IEMAS INSURANCEBROKERS
Your Caring Partner, More Than Ever Before
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Iemas Insurance Brokers is a wholly owned subsidiary of Iemas Financial Services, South Africa’s leading financial services co-operative. Established as the Iscor Employee Mutual Aid Society in the 1930s, Iemas Financial Services has a long history and has been a dedicated servant to its clients through social, political, economic, and historic cultural changes. In the early 90s, Iemas Financial Services broke away from Iscor (now Mittal Steel). Opting to focus on its core – steel production – Iscor allowed Iemas Financial Services to become an independent entity. The name Iemas Financial Services had become so well known in the market that it was decided it would be kept but not as an acronym - as a name that associates with care for customers. Iemas Financial Services was formed, and after more than two decades it became clear that the insurance side of the business needed its own focus. In December 2016, the Iemas Board accepted a recommendation that a new company should be formed to focus solely on providing financial advice and providing insurance solutions and thus Iemas Insurance Brokers (Proprietary) Limited (IIB) was born.
By accelerating the digitising of its product range, Iemas Insurance Brokers is doing everything in its power to reach more groups of people who could benefit from proper financial wellness advice and risk protection. Managing Director Piet Wolmarans talks to Enterprise Africa about how this historic business, one of the key divisions of Iemas Financial Services Co-operative (Iemas) is sharply focussed on the Iemas ethos of “we care” by walking the lifelong financial journey alongside its clients. Karl Pietersen
PRODUCTION:
IEMAS INSURANCE BROKERS
INDUSTRY FOCUS: FINANCE
4 / www.enterprise-africa.net accessed through either our website and/or mobile app. This includes online quoting for short-term insurance and a mobile app which has a very interesting component where our members can refer friends, and we can track that and reward them. As part of our long-term insurance solutions, we have developed a digital self-serve portal for financial planning - including retirement, disability and death – so that people can go and discover for themselves. We have a total online solution for funeral, life and disability, backed by a team of advisors. Currently we are busy with the implementation of robotic enhanced processes – customers can now engage with us 24/7/365 meaning we can now provide funeral cover without any human intervention whatsoever. It pushes data through to the client; they can take up the product and we can issue the policy, without any intervention from a human. With many customers not able to interact with us during their workday, this provides a mechanism that will assist ease of access at more convenient times to our customers, which we fondly refer to as our members.
According to Oxford Economics, 37% of South African customers use their mobile phones or computers for the initial process of browsing and identifying policies. Clearly, digital R&D and investment is necessary, and Iemas Insurance Brokers is already wellpositioned in this regard. “We have already created operational capacity in the business from a systems and operations perspective. This includes two systems for both shortterm and long-term,” says Wolmarans. “Since inception until now, we have signed up more than 20 product partners and have added more than 50 product variances in our environment. “We have created an array of digital functionalities on our platform, “Iemas Financial Services has its own FSP license and the insurance business was originally created to secure the assets that Iemas financed such as vehicles,” details Managing Director Piet Wolmarans. “Over time, that has evolved into other classes of insurance as well. “In April 2017, we became fully operational and I was personally involved, leading the project and getting ready all of the regulatory approvals that were needed to be in place. A lot of operational things needed to happen – we had to register the company as a wholly-owned subsidiary of Iemas Financial Services; we had to transfer all contracts from service providers at the time; we had to move over employees; and get all operational capabilities in place according to full compliance regulations required by the Financial Service Conduct Authority.” Now a FSCA-registered member and a holder of its own FSP license, Iemas Insurance Brokers is looking to the digital future with an appetite. It offers short-term and long-term insurance products, including car, home, life, and business lines.
DIGITISING In February 2020, EY detailed in a research report on the industry how insurers in emerging markets are embracing a digital future. “While mobile and digital applications are targeted to specific markets, such as funeral insurance, major initiatives are transforming back-office operations to become more cost-effective and reliable,” said the EY report.
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ENSURING ORGANIC GROWTH Se rvicing a large customer base from 29 offices around South Africa, Iemas Insurance Broker’s 145 people are always on the lookout to assist. Though the company is now investing primarily in digital technologies, investment in new office space to support a healthy countrywide spread, should demand dictate, is certainly on the agenda for Wolmarans.
