Bancassurance deciders of different financial institutions have exchanged on the model’s current situation and the necessity for the market to better adapt to customers in view of increasing sales.
Fleming Europe’s fourth annual bancassurance forum, held this week in Rome, was the occasion for major players of financial institutions to debate on the current situation of the market and its future perspectives. The bancassurance model is indeed well established in Europe and presents vast possibilities for the rest of the world.
A market that is still growing
According to Jean Orgonasi, Head of Global Partners and Distribution at BNP Parisbas the Japanese market is on the rise, in savings and especially in protection. Taiwan is also seeing its protection market growing as well as South America, where customers have a natural tendency to seek protection.
Stephan Moltzen, Head of Product Management Insurance at Deutsche Bank believes 2011 will be the most successful year since the past four or five years. He expects to reach the same level as before the financial crisis, to “reach the objectives lost in 2007”. According to him the bank insurance model was greatly affected by the crisis, especially the trust of the customers. “customers ask more questions, to the sales persons, the confidence is coming back”.
Glenn Lottering, Senior Director at Oracle, believes that their will be some breakthroughs in terms of technology such as “new applications, like iPad apps or apps for android tablets and some interesting moves where carriers employ FMCG (Fast Moving Consumer Goods) executives that actually drive the market and the development of these apps, really trying to understand what their customer needs are. They are trying to understand where the market is moving in terms of connectivity”.
Understanding and adapting to the client
Distribution is a concern for both insurance companies and banks. Today it has become fundamental to offer products that meet the client’s needs.
Jean Orgonasi adds that packages automatically including insurance are systematically proposed to clients who come to purchase products. There is a need to maximise the moments where clients and distributors actually meet in order to better interact with them. Establishing a Consumer Journey would allow to better understand the client’s needs, and thus better target products that would interest them.
Banks and insurance companies must better team up to better offer these products that have become with time more and more complex.
Stephan Moltzen sais that in order to offer a complete product proposition, key account managers have to be integrated in central units such as product management or marketing.
According to Glenn Lottering, there is a new trend where carriers seek “how they can assist and work with customers. There is a shift towards customer centricity from product centricity where carriers are now trying to not look at how they can design products for the customers, but actually for the first time, staring to listen to the customers” to determine their needs that will then design products.
