News
Insights from the Actuarial Society of South Africa (ASSA) Insurance Convention
On Thursday 29 August 2012, Etanan Zuriel Naiker (from Etana’s Durban branch) spent an informative and insightful day with the Actuarial Society of South Africa (ASSA) at the ASSA Short-Term Insurance Convention.
Via a presentation, Zuriel shared his thoughts and insights on the pricing of risk from an underwriting model.
The key factors highlighted were:
- Risk management
- Volume and growth
- The market
- Data and technology
- Profitability
- Customer value management
- Reinsurance
The day offered valuable feedback, with discussions focusing on the following issues:
- The impact of the above factors and how this could be factored for within an actuarial rating model
- The impact of the soft market cycle and reducing rates, despite increasing frequency and severity of losses
- The impact of business models and their impact on pricing – centralised vs decentralised
“The right price for insurance is a topic constantly debated, particularly in the current market cycle. Collaboration between the actuarial profession, underwriting and risk management are key drivers which will influence the evolution of pricing models within the short-term industry. Structured communication to ensure the integrity of the feedback loop between underwriter and actuaries, an understanding of market conditions and a focus on ensuring a value-driven offering for brokers and our mutual clients must be factored into the pricing formula,” says Zuriel.
“In terms of pricing at Etana, the intangible human element that our ‘local is lekker’ network provides, gives brokers and our clients a significant value offering through over-the-table negotiation, understanding local requirements and the ability to provide on-the-spot pricing to our broker partners.”
