Staying ahead and relevant in a changing industry
The growing desire from clients to have personalised insurance policies creates a significant opportunity for the industry to grow and prosper. Of course, technology is only one aspect of how any industry operates and develops.
FAnews attended the Insurance Institute of South Africa (IISA) and South African Underwriting Managers Association (SAUMA) forum, in which Simon Colman, Underwriting Executive at Stalker Hutchison Admiral (SHA), covered the ways in which technology can be employed in the provision of insurance.
A string of demands
Brokers are under increasing pressure to ‘bring more to the table’ as they are faced with customers who want more, legislative bodies that are demanding more and increased competition that makes them practically unable to do more to differentiate their product and service offerings.
Technology could prove to be a real game-changer as it addresses issues ranging from regulatory compliance to the economy to the need to stimulate savings rates.
Brokers can take advantage of the opportunity to add value to the insurance products they are selling by using innovative technologies. This can help them to get a better understanding of what is available on the market to offer better solutions to clients.
“Any tool that can help match client needs with insurance solutions is surely a welcome addition to any broker’s arsenal,” said Colman.
“Brokers who take relatively simplified or packaged products in ways that are more accessible, user friendly and easily understandable to their clients will ultimately place them in better positions to advise their clients. One example can for example be, a sales tool that brokers can use in an engaging and entertaining way with their clients, with the intention to stimulate discussions between the insured and broker and hopefully mitigate the possibility of gaps in cover,” said Colman.
A game changer
Some international trends show that insurance organisations are using technology solutions to create integrated systems that put customers back where they belong at the center of the business rather than adopting a fragmented view across a number of lines of business. There is a renewed emphasis on refreshing legacy systems in order to minimise risk and maximise the potential for growth and regulatory compliance and there is also widespread awareness of the significance of mobile computing as insurance organisations invest in apps, tablets and mobile devices that can deliver their insurance software suites and boost the productivity of their workers. These devices also represent an increasingly significant channel to market with the number of smartphone users.
According to the 2014 KPMG South African Insurance Industry Survey in the current digital age, clients have access to more information at their fingertips, and are more empowered when making purchasing decisions than ever before. Clients are likely to no longer set up formal meetings with brokers prior to making insurance purchases. They are more likely to research by asking their social network, access customer service reviews or search engines before requesting quotes online.
“It is clear that the insurance industry and its customers are changing rapidly. Insurers need to have proactive strategies to capitalise on the new technologies that can help them become more efficient, agile and customer centric. They need to experiment with new routes to market while preserving existing distribution networks,” said Wei Ng, High Growth Markets Program Director at KPMG International.
Complying with TCF
Embracing the regulatory changes and focusing on business improvement and product development within the guidelines of TCF principles is the direction many should be going in 2015.
In keeping up with innovative technologies and applying TCF principles Colman said, “we can use tools to explain covers or exposures more clearly to brokers and they in turn can use these tools to explain covers and exposures to clients. The tools can also help brokers explain the impact of risk management on exposures in a variety of business environments. This can help them advise their clients on how best to manage or mitigate uninsurable risks. The bottom line is that technical content needs to be available to brokers instantly, when they are with their clients and it needs to presented in an engaging, entertaining and relevant way.”
Also, ensuring that clients have the appropriate safeguards in place helps to reduce the likelihood that the information protection clause will need to be invoked. With their information properly protected, companies are less likely to suffer any liability from a business-related disaster and therefore unlikely to need to claim on their insurance policy, giving both insurer and client additional peace-of-mind.
Brokers themselves need to consider how technology can best help them manage their own business needs. Brokers can add value to services they sell to clients by differentiating their offering in an increasingly pressured and competitive marketplace.
Editor’s Thoughts:
Colman said that he is not sure the smart use of technology can be an incredible enabler but if it’s well packaged and user friendly it can be a differentiator. Many companies are encouraged to transform their business models to stay relevant to their customers. In doing so, they can stay one step ahead of the game. Do you agree with this? Please comment below, interact with us on Twitter at @fanews_online or email me your thoughts [email protected].
