D) Transparency

This is a problem seen more and more with brokers in the region rather than insurers . For some reason or another, brokers believe that by not disclosing the true level of income earned from the insurers of their clients openly and readily upon request, that they are somehow protecting their business interests.

This we understand in most cases as many brokers are more agents than true risk consultants, and the question of value added is almost always brought into play.

Mis-selling is also another problem in the Middle East. Clients want to know what it is they are getting for their money when they buy insurance. They want to know not only what the premiums are, but the scope of coverage, the implications of warranties and conditions, and what they can expect to be indemnified for in the event of the loss.

Insurers many times as well are not transpa-rent, especially with their brokers. They woo brokers with lunches, invitations, promises of higher brokerage, loyalty, and many a times do not hesitate to cut the broker out a soon as an opportunity arises. The excuse, “The client has come direct and we had no choice.” Well we have news for you, everybody always has a choice. The only sad thing is it’s the little brokers that are most affected who do not carry enough weight with these insurers to do anything about it. The big brokers whether local or multinational do not tolerate this, and you find insurers less inclined to upset a larger broker than a smaller one.

Therefore, we live in a market where the insured doesn’t trust the insurer, and the broker doesn’t trust the insurer. Transparency builds trust. Trust builds business!



E) Accountability

The word accountability says enough about itself.

By accountability, we mean swift claims arbitration. We mean more and more boards of directors holding senior executives accountable for performance and customer satisfaction. We mean, the insured getting their money when they are owed it without having to be twisted about by a loss adjuster, a claims representative, or the accounts department.

If it is a genuine loss, just pay it and pay it quickly!

It will be many years before the Middle Eastern insurance market can dream of attaining the same insurance penetration levels seen in the west if its constituents do not start taking the above into account.

We need to get off our backsides, and every executive look within their organizations to see where is the transparency, accountability, and trust?

Are we really that uninteresting, boring, and disconnected from our customers needs? Whoever you are, your answer should be YES! Otherwise you will only continue to widen the gap between what is indeed our insurance market’s fiction and reality!