How today\u2019s UMA meets modern-day insurance needs

If there ever was an industry that has recently been the subject of much change and dynamic fluidity, it’s the South African insurance industry. From Solvency Assessment and Management (SAM) right through to the changes in binder regulations and premium collection considerations, the industry has and will continue to be a hub of constant regulatory transformation.

It is only human to wonder from time to time whether the Underwriting Management Agency (UMA) model is still a viable option for brokers wanting to provide the best possible insurance outcome for their clients. And while my answer may be perceived by some as biased, given Centriq Insurance’s current involvement and ongoing commitment to the UMA, it has always been and will continue to be an unequivocal ‘yes’ – the UMA is a favourable solution that meets the needs of modern-day insurance buyers for the following reasons:

Unequivocal expertise and business support

Many, though not all, UMAs operate in niche or specialised areas of insurance and often represent the best of breed in their markets due to their specialised skills and expertise in focused classes of insurance business. This provides brokerages with the ability, assurance, assistance and support they need to provide their clients countrywide with expertise in fields that they (the brokers) may not necessarily specialise in.

Well-positioned to service complex needs

The fact that most UMAs are entrepreneurially-based, smaller operating, owner-managed businesses usually make them more agile and able to respond to some of the more complex or specialised broker requirements (i.e. bespoke policy wordings, etc.) in a quick and efficient manner. This agility and manoeuvrability of UMAs typically manifests in superior service delivery across policy administrative (i.e. policy issuance) and claims issues, benefiting the broker and its clients in various ways. In many instances, the typically smaller nature of most UMAs means that it’s usually easier for the broker to get a decision made on complex claims, for example, which has a positive impact on all subsequent processes and procedures that need to be adhered to.

Ability to provide out-of-the-box solutions

The UMAs’ ability to operate with a reasonable degree of autonomy allows them to be more flexible and efficient than some of the larger, more typical corporate insurers when it comes to providing brokers and their clients with out-of-the-box insurance solutions in a time-efficient manner.

As such, our sense is that the UMA has managed to carve out for itself a unique selling proposition in the market place, and remains as relevant for brokers as it has ever been.

Flexible service and product delivery, quality skills and an unprecedented hands-on approach to doing business in a modern yet traditional market are all key components of most of the UMA models we see in the South African insurance industry today.

MARTIN LE ROUX Managing Executive, Outsourced Business Solutions, Centriq Insurance