Insurance Brokers Research Articles

Factors Affecting Employees’ Work Passion in the Thai Insurance Industry

The objectives of this study were to: 1) identify the perceived definition of staff work passion, and 2) explore perceived factors affecting staff work passion, both in the Thai insurance industry. The study was qualitative, using semi-structured interviews with open-ended questions. Participants were 36 key informants from life and non-life insurance companies in Thailand, including executive managers, middle managers, and staff, selected to maximize variation in responses. The definitions of staff work passion in the Thai insurance industry were comprised of five categories: happiness, pride, goal setting, personal efficacy, and job fit. Seven factors affecting work passion were highlighted: 1) the power of teamwork, 2) great support from leader, 3) work value, 4) challenge and variety of work, 5) supportive company policies, 6) gaining knowledge and opportunity to learn, and 7) providing good service to customers. These findings were incorporated into an employee work passion model adapted from Blanchard’s model. The model showed personal characteristics of individual as meanings of work passion; organization and job characteristics; and organizational role behaviours as factors affecting work passion. The model might apply to similar businesses within the financial industry, e.g., insurance brokerage companies, financial institutions, and stock and securities firms.

Current trends in insurance fraud in Russia: evidence from a survey of industry experts

This study aims to explore the current trends in fraud prevention in the insurance industry in Russia. Survey responses from 20 experts and professionals of the leading insurance companies in Moscow were collected. More than a half of them are former police officers who work at security or investigation departments. Survey data analysis was employed. According to the experts’ opinion, existing gaps in the legislation and difficulties in cooperation with the police are the main sources of inefficiency of fraud prevention strategies utilised by the Russian insurance companies. The respondents agreed that both insurers and fraudsters actively use new technologies. Fraudulent claims in compulsory third party liability motor insurance remain the most common activity among Russian criminals, although they quickly expand to health and property insurance. Typically, an insurance fraudster is a 34-year-old male with a college/university degree who cooperates with an insurance broker in 42% of cases. Based on this, a set of recommendations aimed at increasing the efficiency of insurance fraud prevention was produced.

Current Trends in Insurance Fraud in Russia: Evidence from a Survey of Industry Experts

This study aims to explore the current trends in fraud prevention in the insurance industry in Russia. Survey responses from 20 experts and professionals of the leading insurance companies in Moscow were collected. More than a half of them are former police officers who work at security or investigation departments. Survey data analysis was employed. According to the experts’ opinion, existing gaps in the legislation and difficulties in cooperation with the police are the main sources of inefficiency of fraud prevention strategies utilised by the Russian insurance companies. The respondents agreed that both insurers and fraudsters actively use new technologies. Fraudulent claims in compulsory third party liability motor insurance remain the most common activity among Russian criminals, although they quickly expand to health and property insurance. Typically, an insurance fraudster is a 34-year old male with a college/university degree who cooperates with an insurance broker in 42 percent of cases. Based on this, a set of recommendations aimed at increasing the efficiency of insurance fraud prevention was produced.

Obligations of Insurance Broker as Insurance Distributor

The Insurance Distribution Act introduced a wide variety of notions and imposed a number of new statutory obligations, in particular, the definitions of insurance distribution and insurance distributor. The aim of the article is to present the statutory obligations imposed on insurance and reinsurance brokers as insurance distributors. The author points out that these duties can be divided according to different criteria and emphasizes that the broker's obligations towards the client are the most important in insurance practice. She discusses the duty to analyse client's needs and requirements, to prepare brokerage recommendation and provide a product card or prepare it if the broker is its creator. Moreover, she discusses the necessity to reveal the nature (and sometimes even the amount) of brokerage remuneration as well as to give the information about the method and procedure of handling claims (so-called claims policy). Having analysed the statutory obligations imposed on the insurance broker, the author comes to the conclusion that the basic purpose is the protection of clients and their interests. However, there is a concern that some duties might be treated as formal ones to be fulfilled in order to avoid legal liability. Additionally, the obligation of loyalty towards the client may be derived from the duty to keep good faith and perform due diligence.

