Expert insight, analysis and commentary across the entire protection industry.
by ProtectionReview 08/05/12
PMI premiums inflation – are we getting the whole picture? A recent industry media article addressed the problem the PMI industry has with maintaining affordable and sustainable premiums, placing the blame firmly on the doorstep of medical inflation which is running at a rate of 9% to 10% - much higher than general inflation. Medical inflation has always been a problem for the industry, but I believe there is another major factor involved, to which insurers seem to turn a blind eye. Many large broker firms and networks are using the ‘holy grail’ of the internet to generate…
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by ProtectionReview 01/05/12
CAKE FIRST, ICING SECOND I think the moment may have slightly passed, but this is my first Protection Review blog since we all first heard about the idea of an annual National Protection Awareness Day – so this is my first opportunity to share my feelings on the subject. They are, in a word, mixed. It’s difficult to be against an idea intended to raise the profile of protection – and in a strong, successful consumer market it might make good sense as the icing on the consumer awareness cake. But in the continuing absence of anything much in the…
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by ProtectionReview 11/04/12
This article is based on two questions about customers – responses welcome. 1. To what extent are your non-customers and customers similar? 2. Are women a coherent segment to whom we can tailor marketing messages? It may be hard to believe now but in the 1980s there was a big debate about whether or not ‘the personal computer’ was a big deal or a flash in the pan. IBM was slow to get in to the PC market because when it asked its customers if the PC was or would be an important part of their IT infrastructure,…
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by ProtectionReview 27/03/12
Extending the Claims Ecosystem A typical claim has many people and parties in its lifecycle. There will be the claimant and the insurer, perhaps the broker. Where health or bodily injury claims are concerned there may well be doctors, nurses, caregivers, vocational rehabilitation experts. There may be any number of service providers for replacement goods and services. The whole claims process will operate most efficiently when all these participants can assist to the best of their ability in its successful resolution. With most claims operations though, the claims handler sits at the centre of a complex web of interactions…
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by ProtectionReview 23/03/12
The insurance industry portrays many of its protection products as enhancing State benefit provision. This should indeed be the case for all but the lowest paid as the State system increasingly struggles to afford more than a basic level of support for everyone. Yet the truth is that the number of people turning to the industry to protect them from the impact of sickness and unemployment remains disappointingly low and whilst the numbers covered by group schemes bring the totals to more respectable levels, they remain far below market potential. The last few years have offered insurers numerous opportunities…
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