The relationship between marketing and legal/compliance teams within the insurance sector has been particularly strained, according to new research commissioned by software company Red Marker.
The study, which surveyed 336 senior professionals working in insurance companies with over 5,000 employees across the UK, US, and Australia, found that 80% of respondents considered their relationship with their counterparts in the opposing department as adversarial and marked by an “us and them” mentality.
One of the primary sources of frustration identified by marketing professionals is the legal/compliance approval process.
According to the study, 75% of marketers said that legal and/or compliance impedes their ability to perform their job efficiently, while 74% found the review process to be excessively protracted, with too many bureaucratic steps involved.
Meanwhile, 85% of compliance and legal insurance professionals said that marketing didn’t understand the necessity of adhering to complex compliance rules and 83% thought that marketing was eager to pass the blame when their content faced external challenges.
Additionally, 86% of legal and compliance professionals reported hearing their marketing colleagues describe compliance rules as “over the top,” just as 93% said they believe the review process would be more efficient if they didn’t have to repeatedly verify the basics.
Red Marker COO Mark Wood said these findings point to how the delicate balance between creativity and compliance can easily become adversarial.
“Compliance teams and marketers need to find better ways of working together to ensure content is produced and approved efficiently – but also in a way that reduces risk,” he said.
According to Wood, the marketing compliance process has traditionally suffered from a “lack of optimisation,” which can now be addressed with the help of technology.
“Many organisations have built quick-fix solutions or outsourced this process, but new technology means there’s no longer an excuse for inefficiency and apathy,” said Wood.
To address the tensions between marketing and compliance teams, the majority of respondents (80%) said the ideal review process should minimise human subjectivity. Many saw artificial intelligence (AI) as a solution, with 94% of marketing, legal, and compliance specialists agreeing that an AI-based tool capable of intelligently scanning and highlighting marketing content for compliance and brand risks would enhance the review process.
Among the benefits they hoped to gain from AI, 36% wanted automated checks for standard content like disclaimers, sources, and terms and conditions. However, concerns over the technology still lingered, with 31% of respondents worrying that it wouldn’t be able to review all their content and that it wouldn’t integrate seamlessly with their existing systems.
“Giving marketing teams the training and tools to consider compliance issues early and often could pave the way towards a more symbiotic partnership,” said Wood. “However, cooperation is paramount and both sides agree that they need to work together more efficiently to improve the business and help it meet its overall goals. That means having constructive conversations – and it could also mean using AI-driven technology to enhance processes by focusing on automation and standardisation.”
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