Insurance Brokers Research Articles

Revelations of Ethnicity and Additional Significant Ingredients in Yann Martel's <i>Life of Pi</i>

This research paper attempts to delineate and outline the revelations of ethnicity and additional significant ingredients in Yann Martel’s Life of Pi (2001). In the opening of Life of Pi, the novelist reveals a comprehensive portrayal of the lethargy, the special style, the velocity, and the jesting. It survives by being lethargic and because of its slothfulness; it consents to algae to cultivate on its body that acts like concealment with the surrounding moss and shrubbery. Life of Pi is audacious, in fact, evangelical; premise locates it on a perilous, ethical high position. Devoid of displaying unequivocally the hallmarks of the modern novel ‒ metafictional selfreference; the need to be affianced and politically ‘relevant’; the need to elucidate and alert as well as simply to notify ‒ the essential account of Pi's survival is solely laudable, intriguing, exhilarating and remarkable. The narration is an erroneously fossilized account of a tale which is, in its verbal structure and eternally fluid. In average state of affairs such self-consciousness concerning the fictitious act vigor challenge the reader, forcing him into noting the several ways and biases with which a single incident can be revealed by a writer, to question the reliability and believability of the account, to analyse the content itself as an work of art rather than what that text explores. Nevertheless in this illustration, the challenge is to avoid doing this, and consequently to be contrasting the gloomy and listlessly honest insurance brokers who crossexamine Pi at the end.

Understanding the strain of inter-personal relationships on employees

Purpose Using role theory, this paper aims to focus on business-to-business inter-personal relationships and the strain such relationships can have on the individual. How is this strain expressed, and what are the implications for the future of these relationships? Design/methodology/approach Thirty in-depth interviews were conducted with experienced account managers. The relationship under scrutiny was the inter-personal relationship that exists between the account managers of UK insurance brokers and their business customers. Findings The study found account managers use a range of resources to support their inter-personal relationships. Where there was a mismatch in the perception of relationship closeness, this did result in role strain for the account managers. In particular, resentment was expressed over time being taken from their working day and their personal life and the impact this had on their work–life balance. Practical implications Identification and an understanding of role strain in inter-personal relationships enables firms to provide support, guidance and training to their employees on how best to manage such relationships. Identifying when and in what ways strain can occur enables firms to identify and take steps to avoid relationship disintegration. Originality/value This is one of a few papers to provide empirical evidence of the role strain in inter-personal relationship from an individual employee’s perspective. Identification of the personal resources used in inter-personal relationships may prove useful for other researchers working in this under-researched area. In addition, the in-depth interviews highlighted the often overlooked subtleties within relationships and issues that can trigger relationship strain.

Risky business: buying insurance for a care home

Insurance can be one of the hardest things to buy, but one of the most valuable, should disaster strike. Adam Bernstein spoke to two insurance brokers, and discusses their thoughts on how care home managers should approach buying insurance

Cyber threats and civil engineering – understanding the risks

The embarrassment of headline-grabbing information breaches are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the growing cyber risks facing civil engineering firms. Karl Jones of UK insurance broker Kerry London says the risks go much further than reputational damage.

Effects of Credit Union Service Organizations on Credit Union Performance

This study examines the effects of credit union service organizations (CUSOs) on credit union performance for the period 2009 through 2014. I use random effects models with Mundlak (1978) correction to estimate the relationships between CUSOs and credit union performance variables. Credit union participation in CUSOs increased over the sample period and participation increases with credit union size. CUSO participation is divided based on whether the credit union wholly owned the CUSO or was required to collaborate with other institutions. I find evidence that participation in wholly-owned CUSOs increases the interest rate spread, collaborative consumer mortgage origination reduces loan rates, and insurance brokerage or agency significantly increases non-interest income for credit unions. The results of the study support existing findings that small organizations are reluctant to give up autonomy and offer insight on which CUSOs benefit credit unions and their members.

