MENA offers vast opportunities for life and health insurance products, but insurers need to keep up with the changes in consumers’ needs and take advantage of technology, said Swiss Re executives at a recent Dubai event.
With changing customer habits in this fast-paced age, insurers need to embrace a forward-thinking mindset to capture the opportunities in their markets, said Mr Mohamed Seghir, Senior Client Manager and Vice President.
He added that the insurance industry should learn lessons from other industries, such as the luxury and cosmetics businesses, which have demonstrated a precise understanding of their clients. “They have the ability to change, know their clients and are very flexible. The insurance industry does not do that a lot,” he said, noting that lack of innovation is a big concern in MENA.
On underwriting and managing political risks, Mr Pavel Cerny, Manager L&H Underwriting, Middle East, said insurers need to understand how political dynamics could affect insured property, payments, and persons in the variety of sectors represented by their client base, and to make informed decisions about risk appetite and capital allocation.
Dr John Schoonbee, Chief Medical Officer EMEA, explained how underwriting should consider balanced medical testing, taking into account factors such as pre-test probability, costs and prevalence. Cost-benefit analysis and over-diagnosis should be taken into account as well, he said.
Traditional underwriting saves claims but costs insurers clients, which gives rise to the need for simplification to reduce lost sales, reach new clients and open up new distribution channels, said Mr John Turner, Head L&H Underwriting, Europe & ME. However, blind simplification is dangerous if it jeopardises profitability. Generally, he said, underwriters should embrace an intelligent simplification method to make the underwriting process more efficient and ease the customer’s experience.
Technology is providing new sources of data and the insurance industry should take advantage of this fact, said Mr Oliver Werneyer, Innovation Manager. He added insurers have become able to benefit from health insights from different streams of data.
On choosing a reinsurance partner, Mr Olivier Steger, Senior Client Manager, Vice President Europe, Middle East and Africa, said insurers should build their decision on the credibility of the reinsurer where capacity is not always an indicator and does not necessarily confirm the willingness to pay claims.
Attended by over 60 professionals from the region, the two-day event was held with the theme, “Life & Health Insurance: A vision of the future”.