La regulación de los intermediarios de seguros en Colombia: un régimen de supervisión asimétrico

En Colombia existen los denominados intermediarios tradicionales de seguros, a saber, las agencias de seguros, los agentes de seguros y las sociedades corredoras de seguros, todos regidos por particularidades normativas que los distinguen entre ellos. El presente trabajo hace un estudio de la regulación de estas figuras en nuestro país, incluyendo las interpretaciones que el supervisor (Superintendencia Financiera) y la jurisprudencia hacen de ella, haciendo cuestionamientos críticos que exhiben los efectos prácticos de esta normatividad en el mercado asegurador.

РОЗВИТОК СТРАХОВОГО ПОСЕРЕДНИЦТВА В УКРАЇНІ В КОНТЕКСТІ ЙОГО ВПЛИВУ НА ЕФЕКТИВНЕ ФУНКЦІОНУВАННЯ СТРАХОВОГО РИНКУ

Метою роботи є розроблення теоретико-методологічних основ вдосконалення державного регулювання діяльності страхових посередників в Україні в контексті розвитку фінансово-кредитної системи. Автори ставлять і вирішують такі завдання: ретроспективне дослідження розвитку ринку страхових посередників в Україні та обґрунтування теоретичних засад його функціонування, аналіз законодавчої та нормативно-правової бази щодо регулювання діяльності ринку страхових посередників в Україні та міжнародного досвіду, розроблення рекомендацій щодо удосконалення державного регулювання діяльності страхових посередників в Україні.

DEVELOPMENT OF BANK ASSURANCE IN THE REPUBLIC OF MACEDONIA

Banking has gained a new dimension throughout the world in the last few decades due to the integration of global financial markets, the development of new technologies, the universalization of banking operations and diversification into non-banking activities. The merging of various financial services has provided synergies in the banks' operations and development of new concepts. One of these concepts is bank insurance (or banc assurance). Banc assurance, as an emerging distribution channel of insurance, essentially is defined as mediation of banks in the sale of insurance policies issued by insurance companies that are most often used as additional collateral for banks when giving loans to their clients, while the clients with the purchase of credit insurance through banks are secure in case of inability to pay off the loan due to occurrence of the insured risk, whereby the insurer covers the remaining debt of the client towards the bank. Banc assurance is much more developed in Western European countries, but in recent years this type of insurance has noted a trend of growth in the less developed countries also. Banks in the Republic of Macedonia, as well as banks in other countries in the region, try to encourage the development of banc assurance, but it still has a low level of growth in comparison with the European Union member states. This paper presents the level of development of banc assurance as well as its share in the insurance market in the Republic of Macedonia by analyzing the annual reports of the Insurance Supervision Agency of the Republic of Macedonia for the past few years. Consequently, an appropriate comparison was made between the realized values of the gross written premium of the banks as intermediaries in insurance with the realized values of the gross written premium of the other insurance intermediaries (insurance brokerage companies and insurance agencies); and a brief comparison was made with the share of banc assurance in the insurance markets in several countries in the region. The purpose of the paper is to determine the reasons for the situation in which the banc assurance in the Republic of Macedonia is, to analyze the need and the possibility for its development, as well as to determine the manners for banc assurance to reach the level of development in the member states of the European Union as soon as possible. For this purpose, an adequate analysis of the level of implementation of the European Directives for banc assurance (such as the Directive on Insurance Mediation and the Directive on Insurance Distribution) in the legal framework of the Republic of Macedonia has been carried out, as well as analysis of the national legislation regulating banc assurance in the Republic of Macedonia, covered in couple of provisions in the Law on Banks and the Law on Insurance Supervision.

Disclosure of sales compensations and product recommendations

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to examine the influence of disclosure of sales compensations on insurance brokers’ intention to make inappropriate product recommendations.Design/methodology/approachThis research examines the insurance brokers’ intention to make inappropriate product recommendations through an application of the theory of planned behavior. Surveys are used as the research instrument, and the hypotheses are tested with a between-subjects experimental design. One case of mandatory disclosure and one case of non-mandatory disclosure are compared in the research.FindingsThe results indicate that the disclosure of sales compensations is significantly associated with the subjective norms from the official authority and perceived behavioral control (PBC). The results of this study also indicate that, when the disclosure is mandatory, the PBC has a stronger effect on the insurance brokers’ intention to make biased product recommendations than dose the attitude and subjective norms. When the disclosure is non-mandatory, however, the subjective norms have a stronger effect on the insurance brokers’ intention.Originality/valueThe impacts of compensation disclosures on the financial professionals’ product recommendations have been less examined. This study could make a contribution to the literature by providing some empirical observations from the views of Taiwan’s life insurance brokers.