An economic decision model for determining the appropriate level of business process standardization

AbstractBusiness process management (BPM) is an acknowledged source of corporate performance. A well-established element of the BPM toolbox by which organizations intend to tune the performance of their processes is business process standardization (BPS). So far, research on BPS has predominantly taken a descriptive perspective, analyzing how BPS affects different dimensions of process performance (e.g., cost, quality, time, flexibility). Only very few studies capitalize on the mature body of descriptive BPS knowledge to assist in determining an appropriate BPS level for an organization’s processes. Moreover, these studies do not resolve the BPS trade-off, i.e., the partly conflicting effects of BPS on process performance. To address this research problem, we propose a decision model that provides guidance on how to determine an economically appropriate BPS level for a business process. We thereby adopt the design science research (DSR) paradigm and draw from the body of knowledge on BPS as well as value-based management. We evaluated the decision model by discussing its design specification against theory-backed design objectives. We also validated the model’s applicability and usefulness in a real-world case where we applied the decision model and a prototypical implementation to the coverage switching processes of an insurance broker pool company. Finally, we challenged the decision model against the accepted evaluation criteria from the DSR literature.

An Analysis of the Number of Medical Malpractice Claims and Their Amounts.

Starting from an extensive database, pooling 9 years of data from the top three insurance brokers in Italy, and containing 38125 reported claims due to alleged cases of medical malpractice, we use an inhomogeneous Poisson process to model the number of medical malpractice claims in Italy. The intensity of the process is allowed to vary over time, and it depends on a set of covariates, like the size of the hospital, the medical department and the complexity of the medical operations performed. We choose the combination medical department by hospital as the unit of analysis. Together with the number of claims, we also model the associated amounts paid by insurance companies, using a two-stage regression model. In particular, we use logistic regression for the probability that a claim is closed with a zero payment, whereas, conditionally on the fact that an amount is strictly positive, we make use of lognormal regression to model it as a function of several covariates. The model produces estimates and forecasts that are relevant to both insurance companies and hospitals, for quality assurance, service improvement and cost reduction.

Engineer's Guide to PI Claims. Part 3: Assisting with your defence

The latest article from insurance broker Griffiths & Armour sets out simple steps which engineers can take to assist with defending a claim.

Engineer's Guide to PI Claims. Part 1: Notification to insurers

A new series from insurance broker Griffiths & Armour on professional indemnity claims begins by advising engineers on what requires notification to their insurer.

Insurance Penetration and Growth in Zambia: Case of Lusaka Province

The Insurance industry has also been steadily growing from 1971 when the industry became a monopoly under the Zambia State Insurance Corporation following the 1968 Economic Nationalization Reforms. Therefore, between 1971 and 1991 Zambia only had one insurance company and broker. Following the liberalization of the economy in 1992 the numbers have significantly increased with 27 insurance companies and 49 brokers at the end of July 31st 2014. The industry also now has two local reinsurance companies, 279 agents and a number of other players. However, the insurance penetration and growth has not been significant as expected. The research will bring out issues and factors surrounding the penetration and growth of insurance Industry in Zambia. The research aims to answer the following questions; why the insurance Industry penetration in Zambia is still low, still at 0.6% for non-life insurance and 0.3% life insurance? What are the barriers to insurance penetration and growth? What measures should be taken by players in the insurance industry to accelerate penetration and growth? What would be the opportunities and benefits for the fast growing insurance industry in Zambia? The objectives of the research were to examine why the penetration and growth of insurance industry is still low and slow.What policy measures can be taken to reverse this trend?

Meeting the Tobacco Cessation Coverage Requirement of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act: State Smoking Cessation Quitlines and Cost Sharing.

We explored whether various key stakeholders considered cost sharing with state telephone-based tobacco cessation quitlines, because including tobacco cessation services as part of the required essential health benefits is a new requirement of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA). We analyzed qualitative data collected from interviews conducted in April and May of 2014 with representatives of state health departments, quitline service providers, health plans, and insurance brokers in 4 US states. State health departments varied in the strategies they considered the role their state quitline would play in meeting the ACA requirements. Health plans and insurance brokers referred to state quitlines because they were perceived as effective and free, but in 3 of the 4 states, the private stakeholder groups did not consider cost sharing. If state health departments are going to initiate cost-sharing agreements with private insurance providers, then they will need to engage a broad array of stakeholders and will need to overcome the perception that state quitline services are free.

