When Simon Parrish (pictured), SME & corporate partner underwriting manager at Allianz Insurance, first joined the SME team of this global insurer in May 2019, he found it a real eye-opener to see the fantastic work being done to drive the customer proposition forward in this sector.
In an interview with Insurance Business, Parrish detailed how this team recently had the opportunity to review its operations which led to the creation of two new roles within its SME business, filled by Anneke Graham as SME portfolio manager and Mark Josephs as SME insight manager.
Speaking on these appointments, Parrish, who has been with Allianz since 2008 and for the entirety of his insurance career, highlighted his belief that good ideas propagate through a business by moving people from team to team. While it is also valuable to bring in external hires due to the fresh perspective that they offer, he said, the retention of talent is key.
“We have a culture within Allianz that pervades through all our different teams,” he said. “To be able to keep talented people like Mark and Anneke in the business by creating pathways for them with broader responsibilities, I think is critical for engagement within the wider team. I’m delighted in this case that we have been able to do that.”
The appointment of Anneke and Mark, Parrish said, ensures that the focus of the SME team remains centrally on data analytics and portfolio management going forward. This emphasis on data analytics is precipitated, he said, at a fundamental level by the drive to secure the future of Allianz’s SME customers’ businesses.
When it comes to SME customers people often simplify them into a relatively homogenous group, Parrish said, but, in reality, they tend to be quite diverse and they often have very complex needs. Data enables a greater understanding of the customers themselves and how their businesses operate, he said.
“Data allows us to also understand the effectiveness of our touch points with customers and partners,” he said, “and the effectiveness of our pricing. It’s really the lifeblood of our business and we have more of it now than ever before.”
There are a wide variety of exciting developments in the way insights can be gained from data and integrated within a decision-making process, Parrish said, and he highlighted examples including artificial intelligence, optical character recognition and robotic process automation. As part of the Allianz group, he said, the SME sector UK business has the benefit of utilising shared experiences from the over 70 countries in which the group operates.
“This focus on innovative use of data isn’t new for us, it’s something we’ve always done,” he said, and described how this digital journey has been enabled by a dedicated team of underwriters which support brokers in achieving the best possible premium and coverage for their customers.
In 2016, he outlined, Allianz led the way in removing the average condition in its wordings to protect customers in the instance of accidental under-insurance. SME customers, in particular, he stated, may not have the expertise within their businesses to understand insurance policies and contracts, and so it is essential to protect them should such a mistake occur.
The pace of change within the SME sector is incredible, Parrish said, and for Allianz, which has been developing its capabilities in this space for many years, examining how its own processes have changed over the last five years is evidence that there is room to continue developing at a rapid rate.
The growing focus on customer value is a particularly important change Parrish has noticed during his time within the sector, and he believes that data and analytics will offer new insights into where value can be added for customers and insurance partners.
“[Customer centricity] is a fundamental part of our strategy,” he said. “The customer must be at the heart of everything that we do. We have to really challenge ourselves, and we do, on everything that we are doing on a day to day basis – if it doesn’t sum up to deliver customer value, then we could probably be spending our time doing better things.”
Looking to 2020, Parrish said, a core growth area for the SME sector will involve looking at how it can position itself with regards to emerging trends across the industry, particularly when it comes to increasing the footprint of its automated underwriting. The SME business has ambitious growth plans in respect to targeting new segments within the account, he said, and is looking to build new partnerships within the insurance market.
