The Tribune

By NEIL HARTNELL

Tribune Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

Bahamas First’s top executive yesterday reassured that its new online insurance portal will “not marginalise” agents and brokers, and had been created “in lock step” with the law and regulations.

Patrick Ward, its president and chief executive, told Tribune Business that the BISX-listed property and casualty underwriter had been “very careful” to ensure First Online did not breach the Domestic Insurance Act’s prohibition on ‘direct selling’ to consumers by carriers.

It had achieved this, he explained, by integrating Bahamas First’s agents and brokers into the online platform such that all clients must either select their existing intermediary or choose a new one before they can complete paying for either a new policy or a renewal.

In that way, Mr Ward said the underwriter’s existing agent portfolio will not miss out on any fee or commission income while clients will still effectively have to purchase all general insurance policies through an intermediary as required by law.

Asked by this newspaper whether First Online would violate the bar on ‘direct selling’ to consumers by underwriters, the Bahamas First chief denied this and said: “We looked at this very carefully.

“If you go on to the portal and attempt to use it for registration, to access policies online or get a quote for new business or a renewal, the process requires you to select your existing agent or identify a new agent to do business with as the case may be.

“You cannot really progress or use the functionality of the system to pay for a policy without selecting an agent before you actually complete,” Mr Ward continued. “In the development stages of this we have very close collaboration with our agents to ensure they were part of the process and we were in lock-step with the regulations.

“We think this benefits the agencies and the consumer..... We’re providing the marketplace with more efficiency and the end-consumer with more opportunity to engage 24 hours a day, seven days per week and 365 days a year and, at the same time, maintain the integral of agents throughout the process.

“It’s not intended to marginalise the role of agents. We regard ourselves as as being very much in the front line of supporting agents and brokers, and this works in lock-step with that process.”

One Bahamas First agent, speaking on condition of anonymity, backed Mr Ward’s assessment. “It does have the appearance of direct selling,” they said, “but if it’s an existing client of a broker that does it, they will remain a client of that broker and they’ll be directed to us.

“We knew about this a couple of years ago. It does have the appearance of direct selling but that’s not the intent. If a client without an existing intermediary goes into purchase cover they’ll be given a list of brokers and agents to select from.

“They aren’t selling direct, but it does have the appearance on the outside. They told us this some time ago, and we had discussions with them. They have to look to protect their book of business, but they will be growing it through intermediaries.”

Mr Ward, meanwhile, said “a few thousand people” have engaged with First Online since its launch earlier this month, and the platform is set to make its debut with Bahamas First’s Cayman Islands subsidiary in February.

“We were planning to do it prior to the arrival of COVID-19,” he added, “but COVID just demonstrated to us it was something that was absolutely necessary and not something that was nice to have. It accelerated our plans and ultimate decision to proceed in to this direction.

“It’s not cheap, but so far, so good. We’ve had good feedback from clients. A few thousand people have engaged with it, either making inquiries or trying to do a transaction. I think this is unavoidable down the road, whether a company or agent that makes the investment, someone has to do it and take the initiative to be at the forefront of this development.”

Focusing initially on auto and homeowners insurance policies, First Online offers policy quotes, purchases, payment transactions and claim reporting/initiation. Users can engage with support teams by web chat or telephone during normal business hours.

“Self-service is no longer a ‘nice to have’ feature. It has become essential for any business that is serious about customer acquisition and support in the digital age,” said Mr Ward. “This was one of several key lessons that companies around the world learned during the pandemic of 2020.

“First Online is an important milestone in our strategies to build an insurance company for the future and support our agency network’s in-person expert service with an online option driven by technology and data.”

Gina Brooks, Bahamas First’s group manager of innovation, said: “First Online empowers our customers to transact insurance services effortlessly by providing continuous client access without the constraints of time or the client’s location.

“We have invested tremendously in the function of the platform, as well as in support and security, so the public can be confident that we can continue to meet their expectations for secure transactions and high-quality service.”