This week
Insurance Business exclusively reported on a European brokerage
Friendsurance’s plan to expand into Australia.
The company’s novel
model, which uses Facebook to connect people who pool their money together to purchase insurance, sparked some interesting comment from readers.
Liam Bache was unimpressed with the model, raising concerns over the use of the term ‘brokerage”. He also took issue with the platform encouraging people to invite trusted friends to join their networks, stating that financial benefit appeared to be based on large number of people joining and low claims volumes.
However this week’s winner is John Elliot who, in response to Bache’s comment, praised the innovation, pointing out that Australia was behind over countries regarding technology.
Here is his comment in full:
“Liam, I think that it’s great a brokerage is looking to overseas for innovative ideas for our industry. Australia is technologically so far behind in the insurance space it’s not funny.
“I have no idea why brokerage owners are so bent on protecting age old ways of doing things instead of trying to innovate and bring our industry as one of the world leaders in thinking and modernizing our services for our clients.
“In so many other industries Australia is a market leader on the international stage. My only problem with this article is that it would be great to see an Australian Broker who could come up with an idea like this that the rest of the world follows instead of us constantly having to follow them and play catch up.
“So Liam, embrace the positives of this model, drag out the good, and encourage those in our industry who dare to do it different, chances are these are the kind of places that are having the biggest hand in shaping the future and maybe even the survival of our industry in the future!”
Thanks to all our commentators this week.
