Hot air bubbles

Thursday, June 23rd 2011, 1:24PM 5 Comments

by Darrin Franks

New Zealand would have an untapped source of energy if we had the ability to harness the hot air that’s permeating the insurance industry. That’s if the comments arising from the article “Changing channels” (Good Returns June 3) are anything to go by. It couldn’t be labelled “clean energy” though, because the public scrapping generating it is masking a dirty little war for territory that has engaged the industry for far too long. Nor could it be called sustainable, because the spectators, aka consumers, are going to wonder if their needs are really being managed or if it is more about their adviser’s needs and wants. The sector’s unabated introspection is getting in the way of delivering better service to consumers. It’s time for the sector to reconsider its reason for being. It needs to be collaborative in terms of its value proposition for people. Don’t count on regulation to be the panacea of the sector’s woes, or the public’s desire for improved confidence. Competitors first should take a customer focused attitude and then their differentiated offerings to the marketplace. Attitude is everything. It’s time the hot air bubbles burst.

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Comments from our readers

On 24 June 2011 at 3:50 pm 6ftndr said:

I actually think open air discussion is good for the market, better that than having it all under the carpet festering away.

What does it matter if there are 5 or 35 "dealer" groups out there, nothing will change from a customer perspective, these groups are only an adviser thingy, nothing to do with the client - aren't they?

I would hazard a guess the only people unhappy in this dealer war, would be the product providers - insurance companies et al - for it is they that have to bend over backwards to get the dealer groups on their side and marketing their product.

The end result for the client is exactly the same.....

On 26 June 2011 at 6:07 pm shadow said:

Dealer groups have to bring something to the table from a customer perspective. Very few do. Most are nothing more than aggregators - manufacturers need to be brave enough to break the model by changing the compensation model for these outfits.

On 26 June 2011 at 6:09 pm shadow said:

Most dealer groups are merely aggregators who do nothing for customers. Some dealer groups are far more sophisticated and have genuine business model based on customer. They are the ones that will survive . . . manufactures need to change their rem model to force the clean-up.

On 27 June 2011 at 2:55 pm Anon2 said:

6ftndr - why would you think dealer groups have nothing to do with clients - they adversely affect client premiums - if not in the shortterm then definitely in the long term. The obvious reason for this being providers having to pay more for advisers than would normally be expected.

On 30 June 2011 at 4:07 pm Louise said:

Dealer groups definitely have an impact on clients, as dealer groups won't promote the products of companies who do not support them - meaning that they may end up not acting in the best interests of their clients if the best product for that client is from an unsupportive provider.