Insurance Broking & Client Servicing

This course is useful to learners in the insurance broking industry, who are involved in crafting marketing strategies and delivering insurance services. In a nutshell, it enables learners to blend core service marketing concepts with practical insurance broking processes.

Duration: 3 Days

Learning Objectives

At the end of this intensive program successful learners must be in a position to:

• Understand the influence of consumer behaviour on insurance buying patterns.
• Explore and manage the different forms of competition in the insurance broking industry. 
• Develop winning strategies for insurance selling and client serving. 
• Address challenges faced by insurance brokers in South Africa.

Course Outline

1. Introduction to the financial markets

1.1 The role of the financial markets. 
1.2 Types of financial markets.
1.3 Defining a service. 
1.4 Characteristics of a service. 
1.5 Marketing of services.

2. Overview of the insurance industry

1.1 The insurance contract. 
1.2 Types of insurance 
1.3 Functional areas in insurance. 
1.4 The merits of insurance. 
1.5 Background to the South African Insurance industry.

3. The Insurance Market 

1.1 Insurance intermediaries.
1.2 Buyers of insurance. 
1.3 Suppliers of insurance.
1.4 Associations. 
1.5 Regulation and legislation.

4. Consumer behaviour and bargaining power of buyers 

1.1 Definition of consumer behaviour.
1.2 Factors influencing insurance buyer behaviour.
1.3 Client engagement in insurance broking.
1.4 Factors encouraging high customer contact.
1.5 Broker influence on insurance buying.
1.6 Market concentration and the bargaining power of buyers.

5. Strategic marketing of insurance services.

1.1 Generic strategies in insurance marketing. 
1.2 Insurance market segmentation and market targeting. 
1.3 Capacity planning and management. 
1.4 Insurance broker reward system.
1.5 Promotional strategies for insurance.

6. Competition in the insurance broking market

1.1 The nature and structure of competition. 
1.2 Competitive strategies. 
1.3 Market saturation 
1.4 Substitutes to insurance broking. 
1.5 Rivals existing in insurance broking. 
1.6 Factors determining the intensity of competition.

7. Critical skills for client servicing. 

1.1 Defining client servicing. 
1.2 Telephone handling skills. 
1.3 Negotiating skills. 
1.4 Knowledge of insurance services.
1.5 Conduct and self presentation skills.
1.6 Personal time management.

8. Challenges facing insurance brokers in South Africa 

1.1 Competition. 
1.2 Human resource. 
1.3 The ‘Post office’ broking system 
1.4 Broker/conman fallacy. 
1.5 Global financial crisis.