Jim Karafilis, head of Insurance House’s regional and rural division, talks about holistic solutions, taking advantage of new technology and working to attract and retain new talent
Almost 35 years ago, Insurance House was established in Echuca in rural Victoria. Today, it continues to grow across Eastern Australia and has become one of the country’s largest private insurance brokerages.
Jim Karafilis heads up its regional and rural division, comprising both its rural broking offices and its authorised partner (or authorised representative) network. He talks about the business’s efforts to be a one-stop shop for its clients. Beyond its broking capabilities, its offerings include an in-house risk management service, workers’ compensation capabilities, premium funding and claims service.
“We are able to provide a range of services seamlessly from within the group,” Karafilis tells Insurance Business.
He talks specifically about what Insurance House offers on the claims front.
“Individual clients, wherever they are across the country, have access to an online claims system where they can view the progress of their claims, and they have a staff member within our claims area who is their conduit to make sure that their claim is on track and being managed correctly,” Karafilis says.
He believes it is important for Insurance House to be a provider of specialty services.
“For us to grow and develop and innovate, I think we need to have specialty because that’s really what our customers are crying out for,” Karafilis says.
He also believes it is critical for Insurance House’s brokers and ARs to be more than just traditional insurance brokers.
“In regional areas, [brokers] are living in the same communities as our clients, they’re potentially part of the same sports organisations as our clients,” he explains. “They’re more than just the insurance brokers; they’re true and trusted advisers … and they’re able to offer solutions through the value-added services that we provide as an organisation.
“That’s what our clients expect when they buy a policy – they expect a holistic solution to their insurance needs.”
Karafilis also talks about Insurance House’s continued investment in technology.
“As a group, there’s been a considerable investment in technology in building online platforms, both to help educate clients and to help them make more informed decisions about their buying needs,” he says.
“Our customers don’t work your traditional 9–5 workday; they need to be able to access us and contact our people [and] find a solution 24 hours a day effectively.”
And according to Karafilis, investment in technology is also necessary from an efficiency perspective.
“We need to continue to be more efficient in everything that we do,” he says. “We need to be the best we possibly can and continue to invest in technology … to inspire confidence and deliver when it matters.”
Last year, Karafilis played a leading role in the forming of a partnership between Insurance House and ANZIIF, in which the business became a corporate sponsor of the Careers in Insurance initiative. It’s a partnership aligned to Insurance House’s goal of establishing itself as an employer of choice. The business has worked with ANZIIF in talking about insurance at universities and schools, spreading the message about the opportunities available in the industry.
One opportunity that Insurance House itself provides within its business specifically targets young people who elect to have a gap year between completing school and undertaking tertiary studies.
“They get a taste of what a career is like,” Karafilis says. “Once they move on to university from regional areas, there’s a fair chance some will come back and, if nothing else, we’ve given them a great grounding through that period in what it means coming out of a school environment to work in a business.”
Insurance House also provides mentoring.
“We actually formally sit down with our staff and map out their career opportunities … and encourage them to continue to develop their own careers and give them access to a lot of opportunities throughout our whole business,” says Karafilis.
As to what’s ahead for the regional and rural division, Karafilis says he’s excited.
“We’ve got a fantastic customer base [and] we’ve had tremendous growth through that business,” he says.
“We see great growth prospects ahead in regional and rural Australia, both through our rural broking offices and our authorised partner network.
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