Implications of emergent risk for application of risk transfer mechanisms by local governments in Queensland

Insurance represents an integral part of local government risk management strategy. As climate change progresses, increased loss and risk related to extreme weather events such as tropical cyclones, could motivate insurers to withdraw from certain markets. In some regions, such a withdrawal represents an emergent risk that, when coupled with increasing populations and other climate change impacts, could leave local governments and ratepayers particularly vulnerable. This paper investigates such a scenario and its ramifications in the context of a region particularly vulnerable to climate change, through an exploration of the degree that consideration of emergent risks, such as loss of insurance, and the potential application of insurance alternatives influence Queensland local government risk management. The study finds little appreciation amongst government officials of emergent risk implicit in extreme weather events such as cyclones, little understanding of the nuances of risk transfer mechanisms beyond familiar traditional insurance and disaster funding mechanisms, and by default, a lack of appreciation of the relationship between the two. A lack of resource and leadership with respect to emergent risk, and an absence of dialogue between insurance brokers and local government concerning climate change risk arise as the main reasons for this result. This research is significant because it challenges current local government risk management practice through an exploration of the risks inherent in the process itself. This has potential social, economic and ecological ramifications in drawing attention to aspects of possible “uninsurability” and prospects of alleviation thereto. Further research is recommended to consider the insurance industry’s part in this study’s findings in order to inform current industry practice and thinking and further enlighten the causes of local government disengagement in this critical area.

Are NHS-employed musculoskeletal physiotherapists in England mis-diagnosing Cauda Equina syndrome?

Purpose: This study builds on a retrospective study presented at Physiotherapy UK conference in 2017. This study had assessed and quantified claims of alleged mis-diagnosis of Cauda Equina Syndrome (CES) by self employed physiotherapists in the UK, notified to the Chartered Society of Physiotherapy's professional liability insurance brokers. Claims of negligence against NHS employed physiotherapists in England are covered by NHS Resolution (formerly known as the NHS Litigation Authority - NHSLA). This is an arms length body of Westminster Government that manages negligence and other claims in England's health provider organisations.This retrospective study sought to quantify prevalence of mis-diagnosis claims against NHS-employed musculoskeletal physiotherapists in England, to compare with the findings from the previous study.

보험중개사의 법적 지위와 약관설명의무에 관한 연구

보험중개사의 법적 지위와 약관설명의무에 관한 연구

An analysis of challenges to ASIC’s s 920A banning orders against financial services providers in the AAT and the courts

Section 920A of the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth) provides ASIC with a flexible power to ban individuals from the Australian financial services industry on a number of grounds. The objective of this power is to protect consumers through upholding compliance with the law and adherence to professional standards. Banned individuals may apply to the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) to review the merits of such decisions, and on limited points of law such cases may be further appealed to the Federal Court of Australia (FCA). This article analyses the practice of the AAT and the FCA in determining challenges to s 920A banning orders. The 50 AAT cases examined in the article provide interesting examples of misconduct by financial advisers, stockbrokers and traders, insurance brokers and operators of investment schemes. The article shows that whilst the AAT has shown a flexible approach in considering the circumstances of each banning (setting aside four bans and varying the length of 15 bans), it has nevertheless exhibited a firm approach in the other 31 cases in affirming bans following serious misconduct. The article concludes by suggesting some minor reforms to further enhance the range of protective enforcement tools available to ASIC.