“Our team of field agents are ready to assist our members if they prefer not to transact online and they can help in a very quick, efficient and friendly manner,” he adds.Asa broker, Iemas Insurance Brokers is reliant on quality products from its partners and chooses the best insurers to work with. As the global market is changing and having to rapidly evolve its digital offering, new partners are coming on board for Iemas Insurance Brokers, and already delivering fantastic results for members. In May 2019, Iemas Insurance Brokers partnered with Cape Town-based Simply – an Insurtech company – to help digitise its online platform. “It is part of our strategy to make sure that we partner with the fintechs of the world to offer clients end-to-end, online delivery. Simply is an Insurtech business that specialises in fast, simple processes and easy-to-understand products. We’ve partnered with them to deliver a flexible, digital solution containing life, funeral and disability in one simple combo. The Simply products work well for both individuals and domestic workers. Individuals can take cover for themselves or their domestic workers in less than 10 minutes from start to finish. If business employers want to insure their employees, they can do so in four simple steps without traditional underwriting or paperwork. It’s very efficient and very beneficial,” states“TWolmarans.hepartnership brings together innovative life insurance products and a strong grassroots distribution network. Through this partnership, we can reach far more customers than we could independently,” says Simply CEO, Anthony Miller. For Iemas Insurance Brokers, the platform creates ease of transacting for the client and helps to keep prices at an affordable level compared with traditional insurers. “We have rolled it out and received feedback from the market, and we are now busy rolling out phase two of the initiative with some additional productand channel features. We are looking forward to a long-term relationship there,” confirms Wolmarans. As innovative, new solutions come to the market, such as modular insurance where users can ‘turn on and turn off’ insurance for specific periods of time (for example, when a car is in use and when it is parked in the garage), Iemas Insurance Brokers is keeping track of developments and positioning itself to deliver what its members require - even during the COVID-19 lockdown period.
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“At the moment, our strategy is for organic and digital product growth,” he says. “We are looking at the market where there is currently widespread consolidation. There are independent brokers that may be viable for us to join forces in certain areas so we could look at that, and that would naturally come with their existing infrastructure.”
Future growth of the business can be achieved through accessing new groups or communities for each product. Currently, Iemas Insurance Brokers is strong on the short-term side in the middle to affluent income market, and strong on the long-term side in the middle to entry-level market. In the future, Wolmarans is keen to use digital assets alongside other strategies to bolster market presence in all sectors, for both short- and long-term insurance. “We are in the middle to affluent market through our wellness hub and our digital offering where people can access our services online easily. The need that we have identified for that market is predominantly for a faceto-face distribution. We are looking at different distribution models and how we can partner with some of the product providers to deliver through new and exciting channels.
IEMAS INSURANCE BROKERS www.enterprise-africa.net / 7 insurerThe with clients.satisfiedmostthe Call 0860 444 444 or your broker. ADV 11938 portrait.indd 1 16/03/2020 14:41:07
In a strained economy where GDP growth remains weak if not negative, unemployment remains high, and with the global economy facing the COVID-19 pandemic, major physical expansion is often no longer a viable option. This is why the digital roll out has become an important – and urgentgrowth strategy. “We are cost conscientious, especially in this day and age, and we are pushing digitalisation to manage costs and to have instant contact with our policy holders,” Wolmarans explains. “There will always be a balance between bricks and mortar and digital. At the moment, we are widely spread and we are where our current members want us to be. If new employer groups come on board and we need to expand, we will certainly look at it.”
INDUSTRY WITH OPPORTUNITY
// OUR PURPOSE IS TO ASSIST OUR MEMBERS WITH
“From a regulatory perspective, in the entry level the market, the regulator is doing a great job of cleaning up the market and making it more professional, ensuring proper advice is rendered to the consumer. The regulator could perhaps relax some of the current requirements at entry level to create more jobs, keep more people in the industry, and attract younger people - it has become a little cumbersome because of regulatory compliance requirements.
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“The market is divided in three segments. Affluent, middle, and entry level. In general, I think the products and solutions on offer from insurers are welldefined and would suit the needs of the individual,” he says. “I think there is still a lot of education needed to inform the wider population of the benefits of these products and the different solutions that are available – and the embedded benefits to them in case of need.
“We foresee that in 2020 we will be in a position to roll some of this out - we are far down the road of investigating options,” he says.
Unlike some developed markets, the insurance industry in South Africa –and Africa – remains relatively fertile and provides many opportunities for companies that enter with the right proposition which includes financial wellness training and education. According to PwC, Africa’s insurance industry is largely underdeveloped, and insurance penetration levels are very low by global standards. The African insurance industry has also been in a state of continuous disruption since the 2008 global financial crisis, and growth has been sluggish. For Wolmarans, a veteran of South Africa’s insurance industry, there is certainly more that can be done and it all starts with education.
FINANCIAL CARINGISOURPREFERREDDREAMMANAGEMENT.RISKOURISTOBETHEIRBROKER.BRANDPROMISETOBETHEIRPARTNER// 8 / www.enterprise-africa.net INDUSTRY FOCUS: FINANCE info@cardinal.co.za www.cardinal.co.za 011 300 1100 Future-proof your Insurance Business A proud Iemas partner
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“As hard as we try to ensure people understand the need for insurance, there is still the perception of it being a grudge purchase and other things coming first.
