Three secrets behind a successful business year
Unpacking The Unisure Group’s prioritisation of service delivery, skills, and staff
Businesses and industries across the world have all needed to adapt to new consumer and employee mindsets, but in the midst of the pandemic, some industries have been perfectly placed to make an even greater impact.
One such industry is Group Risk in the UK. It’s enjoying increased recognition from employers for the financial and emotional value that Group Risk products bring, particularly at a time when health and financial wellbeing is so firmly in the spotlight.
In May this year, GRiD released a report1 revealing that employer-sponsored Group Risk benefits in the UK paid record claims (£2.01bn) to employees in 2020. Group Life assurance policies alone paid out total benefits to the value of £1.37 billion, showing an increase of £199.78 million when compared with 2019.
It’s no coincidence that The Unisure Group launched a new UK Group Life division in the middle of this year. The timing was strategic, and the division entered the market with a bang, although Unisure’s Group Deputy Executive Chairman, Stephen Conway, acknowledges that the local competition remains very active.
“All insurers in the UK are looking for ways to enhance their offering and differentiate themselves from the competition,” he says. “Our UK Group Life offering is new to the marketplace. We believe we have our pricing right, and we are competitive in the SME and intermediary space, so what really differentiates us is our service delivery, sticking to what we’re good at and the high calibre of staff we employ.”
Service delivery is our strength
“Service delivery is about action, not words,’” Stephen explains. “It’s easy to say we’re good at providing world-class Group Life insurance solutions, but the proof is in how quickly you get an enquiry in and how quickly you turn it around.”
At Unisure Group, we rely on brokers and financial intermediaries to sell our products. Because we understand that time is money for our strategic partners, we aim to deliver our UK quotes within 24 hours, well ahead of industry norms. Understanding the immense pressure that intermediaries are under to deliver to their clients, and not expecting them to chase on quotes, is one aspect of our service delivery promise that really sets us apart.
Sticking to what we’re good at
Another quality that sets us apart is our core skill set and focusing on constantly improving that core skill set. He’s confident that the renewal and retention rates of Unisure’s business this year, which are very good by industry standards, will continue into 2022.
“I think we owe a lot of our success to sticking to what we know, and continuously improving upon and refining our core product offering. In other words, we don’t get distracted by shiny things,” he explains with a laugh. “Our strategy is to keep servicing our current distribution base and to grow our distribution base. So far, that strategy has served us well.”
Staff
The third cornerstone of Unisure’s success, Stephen explains, is keeping ahead of the curve with employment.
“We’ve prioritised finding the right people and support teams to keep our delivery where we need it to be. Our UK Group Life underwriting team bring with them over 30 years’ collective experience, and they work in the same office as our International Group Life division.”
“The fact that we have a skilled team that is able to service domestic, as well as international Group Risk benefits, is a big drawcard for us, particularly for UK clients that operate in multiple territories and want to offer all employees the same level of benefit structures.”
The fact that 2021 was a year of growth, launching new divisions, and hiring new teams for Unisure is a privilege, particularly in a time when Deloitte2 has reported that insurers across Europe have implemented furloughs (60%), layoffs (59%), and freezes on promotions (62%).
Our business strategy is driven by three core pillars: People, passion and partners. Without the talented teams that help us run our daily business; without the passion, we all have to make a difference and positively contribute towards the impact that Group Benefit Solutions can have on businesses, their bottom lines and their employees; and without the valued partners and intermediaries that help us grow the Unisure brand, both locally and internationally, we wouldn’t be celebrating 2021 and looking optimistically towards 2022.
For more information on how we can help your company set up Group Life and Group Business Protection policies for your employees, visit https://www.unisuregroup.com/uk-group-benefit-solutions/.
Sources:
- GRiD, Employer-sponsored Group Risk Benefits pay record claims to employees during 2020
- Deloitte, 2021 Insurance Outlook
- Stephen Conway, Unisure Group Deputy Executive Chairman, Interview, 15 September 2021.