Managing risk and contractual liability. Part 10: Certification

The series from insurance broker Griffiths & Armour examines certification and warns consultants to consider carefully what they are being asked to sign.

Managing risk and contractual liability. Part 9: Strict liabilities

This month's article from insurance broker Griffiths & Armour highlights the risks posed by strict liability provisions within contracts.

‘Crony Capitalism’ And The ACA

‘Crony Capitalism’ And The ACA

Trends and influencing factors in professional indemnity claims

Griffiths & Armour have been practising since 1934 and have an entire division dedicated to professional indemnity insurance, Griffiths & Armour Professional Risks (GAPR). The vast majority of GAPR’s client base consists of construction professionals, and this makes them one of the most experienced professional indemnity insurance brokers in the market today. This article will, as the title suggests, consider what factors influence claims against construction professionals, with a particular emphasis on consulting engineers. It will also seek to reveal whether there are any identifiable meaningful trends in respect of such claims against civil engineers and structural engineers. The data sample used consists of extracts from GAPR’s database, a worthy source given their history and client base.

Green technology leads to increased professional indemnity claims

Professional indemnity claims against civil engineers involved in delivering innovative ‘green’ technology projects have significantly increased in the past year. Andrew Bowyer of global insurance broker Willis recommends a ‘back-to-basics’ approach when dealing with insurers.

보험중개사의 법적 쟁점

보험중개사의 법적 쟁점

Group medical Takaful for Universiti Utara Malaysia (UUM) staff in 2011

Subject area Human resource management; Employee benefits management. Study level/applicability It can be used at undergraduate or postgraduate level for students at institutions of higher learning taking courses related to employee benefits management or human resource management. Case overview The case is about the intention of Universiti Utara Malaysia (UUM) in purchasing health insurance for its employees in early 2011. For this purpose, a tender for group medical Takaful for UUM staff was placed in two major Malaysian newspapers on 20 February 2011. Then, after the tender closing date, a report was prepared and sent to the bursar of UUM, En Amron, on 28 April 2011. Ten companies had submitted their tenders; thus, En Amron had to identify the optimal group medical Takaful offered by the tenderers, so that he could put forward his recommendation to UUM tender committee board for its consideration and approval before the matter was brought to higher authorities for endorsement and implementation. Expected learning outcomes This teaching case will enable students to explain the reasons why an employer provides health insurance, to evaluate the advantages and disadvantages of providing health insurance programme as non-contributory and contributory plans, to conduct company and plan assessment in making decision to purchase group medical Takaful and to evaluate either to purchase group health insurance directly from life insurer or to engage insurance broker. Supplementary materials Teaching Notes are available for educators only. Please contact your library to gain login details or email support@emeraldinsight.com to request teaching notes.

The influence of cross-cultural communication on stakeholder management process in international construction projects: turkish stakeholders’ perpective

The purpose of this study is to investigate the influence of cross-cultural communication (CCC) on stakeholder management process (SMP) in international construction projects from the Turkish stakeholders’ perspective. The research is based on a survey of Turkish stakeholders (contractors, consulting engineers, insurance brokers, and financial advisors) operating internationally. The useable survey comprised 141 individual responses from 205 distributed, giving a response rate of 68.78 percent. Structural equation modelling (SEM) is proposed as an effective tool to investigate the relations between various factors of cross-cultural communication and stakeholder management process and data regarding the Turkish stakeholders have been used to demonstrate its applicability. The results demonstrate that “Communication behaviours” and “Communication strategies” proved to be strongly significant and positively related to SMP, whereas “Communication barriers” have significantly negative effect on SMP. Research findings may encourage the principles and practices of CCC between the stakeholders to be adequately recognized and understood by the international contracting firms operating abroad. Although findings reflect the Turkish stakeholders’ perspectives, it is believed that the parameters identified in this study can further be used as a benchmark to conduct similar studies in other countries. Managers of international contracting firms can develop a Cross-cultural Communication Statement (OCQS) to assess, report, and develop cross-cultural communication between stakeholders of a multi-cultural project environment.

Managing risk and contractual liability. Part 6: Dangerous projects and problem clients

The sixth part of our series from insurance broker Griffiths & Armour focuses on problematic projects and clients.