InsureTalk12: great information and entertainment for all

A record number of attendees took part in this month’s InsureTalk, number 12 in the series.

Antonia Oakes of OMI delivered a presentation on customer experience and service. It’s not rocket science, she said, but it can make a massive difference to your business.

Consumer behaviour has changed due to uncertainty and the fear of the unknown as a result of the coronavirus. The companies with the strongest customer foundation have emerged unscathed. They stood by their customers and continued to provide a stellar experience.

All we need to do is put ourselves in the customers’ shoes. We are all human and we are all customers.

She showed a fun video about virtual shopping versus in-person shopping. Well worth a watch. (You can view the entire InsureTalk 12 webinar by clicking on the video link at the end of this blog.)

IISA CEO Thokozile Mahlangu reminded delegates that the CPD cycle is about to end. She shared some of the ways in which insurance professionals can earn CPD, including attending InsureTalk. You can see a full list of CPD-accredited activities, as well as member benefits, on the IISA website.

Bowmans’ Christine Rodrigues spoke on the way in which Policyholder Protection Rules (PPR) and Treating Customers Fairly (TCF) ensures a fair and transparent customer experience with the insurance industry. She highlighted the point that everyone who is involved in the insurance value chain is expected to comply with the TCF principles. Her talk focused a lot on what companies can do to deal with shortcomings in terms of complying with TCF.

Christine went on to share a number of court judgements to highlight some of the cases that have been brought against companies, and the principles and lessons that have come out of those cases.

Tony van Niekerk, editor of COVER magazine, shared a lovely presentation reminding delegates that we in South Africa live in a fully democratic society where all citizens are equal, government is transparent, leaders are held accountable and a whole lot more! Such an important reflection and some important points raised in Tony’s presentation.

Then it was time for entertainment – a highly energised game show hosted by Duane Rockwell. Audience participation was phenomenal – and the majority of players knew the right answers! The insurance industry is obviously full of very smart people. If you enjoyed this session and would like to book one of our virtual team building activities, contact us on Llewellyn@cnandco.com for more information.

Congratulations to Cath Albertyn, who won R1000 for being our top quiz contestant!

CN&CO’s Blake Dyason gave a quick overview of the soon-to-be-released Insurance Directory. More information is available on the CN&CO blog, but suffice to say it’s THE place to be in 2021. Make sure to get listed! Contact Blake Dyason blake@cnandco.com for more details.

Nico van Loggerenberg of the Automatic Sprinkler Inspection Bureau spoke about the minimum requirements for sprinkler systems in South Africa. His talk was sponsored by CIB.

He shared some fascinating statistics on the number and nature of fires, highlighting the fact that the majority of fires are in the commercial and industrial sector, opposed to residential.

Some interesting fire facts:

There were 49,567 recorded fires in 2017
That means over 135 fires every day, in South Africa alone
The recorded insurance pay-outs came to just over R15 million per day
51% of the financial losses were residential and 21% Commercial/Industrial
The cost of industrial losses increased by R95 million, a 42% increase from the previous year
The cost of residential losses increased by R930 million, a 50% increase from the previous year
Total financial losses have increased by 340% or R3,85 billion a year in a 10 year comparison

Nico shared details of a factory fire in Ladysmith (pictured above) and went on to unpack the codes that govern sprinkler systems, the different types of stacking and the variety of sprinkler equipment available.

Our last speaker for the day was Devan Kerr, founder and head of Premium Finance Partners, who spoke on learnings acquired in the mergers and acquisitions field. He gave advice on what to look out for when buying or selling an insurance brokerage.