“There is massive opportunity to get out there and educate and we are heavily involved in that with our target market so that people understand the risks Buinvolved.”thowdo you go out and improve share in a growing market when faced with a raft of quality competition from both international and local businesses? According to Wolmarans, you must be transparent and clear to customers. “You have to clearly define your operating model and understanding the market you are operating in – be clear in what you want to do, who you want to do it with, and how you want to do it,” he says. “We are clear on our target market, our product range and our value proposition. We try to create a value proposition around providing financial wellness throughout the lifecycle of the individual from when they leave school through to post-retirement. We build a journey alongside our market through their lifecycle.”
South African roads are still uninsured,” he adds. “We do not have compulsory third-party insurance and there is opportunity for expansion. The regulator and government could easily introduce compulsory third-party insurance; from a business perspective, there is a lot of room to move people who are underinsured to insured. There is certainly appetite for product development to make insurance more accessible and more attractive.” South Africa’s roads are not the only place where insurance has not yet realised national uptake. Currently, only 6% of the South African population is in a position to retire. Very few have appropriate savings and investments plans in place and Iemas Insurance Brokers is confident that it could assist for people to understand this and then they could reap the benefit in their later years.
Fo r Iemas Insurance Brokers,
INDUSTRY FOCUS: FINANCE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR PIET WOLMARANS // WE CEMENTED A VERY INPRODUCTMOREPARTNERSTHANWEUNTILFROMPRODUCTSTRONGBASKETPRIOR2017NOWWHEREHAVEMORE20PRODUCTANDTHAN50VARIANCESOURSPACE//
DECADES DOWN, DECADES DUE After many decades of success, Iemas Insurance Brokers is not resting on its laurels and looking back at what has been achieved. There is a hunger throughout the business to impact the lives of as many people as possible, bringing much-needed products to people around the country.
With financial services one of the only positively contributing sectors of the economy in the final quarter of 2019 (2.7% increase within a wider 0.8% contraction), it is vital that reliable and strong businesses are allowed to thrive.
comeapproachadvicebackfromiswillnotimpressionbusinesswww.enterprise-africa.netisaboutleavingalastingandcaringforclients.It’saboutpushingwhicheverproductmakeandearncommissions.Thiswhatdifferentiatesthecompanytherest.“Commissionswillcomeattheend,aslongasyouprovidequalityandensurethereisaholisticforthecustomerssothattheybacktous,”confirmsWolmarans.
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“Our key focus areas are our: products, processes, and services, for the betterment of our customers.
“The economy is a concern, enhanced further by the Coronavirus, and low growth impacts employment,” admits Wolmarans. “Looking at the SA economy, there are a number of public and private enterprises busy with downscaling and this has an impact on the wages of employees. Our experience is that there is less take up of new solutions because there is less disposable income, and there is a higher chance of cancellation. We have seen our number of return debit orders increase but, at the same time, our opportunity is to make sure we put proper retention strategies in place to ensure that individuals under financial burden or stress can talk to us and we can then look at their portfolio
For Wolmarans, continuing to deliver in the future will come down to three elements of the business that he is confident the company has already mastered, but equally adamant that it will never stop seeking to continuously keep on improving on customer experience and continuously adapt to consumers’ ever-changing needs.
“We must stay abreast of best practice and develop in all key areas, but the real differentiator is that we walk the walk with our customers through good times and tough times, providing proper advice, even if we don’t sell a product. It’s all about building trust so that people have confidence in what we are telling them. That will remain a game changer for us – we are selling an emotional product so trust is vital. That will always be at the heart of what we do, hence our brand promise of being a caring insurance partner.”
www.enterprise-africa.netconcludes.
/ 11 WWW.IEMASINSURANCEBROKERS.CO.ZA IEMAS INSURANCE BROKERS // THERE WILL ALWAYS BE A BALANCE BETWEEN BRICKS AND MORTAR AND DIGITAL. AT THE MOMENT, WE ARE WIDELY SPREAD AND WE ARE WHERE WE WANT TO BE //
and find alternatives where possible.”
The worst thing you can do, he says, is to simply cancel insurance policies leaving yourself unprotected against real risks. In the motor space, the better choice is to engage with Iemas Insurance Brokers and discuss alternative cover – perhaps moving from comprehensive to third-party.
There is always a solution, even in the toughest of times, to ensure that stakeholders are continually empowered to make sound financial decisions. This mantra will help the business to further develop its reputation for future generations. “We’ve been around for many decades and I’m sure we will be around for many more,” insists Wolmarans. “Our long-term vision, backed by our board and management team, is to make sure each and every member of the Co-operative is assisted with a financial wellness road map. If we can achieve that, the numbers will follow.”
This is one of the companies truly driving the roll out of proper insurance cover across the country, and helping to ensure long-term financial independence for members. If Iemas Insurance Brokers can continue to develop the trust that Wolmarans cites as so important, the business and its members will be happy. “Our purpose is to benefit our members and our dream is to be the preferred insurance broker by offering a 360-degree insurance solution to suit any need and pocket. As mentioned earlier, our brand promise is to be a caring partner in insurance. That is the model to which each and every employee here works to – even if you don’t sell, provide quality advice properly,” he
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