Dynamic price competition in auto insurance brokerage

AbstractWe analyze Brazilian data on auto insurance and document that (a) about 20% of policies are sold without brokerage commission; (b) over 40% are sold at the highest fee allowed; and (c) the remaining contracts are associated with a spread‐out distribution of fees. Static models cannot rationalize these findings. We develop a dynamic model of price competition with search and switching costs that reproduces them. We use the equilibrium structure to estimate the model parameters and infer the brokers' expected earnings, the frequency that insurees switch brokers, and the counterfactual effects of a price ceiling policy.

The participation of the insurance sector in the laundering of criminal proceeds

The development of financial institutions inRussiaand the scaling-up of the use of financial instruments contribute to the emergence of an increasing number of schemes for laundering criminal proceeds. At the same time, the improvement of legislation and the introduction of strict control over the activities of financial institutions lead to the complication of such schemes, including an increase in the number of entities in the financial sector involved in the process of legalization. Now criminals are increasingly using non-credit financial organizations. Subjects of the insurance sector fall into the zone of critical risk of involvement in criminal schemes. At the end of2018, aplanned event will be held inRussiawithin the framework of the fourth round of inspections, which will be carried out by the Financial Action Task Force on Money Laundering (FATF). FATF will assess Russia not only in terms of the performance of the Central Bank of Russia and the Federal Service of Financial Monitoring, but also in the effectiveness of its functions and the interaction of all links in the national system of combating legalization: from financial institutions that provide information on suspicious transactions to judicial bodies that issue confiscation orders proceeds from crime.The insurance sector inRussiais represented by its three main entities: insurance organizations, insurance brokers, and mutual insurance societies. A significant quantitative share of the market is occupied by insurance organizations, whose services are in turn an increasingly popular tool for legalization.The article is researched the insurance sector in Russia, analyzed the main trends of the sector development, suggested a methodological basis for record the participation of the insurance sector in the money laundering, also identified the problems associated with process of implementation of internal control in the field of AML/CFT. The author also presents typical schemes for the laundering of proceeds from crimes related to insurance companies.

Направления развития мирового рынка страховых услуг в сфере транснационального бизнеса

The subject of the study is the world insurance market, its trends and prospects for development on the example of leading countries. The aim of the work is to identify the features and patterns of insurance in the field of transnational business on the example of a transnational insurance broker (SB) Arthur J. Gallagher & Co (AJG). Research methods: statistical analysis, formal and logical modelling of socio-economic processes. The results of the study consist in a comprehensive description of the insurance business of the broker AJG, implementing various strategies to work in national markets. Activity in the States on development of insurance services is carried out taking into account positive and negative tendencies of the world market. The complexity of the present situation is the increasing risk of economic recession, reflected in the reduction in the volume of insurance coverage. Adaptation consists in consolidation of capital, strengthening of positions of the largest and stable companies. AJG has gained access to emerging markets in countries previously closed to transnational capital, but the mission and strategy need to be adapted to national circumstances. The scope of application of the results can be in the commercial field in the activities of the leaders of the insurance market of Russia in planning the strategy of its activities and ensuring the competitiveness of services in the global market. In modern conditions of development of the world insurance market the advantages of leading companies are connected with internal financial and economic stability, flexibility of strategies of penetration into national markets, pronounced social orientation of business.

Digital insurance brokers—old wine in new bottles? How digital brokers create value

This article analyzes digital brokers in the countries of the DACH region, Germany, Austria, and Switzerland, from a business model perspective. We argue that the potential to create new value for insurance customers has not yet been fully realized. Our analysis has identified two strategic action areas. The first concerns the exploitation of the wealth of customer data available. Those digital brokers who will succeed in generating new content and services using data analytics have the potential to take customer centricity and individuality to new bounds. The second centers around introducing aspects of community, such as connecting peers and enabling them to interact. The critical success factors are volume, a high degree of automation as well as leveraging the infrastructure and data to delivering new, value-adding content and services that go beyond traditional intermediation.

