Chambers Ireland | Zurich
Measuring risks As Ireland prepares to tackle its sixth year of a difficult austerity programme, Director of Broker Distribution at Zurich Insurance Conor Brennan talks to Melissa Byrne about the methods used by Zurich to help sustain SMEs in the current environment.
A
fter the release of the 2013 Budget and the onslaught of money saving measures, it would appear that Ireland’s financial situation is as precarious as it ever was. Austerity is still a word that nobody wants to hear and businesses around the country are struggling to stay afloat. Responsible for the management of broker distribution, Conor Brennan believes that SMEs need support and understanding to prosper, particularly in the present climate. To accomplish this, Zurich has invested heavily in its Centre of Excellence in Wexford, where its team work to put the customer at the centre of everything they do. “From what we can see, SMEs probably faced their toughest years in 2008, 2009 and into 2010 when a lot of them made quite significant adjustments to their business to manage their cost base and their expenses. Unfortunately in some cases, that meant reducing staff numbers,” says Brennan. “But the other focus has been around management of cost, procurement cost, energy utility costs, and insurance costs, so it’s been quite a difficult time. However, our sense would be that the companies who have come through that
are probably stronger and fitter in terms of their expense base. Fundamentally what the Irish economy needs is some sort of growth on the horizon, just to stimulate some demand.”
CUSTOMER CARE Zurich has focused on increasing engagement with customers. Talking to customers and understanding their difficulties is their preferred method to attempt to generate original solutions. “Insurance is a once a year bill, and it’s an important bill. If a business has to make a claim it can be traumatic and debilitating for the business, so they really need an insurance partner who understands that and reacts quickly to get them back up and running as quickly as possible," he says. "The other thing we’ve been focusing on is how we can help small businesses having difficulty making their insurance payments every year. We’ve been more flexible through our brokers with payment plans that work for businesses because they need support at this time and if that support comes through a payment plan then Zurich is very happy to work with that business,” Brennan explains.
"If a business has to make a claim it can be traumatic and debilitating for the business, so they really need an insurance partner who understands that and reacts quickly to get them back up and running as quickly as possible."
Director of Broker Distribution at Zurich Insurance Conor Brennan.
Technology is one of the main innovations in helping the insurance company process applications. Zurich predominantly works through brokers and has recently developed their online tools. “We can get the risk assessment, risk management, all of that information completed and on cover for your insurance in six minutes,” says Brennan. After trialling the online procedure with a number of brokers, feedback has been strong. “We’ve looked at the market, looked at what our competitors do and broadened out our range of cover over the market so in terms of the product itself, we would feel it’s the strongest
48 Q4 2012 | InBusiness
InBusWinter43-80.indd 48
14/12/12 14:48:21