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In an industry based heavily around targets, sales, incentives and achievements, philanthropy in the insurance space is often not seen as a business priority.
Setting itself apart from this culture, one brokerage has utilised its commissions and interactions with customers to support its own charitable foundation. The primary goal of the business is not to make sales or gain incentives, but to help and support its partnered charities and create a ‘tangible impact’ on communities.
Founder Nevil Chand started his career as a salaried adviser at Tower Insurance and went on to win AMP New Adviser of the Year in 2015. A change in perspective then led him to create Evolve, an insurance advice business focused on fairer distribution of wealth and on ‘serving humanity better.
Speaking to Insurance Business, Chand talks about the origin of Evolve, its philosophy and its ultimate goals.
“I started to ponder on how the insurance industry worked, and also tried to understand how I could have a positive impact on society - then discovered that the commission model had a lot of fat in its dollars,” Chand explains. “Evolve helps people sort their insurance needs and generates donations from that interaction, which it then uses to help others through The Evolve Foundation.”
Evolve operates as a ‘charity for other charities,’ whereby it partners with organisations catering to a variety of social needs and provides funding for elements of their operations – be it a website designer for six months, procuring equipment, or assisting with meeting objectives that currently lack funding.
In its most recent project, Evolve collaborated with Piano Traders to purchase musical instruments for Ronald McDonald House Charities’ musical programme for children.
“We want to make sure we’re having a very specific impact,” says Chand. “I’m not interested in selling insurance and making money, or in giving a lump sum to a charity for it to be added to a pool of dollars. I’m interested in telling people about Evolve, and when they see a need for insurance themselves, they might then make a decision to come to us. The service you receive is the same, the cost is the same, but there is a greater impact that is generated through The Evolve Foundation.”
Chand will also be making a presentation to members of Governance New Zealand on ethical business later in June, and aims to draw attention to fairer distribution of wealth and social enterprise.
“People are becoming more aware of how things are being run. You see it in the political space, in the environment and in the production of goods and services,” he says. “People are also starting to consider how their own business is doing, and I call that ‘ethical economics.’”
“I would encourage other people to consider how business may provide a social service,” Chand continues. “It’s not about the characteristics of your employees or how you interact with your clients – everyone knows that definition of ethics. This goes a little bit deeper. Any role that gets paid a commission can apply this model, and it comes down to people realising for themselves that it isn’t what we take that makes us rich. It’s about the feeling of knowing that you’re doing something more.”
Over time, Chand says he would like to see Evolve develop and expand into a multi-branched business containing a housing and mortgages arm. There is a correlation between various occupations and social needs; insurance can have a direct impact on health and mental wellbeing, and mortgages and real estate can potentially have a strong impact on issues such as homelessness.
“It’s the creation of a conscious community that really encourages change,” he concludes. “One person can make a start, but the first person who follows is the most important, because they start a movement. I see Evolve growing and becoming a more specific model that has multiple arms to it, and the consumer can then choose their own direction, knowing their choice will generate donations that will have an impact on society.”
