Case Study: How do independent financial advisers rate Sanlam?
SBG Securities conducted a survey in September 2018 with 52 short-term and 72 long-term insurance independent financial advisors (IFAs) in South Africa.
Sanlam was identified as the top long-term insurer. This was inter alia based on Sanlam having the best overall persistency experience. The Sanlam Group was ranked highly on all service and marketing metrics, but the sales process was identified as an area for improvement of user experience. Initiatives, including digital innovation, that will address the shortcomings are in various stages of development.
The survey also asked the IFAs to rate insurers according to which company they would opt to join if they were to become tied agents. Sanlam was the chosen company, likely based on its recent rating on broker support and sales volume growth.
A further insight from the survey was that all insurers appeared to be selling less than in 2017, which is a sign that the sales environment has not improved materially.
The results substantiated that Sanlam has seen superior sales performance through good broker support and administration practices.
According to SBG Securities, the results also give credence to some of the recent strategic decisions made by management – particularly the acquisition of BrightRock, which expands Sanlam’s technology-enabled solutions.
In the short-term insurance survey, Santam ranked highest on nearly all fronts.