Case Study 1
Client Need
The client, a large European-based multi-national, was an established general insurer in the Australian market. The client decided it wanted to pursue a strategic entrance into the life market, leveraging its strong brand and existing customer base. RGA approached the client offering assistance via strategic advice, product ideas, electronic underwriting and reinsurance. The goal was to partner with the client as a trusted advisor and help facilitate its market entry with a unique value proposition and competitive advantage.
RGA’s Role
RGA initially designed and facilitated a series of strategy workshops to help the client identify the best operating model and craft its market entry strategy. Following these workshops, RGA worked closely with the client to help execute its strategic initiatives. RGA provided the following key support:
- Designed a unique product suite utilizing preferred underwriting (the first in the market)
- Pushed the boundaries in terms of non-medical limits and face amounts
- Implemented electronic underwriting to enable a cost-efficient and effective operating model, including no manual underwriting in the back-office
- Successfully executed the project by providing project, underwriting, business analysis and technical resources
- Reinsured the resulting product suite
Outcomes
- The life insurance carrier successfully launched a direct-to-consumer product suite including life, critical illness and total and permanent disability
- Face amounts of up to AUD$1.5 million (approximately USD$1.5 million)
- A model that has no medical or blood requirements, and no manual underwriting — a complete “one and done” approach
- A new and exciting direct-to-consumer proposition utilizing both the Internet and call center
- A detailed electronic underwriting process with a complete rule set and flexible decisions achieving around 75% straight-through
- Strong sales results exceeding the life insurance carrier’s production expectation
- Average completion time for the online application process of approximately 12 minutes end-to-end
- A unique policy document and wording resulting in a seven-page product disclosure statement, reduced from around 70 pages for an equivalent policy in the IFA channel
Case Study 2
Client Need
A life insurance carrier needed help developing a competitive high sum insured product for the Italian life insurance market. The client had an existing product targeted at the mass market, and underwriting was completed with a questionnaire because the company and agents perceived underwriting and high premiums to be barriers to writing life insurance business. However, this approach resulted in not properly serving the high sums insured segment.
RGA’s Role
RGA proposed to develop a product for high sum insured for the company's existing product, thus perfectly coexisting with the current reinsurance agreement. RGA developed all of the underwriting rules, in addition to pricing and product design. Due to the high sum insured and the use of a medical report in the underwriting process, RGA was able to propose competitive rates compared to the client's existing product.
RGA worked with the client to develop, analyze and filter various ideas, as well as provide the underwriting approach, product design and pricing. Two years after this initial product launch, RGA also assisted the life insurance carrier in introducing a preferred product with additional disability and critical illness features. RGA also assumed risk along with the life insurance carrier and also trained underwriters and sales agents.
Outcomes
- Created product for niche market where none previously existed
- Initial sales exceeded expectations, with application counts more than double previous counts and premium volume increasing by more than 600%
- These results countered the market’s belief that the underwriting process and larger premium amounts would hinder the sale of high sum insured
- RGA proceeded to work with the life insurance carrier in developing another new preferred term product with disability and critical illness riders to replace all of their term products
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