Insurance#Insurance companies
An insurer (also: insurance operation outdated, underwriting agent ), commonly known as insurance, is the party of an insurance contract, granted the insurance coverage. In an insurance contract, several parties insurers can be ( co-insurance). The party, the insurance coverage is granted, thus taking insurance, the policyholder.
The insurer must in Germany, Austria and Switzerland always been a company (insurance companies ) be, usually in the form of a company ( insurance company ), a public sector institution (Social Insurance Agency ) and privately organized. In other countries can certainly even individuals, for example in the UK, the names of the Lloyd's of London, his insurer. Legally, any enterprise which is engaged in insurance business, an insurance company. Other financial services ( for example, real estate financing and capitalization transactions of life insurers ) may be used by insurance companies in Germany, Austria and Switzerland will be offered only as a secondary activity or on behalf of others, as an agent for another provider.
- 3.1 organizational forms in Germany
- 3.2 Advocacy
History
Until the 17th century, insurance coverage of individuals or of the guilds was granted. It was not until the mid-17th century brought the first insurance companies. These were mostly specialized in the fire and (sea) transport insurance. The first professional insurance companies were founded on state initiative, the Hamburger Feuerkasse ( 1676 ) and the Berlin Feuersozietät (1718 ). The first working on an actuarial basis of modern life insurers and also the first mutual insurance company was the English Society for Equitable Assurances on Lives and Survivorships ( Equitable Life) ( 1762).
With the advent of the internet, the model of direct insurers began to emerge that offer insurance products online. Previously, there had been some efforts to offer insurance through vending machines instead of insurance agents that have been overtaken by technological developments.
State Control
Because of their central economic role are insurance companies, such as banks, in all economically developed states special state control.
Germany
The central provision in federal law is the law on the supervision of insurance companies ( Insurance Supervision Act - VAG ). The VAG regulates, among other things, approval, business, legal forms, investments and oversight. Competent supervisory authority is the Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (BaFin ), specialist responsible ministry is the Ministry of Finance. Such laws and authorities there are in most other states.
In Germany, 626 insurance companies and pension funds are authorized for general business ( as of September 2013).
Europe
Due to European law rules are subject to insurance company based in another Member State of the European Community or party to the European Economic Area who are represented in another member state or EEA only through a branch or operate the insurance business in services directly from abroad, limited to the national supervisory. Insurance companies domiciled in other countries are permitted to distribute in the member states or EEA insurance business only offices which are regulated as insurance companies domiciled in the State. For certain commercial insurance classes and exceptions for pure reinsurance simplifications.
Organization
Organizational forms in Germany
In Germany, the insurance business only in the legal form of a mutual insurance association, the corporation or the institution or public corporation (see: Public insurers ) are operated. In addition, there is the principle of separation of lines: life, health, and the rest of the property and casualty insurance business must be run strictly by each legally independent insurance companies. If the legal expenses insurance is operated by a property and casualty insurer, at least, claims processing must be performed by a legally independent company. The separation of lines, the Group formation result, since only so all types of insurance can be offered from a single source. Those who complete a life, a health and liability insurance, for example, with his insurance broker, has signed three contracts with three different, legally independent insurance companies in reality.
Advocacy
The Germany-based private insurance companies have joined forces in the Federation of the German Insurance Association ( GDV). The Swiss Insurance Association (SIA) represents the interests of insurance companies in Switzerland. The insurance companies in Austria are organized in the Association of Austrian Insurance ( VVÖ ).
Marketing and Sales
A comparable with consumer goods companies marketing was in the insurance industry not to be found in many markets in Europe until the mid- 90s. In particular, the deregulation of markets, competition has become more intense and more demanding clients, and not least the lucrative pension market forced the professionalization of insurance marketing.
Starting point for the systematic market development are methods of market segmentation and risk segmentation in the course reinforced market research activities and better technical possibilities - a new dimension - such as data mining tools.
Insurance products are already beyond the requirements of the traditional underwriting and classical condition and collective works. The range of value added services (eg, in the form of assistance services ) is increasing. Targeted products (for example, certain groups of employees, customers in certain stages of life ) have become increasingly important. Insurance companies are increasingly cooperating with industry in the development of technology-based product innovations ( for example in the automobile insurance market). The role of advertising is to assess widely depending on the type of insurance company. Large organizations exclusive control over the advertising is above all known degrees of sympathy values and images. For the direct insurer advertising beyond is often necessary to especially emphasize certain specific product features, affordable premiums and positive test results. Greatest significance in the insurance industry of sales promotion. For the general population, the reading of policy conditions is not familiar or everyday affair. Underwriting and - legal ways of thinking seem unusual. Traditional tools of sales promotion, such as brochures, sales manuals and posters in shop windows and on the sales floor and sellers competitions are now complemented by a variety of other instruments.
Of special significance is the distribution in the insurance industry. In the field of non-life insurance sales through agents, which are bonded to only one insurance company, the so-called exclusive distribution or Einfirmenvertreter has a special meaning. Exclusivity organizations traditionally benefit from the exceptional closeness to customers in regional and personally. The high product-specific consulting expertise, good accessibility and temporal flexibility of the agents has traditionally been particularly important for young families and professionals as an employee.
Insurance brokers are different from agents by the insurer independent organizations that are looking on behalf of the customer the best solution on the market and check carefully by objective standards. Unlike salaried representatives of insurance companies can choose independently operating agents from a wide variety of products for your customers, depending on which target groups representing the core target group is are marketing and sales concepts of insurance brokers very different. Wealthy private clients, freelancers and professionals especially appreciate medium-sized insurance brokers because of their counseling services from a single source. Although the target group of medium-sized insurance broker usually does not examine in depth insurance, the customer's order for the broker is a challenge because of the hedging needs higher and more complex than in the case of a " retail clients ". In order ready at any time to have all the information in the complex market and can advise clients optimally and individually, a majority of insurance a broker pool such as the Fund for Financial Broker Service, Jung DMS, BCA or similar includes and preserves access to a variety of companies and sales support services. Industrial companies have very specific requirements and provide some of the highest standards of consulting and negotiating skills of the broker. They will usually take the services of an industrial insurance broker to complete.
Multi-level marketing are characterized traditionally by a strong focus on customer acquisition. Long-term success are primarily those multi-level marketing organizations that have developed specific targeted products and consistently use in product marketing by a good knowledge management network benefits.
E -commerce technologies are being used more in the future. Its market share of the total sales channels will, however, do not rise significantly in all EU countries. In Germany, only a very moderate increase is expected in the next few years, while in Scandinavian countries, the Internet plays a very important role for certain classes of business today. Nevertheless, it is - regardless of the countries under market - assumed an increased importance of the Internet in early sales stages and in the area of services. In the area of social media, insurance companies, however, are still under-represented. A study has shown that insurers have not yet recognized the potential of Web 2.0 and, therefore, often the target of attacks are reputation (see AIG).
Annex distributors and cooperation models in the marketing of insurance products, for example in the automotive industry are now in high demand. Insurance benefits are important value-added services for industrial and commercial enterprises, which in almost all sectors in an intense competition are.
The implementation of the EU Mediation Directive applies to the marketing and distribution practices of the individual agent types in very different degrees. Large exclusive organizations, established brokerage firms and listed structure sales organizations met in general, the requirements of the Directive even before their implementation into national law. More difficult is the situation for many smaller insurance brokers and multi-level marketing organizations, as well as for multi-company representative and part-time mediator.
A new form of distribution of insurance is the online consultation. There gets the user searches for an appointment a wealth of information through a personal consultation via the Internet to personal insurance for all groups of people.