfaction levels? It’s not that you can’t do all these things without the digital approach, it’s just that a digital approach makes it infinitely easier.