Alleged malpractice in orthopaedics. Analysis of a series of medmal insurance claims

BackgroundMedical malpractice is an important topic worldwide, and orthopedics is a clinical branch that is considered to be at a high risk for claims. The analysis of a series of medmal insurance claims allows forensic pathologists, clinicians, and insurance companies to probe the risk of a specific clinical branch for medical malpractice claims and highlights areas where care may be improved. We investigated the main features of a major Italian insurance broker’s archive in order to identify recurrent pitfalls in this field.Materials and methodsA retrospective study was carried out on orthopedics claims. The archive covered claims from 2002 to 2013 that targeted 1980 orthopedists.Results635 claims were found and analyzed with a focus on the clinical activity invocked in the claim, the presence of alleged team malpractice, the clinical outcome of the case, and the final forensic decision regarding the claim. 299 orthopedists had at least one malpractice claim made against them during the available period; 146 orthopedists were subject to more than one malpractice claim. Most of the claims regarded perioperative and operative cases, usually originating from civil litigation. The anatomical sites most commonly involved were the hip or knees, and sciatic nerve lesions were the main contributor.ConclusionsOrthopedics is a medical specialty with a high risk for malpractice claims. In our study, medical malpractice was observed in nearly 50% of the cases—typically in surgery-linked cases resulting in permanent impairment of the patient. Death from orthopedics malpractice seemed to be rare.Level of EvidenceIV.

The essence and classification of insurance mediation: European and Ukrainian experience

According to the European tradition, the essence of insurance mediation is defined as the activity connected with signing and realization of insurance contracts. The most argument and adapted to realities of the Ukrainian insurance market is the definition of the essence of insurance mediation represented in the new version of Ukrainian Law «About insurance». Based on the thoughts of scientists, we propose the author definition of the essence of insurance mediation as the activity directed by mediators to the investigation, and analysis of the insurance market; the presentation of its possibilities to the clients-insurers; supplying with some recommendations; preparing of insurance contract, signing/accompanying during its signing by clients; compensation payment to clients according to the insurance contract; the work with clients for extension of insurance cooperation. The essence of insurance mediation also concerns to the sales of insurance products from one entity (the insurance company) to another (the client). The ES Directives propose the classification of insurance mediators into «dependent» and «independent». According to the traditions of the world mediation, dependent i mediators are agents that act on behalf of an insurance company; independent mediators are brokers. In the world practice, a popular classification is that one classifying dependent mediators into two types: insurance agents (corporative agents) and multi agents. As for the Ukrainian insurance market the both types of insurance agents act there. Generalizing modern classifications, we single out two types of brokers: insurance brokers and reinsurance brokers. The most argument and right is the classification based on thesis about the dependence of insurance mediators: dependent insurance mediators (an insurance agent (exceptional), multi agent) and independent (an insurance, reinsurance broker). The first group of insurance mediators – insurance agents – physical and legal individuals, that act on behalf of and according to interests of an insurer, that is, they perform the insurer’s functions. The second group is insurance (reinsurance) brokers who are legal and physical individuals, that are registered as the entities of entrepreneurial business and they perform the insurance activity on behalf of them and on the basis of insurance contract with the insurer and receive money for it. Direct mediators are insurance agents, insurance brokers, and reinsurance brokers. Non-direct mediators are persons that professionally estimate insurance risks (underwriter, surveyor) and persons that estimate insurance losses (emergency commissar, average adjuster).

Technological change and estate agents’ practices in the changing nature of housing transactions

The construction of housing markets, mediated by estate agents, is changing. The ‘information age’ has witnessed widespread changes to personal intermediation across many business sectors (e.g. holiday sales and insurance brokerage), yet estate agents continue to be extensively involved. This paper asks whether the intermediation process has changed and why this is the case. Through a cultural economy investigation of the everyday practices of estate agents in New Zealand and England we identify how they have adapted, directed and responded to technological and social changes. In England, three service levels of agency arose with varying roles for technological information dissemination, the matching process and the formulization of prices. In New Zealand the hegemony of high quality service has resisted other mediation forms; retaining socially negotiated housing outcomes. Despite these differences, the unique facets of housing, its complex sale procedure and emotional transaction nature have hitherto enabled the adaptive capacity of estate agents to continue influencing housing market processes and rationalize their ongoing construction of housing transaction processes.

Viewpoint: Managing risk in a changing business world – Trading in a growing marking – know your appetite

Stephen Hargreaves of insurance broker Griffiths & Armour examines the attitudes of UK consultants to taking on new work, fees, payment terms and contracts.