Amazon serves as a role model for insurers

In the traditional elephant round at the DKM, Dr. Marc Surminski, editor-in-chief of the magazine for insurance, answered a big question: “Sustainable and digital: Will the insurance industry manage the turnaround?” Given the small time window of only 45 minutes, it was clear that this question would not be fully answered. Nevertheless, the participants took a stand on a few specific issues.

Platforms: how high is the competition for brokers?

The influence of digitization on traditional sales channels has been debated for a long time. The tenor of the four insurance directors was that the influence was already very great and was strengthened and accelerated by the corona pandemic. However, they do not see any real danger for personal advice from platforms such as Verivox, Check24 & Co. “We are observing an increasing need for advice,” said Theo Kokkalas, CEO of Ergo Deutschland. Since the complexity at the product level is also increasing, personal advice also retains its raison d’etre, Kokkalas continues.

His fellow board members in the group remained in the same horn. “The digitization trend was observable long before Corona and will also force brokers to be digital”, says Uwe Reuter, CEO of VHV. The customer expectation of service, even after the contract has been signed, and especially the support in the event of a claim, play into the cards of the physical intermediaries.

Advice quality and trust – pounds of the classic broker

Norbert Rollinger, CEO of R + V, is also not afraid that the platforms will be overwhelming. “The quality of the advice remains decisive. The flood disaster serves as an example here. Around 75 percent of our customers had natural hazard insurance in the affected areas and were thus able to absorb the financial damage. That speaks in favor of the advice in advance and I doubt that this rate would also be so high solely on platforms where the price is often the focus and risk education is reduced. ”The quality of an insurance is decided in the event of a claim.

In addition to the quality of advice, Allianz board member Frank Sommerfeld also emphasizes the basis of trust between customers and consultants, which a digital platform cannot build and maintain in the same way. Financing and securing your own home, securing biometric risks or building up a pension are areas for which there is no second chance in life. The need for a personal contact person before, during and after the conclusion of a contract is correspondingly high.

The future of consulting will be hybrid. It is, even if many advisors were forced to do so by the pandemic. But they also learned that it works and is accepted by customers. Nonetheless, simple (property) insurance will be in greater demand via platforms from online-savvy customers, while the advice-intensive areas such as biometrics, old-age provision or commercial insurance will be handled by personal brokers.

Page 1: Personal? Digital? Hybrid!
Page 2: Amazon serves as a model