Many insurance brokers were hit by the pandemic and the aftermath of economic events that followed it. Insurers specializing in engineering insurance, workmen’s compensation insurance were badly hit because of the pandemic. Small businesses could not take the insurance due to the drop in revenues and on the other hand due to the lockdown the motor insurance business was dropped as people were not willing to renew their insurance policies. There was no movement of vehicles resulting in postponement of vehicle renewals. The insurance broking business was also hit due to the pandemic and forced them to reinvent themselves to adjust and increase their chance of survival in the market.
There are certain broking trends which are observed in 2022 after the pandemic subdued:-
- Embracing the technology completely: The insurance broking companies have embraced the technology completely and made the insurance buying process completely online without human involvement. Many insurance broking companies have developed their own online sites for the convenience of the customers where the customers can buy the insurance products online without the need for human intervention. Ethika insurance broking has developed a group health insurance software which can be synchronized with the HR portal of any organization.
Claim settlement has also been completely revolutionized with the help of Artificial intelligence where the customers can directly find the status of the claims. Even the claims can be reported on the mobile apps or websites of the insurance companies.
- Personalized and customized products: The insurance brokers have introduced personalized and customized insurance products. There has been a change in the preference of the customers with reference to the insurance products. Customers are no longer preferring the old model insurance products and are demanding the new insurance products which can be customized and personalized as per the needs of the customers. The group health insurance policies are customizable as per the needs and requirements of the customers. There are other insurance products such as pet insurance, super top health insurance plans which can be customized as per the needs of the customers.
Group super top up health insurance plans are offered as an add-on to the group health insurance customers where the sum insured, deductible and other elements can be customized in the super top up plans.
- Focus on compliance: Insurance industry in India is regulated by the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India which oversees the insurance operations in India. There are very strict compliances to be followed by the insurance players in the market without which they would be fined heavily. In addition to this, the insurance intermediaries are the only form of intermediaries which are legally liable to the deficiency in the services rendered by them. IRDA levies hefty fines on insurance brokers that do not comply with the rules and regulations laid down by the authority.
Insurance brokers have increased the focus on compliance to reduce the risk of payment of fines imposed by the authority. This way, malpractices could also be reduced to a certain extent.
- Hybrid Work models: The insurance broking companies have adopted the hybrid working model where the employees can work from office or from home depending on the need. This hybrid work model may continue for a few more days and the arrangement for this model is made by the broking companies keeping the factors such as data security, work efficiency in mind.
