Search Insurers must innovate — KPMG official

Insurers would have to consider providing more personalised services if they have to remain competitive, considering how savvy the consumer has become, KPMG’s Head of Financial Services Strategy and Operations, Robert Dzato, has said.

“Based on a survey that we have done, consumers of insurance are not in need of one-size-fits-all products and services but those that are more personalised.

It’s become even more crucial for insurance companies to segment their target publics considering that more people are moving into to the middle class and insurable public have become more savvy,” he told the B&FT on the sidelines of a two-day bancassurance conference in Aburi.

“For insurance companies, they need to begin to think about how they would leverage technology to reach out to customers; there are a number of digital firms that are playing in that space. So, it could be a game changer for the industry.”

According to Mr. Dzato, consumers of insurance are now looking for the service experience to decide whether to stick to or change an insurer, which is a key differentiator when it comes to insurance.

Specific to bancassurance, he indicated the need for firms offering that service to strive to meet customer expectations by leveraging technology and data analytics to understand changing needs and to predict the dynamics of the market.

“There are some back office issues that bancassurance companies need to pay attention in terms of ensuring that their digital strategies allow them to meet the needs of customers in a very stimulating way,” he said.

The role of the sector regulator in the course of deepening bancassurance remains crucial according to Mr. Dzato, who has also urged the National Insurance Commission (NIC) to increase capacity, better understand the operations of industry players and enforce regulations that have remained on the shelves.

He noted: “The regulator should have the tooth and bite when it needs to, for instance when it comes to compliance with risk-based regulation; these are critical issues the regulator needs to look at to drive insurance penetration.”

The two-day Bancassurance and Alternative Distribution Channels Conference was held on the theme: “Innovation, reinventing insurance for the digital generation”.