Consumers bent on claims service, pricing to select underwriters
As competition firms up in the insurance market with underwriters re-strategising to win more customers, claims service and product pricing remain key determining factors for consumers.
“We are not concerned about how many buildings you have across Nigeria, we are not concerned about your radio jingles, we are concerned about how prompt you pay your claims, says Matthew Nnorom, a Lagos-based insurance broker.
According to him, an insurance company does not need to advertise itself as long as it responds to claims, because customers who were treated well will advertise the company themselves.
At a recent forum for insurance brokers held at the Braithwaite’s auditorium, members of the Nigerian Council of Registered Insurance Brokers (NCRIB) in their individual capacities, spoke of accessibility to a certain underwriter during times of claims.
One of the brokers said: “You must leave your doors open and be accessible so that we can have more confidence in you.”
At the global level, the trend is the same, as most customers a specific on claims service performance and risk pricing.
The reasons for choosing an insurer remain remarkably consistent over the last few years with claims service and settlement most highly cherished followed by value for money/price and financial stability/rating, according to Aon’s latest Global Risk Management Survey.
As in previous editions of its biennial survey, Aon this year asked insurance buyers and their colleagues to rank their top priorities when choosing an insurer. The findings were remarkably similar to those in 2013, according Commercial Risk Europe publication.
The top five priorities were the same, with value for money/price at number two swapping just one place with financial stability/rating at three and capacity, ranked fourth in 2015, swapping one place with industry experience at five. The other top positions were all unchanged.
The top ten priorities for choosing an insurer in 2015 are: Claims service & settlement; Value for money/price; Financial stability/rating; Capacity; Industry experience; Long-term relationship; Flexibility/innovation/creativity; Ability to execute and deliver risk finance support proximate to global locations; Speed and quality of documentation
Aon’s 2015 Global Risk Management Survey combines the opinions of 1,418 risk professionals, C-suite executives and ‘others’. Each of these three groups accounted for roughly one third of the total responses. Respondents were from organisations operating in 60 countries, 28 industry sectors and a mix of private and public companies.
Aon began its rank management surveys in 2007 and there has been notable change in demands on insurers since then.
Financial stability, the top criterion for insurance buyers from 2007 to 2011, has been gradually downgraded, to number two in 2013 and number three in this year’s survey.
According to Aon, this change “leads to the conclusion that many organisations now see financial stability as more of a ‘hygiene factor’ in the choice of an insurer, as improved economic conditions worldwide and much stricter regulations governing the insurance industry have boosted people’s confidence in the financial well-being of insurers.”
Modestus Anaesoronye