Intermediary businesses have had to navigate significant disruption over several years across technology systems, economic pressures on existing and potential insurance clients which include, but are not limited to, crime and inflation resulting in patterns of altered consumer behaviour. In addition, there have been other contributing factors which have created further pressure ranging from climate change to regulatory requirements.

These disruptions have become a regular occurrence that require intermediaries adapt and acquire skills that enable them to manage uncertainty through emergence, creativity, problem solving and critical thinking. While these skills have been highlighted as key factors for success, a systems upgrade is required to equip intermediary businesses to hedge against future disruption; and to empower individuals and organisations to navigate uncertainty with a whole awareness. To this cocktail we must include systemic thinking to ensure regenerative and agile businesses.

Dr C. Otto Scharmer, senior lecturer at MIT Management Sloan, co-founder of the Presencing Institute and chair of the MIT IDEAS program for cross-sector innovation points out that “Yes, you can fool people; yes, you can be in denial — some of the time. But if you put yourself and your country on a profound collision course sooner or later that reality will bite back.” He highlights what Dr. Adrian Saville refers to as the three C’s which he expresses he is “deeply invested in”.

While Scharmer points out the divide that exists between individuals and society, self and the earth’s natural resources, Saville emphasizes and supports the premise that these elements all co-exist and that we cannot have one without the other. In essence, a healthy community, prosperous country and a successful company are inextricably intertwined.

Professor of Economics, business leader and CEO, Saville brings home the message that there is evidence to support the fact that there is a direct correlation between country success and company success. “If your country is in trouble, your company is in trouble and South Africa is in real trouble.” He articulates that basic economic literacy and an understanding of the three C’s is the nexus to enable a paradigm shift in the way we do business and service our clients for businesses that are resilient in the face of historical success and future sustainability.  

“Once the community is dead the business is dead. A headline we are asleep to is that over the last 10 years South Africa’s per capita income growth is 0%. We are in the exact same position we were in 10 years ago. Corporate bottom line earnings growth adjusted for inflation is also 0%. This is a story of sleepwalking – and the only way out is to wake up. Industries are being disrupted by service providers and products that give consumers purpose; and behavioural models and impact models are driving innovation. What behavioural and impact models are intermediaries exploring, learning or implementing to hedge their business against future disruption?" asks Saville.

While some intermediaries are exploring mergers and acquisitions to hedge against future disruption, a critical business analysis across key areas may be justified and beneficial.

1.   Getting the product or service RIGHT.

While the country faces increased crime, clients need to trust, know and depend on the product and service they pay for at a time when they need it most. “We regularly speak to our brokers and encourage our brokers to speak to clients. It’s important to remain fully engaged, present and aware of what your employees, service providers and clients experience about your business, product and service. Feedback and being open to receiving it is a critical in making informed and strategic business decisions that guide your next step,” suggests MUA’s CEO, Dawie Loots.

Claims can be considered a window to the industry and shows clients that we deliver on what we promise.  “How we show up in a claim is crucial to client retention and referral business,” highlights Charmaine Koch, MUA’s strategic thinking partner and CPD content creator. The industry has observed that personal lines clients, even high net-worth individuals are often left in the hands of inexperienced junior staff once their policy has been incepted, and the value of cross selling and retention is then severely reduced.

“It’s important that you know what is happening in your business and the community or system that your business is operating within. Getting out there and speaking directly to various acupuncture points in your ecosystem is important because this equips you with insights to create and make decisions that can have long-lasting positive impacts in your business. How do you know if you’re going in the right direction if you don’t ask for feedback to determine your direction? Asking the tough questions is a courageous, bold yet wise business decision to make. You’ll end up going nowhere slowly and end up with a business that is left no choice but to merge or sell to another in order to resuscitate and stay alive.” highlights Saville as to why product as well as service reviews are important, but it’s what you do with it that sets you apart from the rest of your competitors. On this note, having studied the performance of thousands of companies across all major industries and key markets, Saville observers that a key feature of successful businesses is there “bottom up” behavior, meaning they get insight and industry intelligence by listening carefully to customers and take guidance from “constant coalface information”. In a phrase, they are in “always on” listening mode.    

2.   Marketing and promotion

Staying relevant to your clients is important as we look at the South African landscape as well as market research. Findings point to the fact that clients still have a limited understanding of insurance which presents an opportunity to market and promote the services and benefits of consulting with and having an intermediary as a thinking partner to effectively manage risks. Little attention is paid to marketing and promotional efforts. This will become increasingly important in a cluttered and competitive environment that demands your organisation demonstrates its commitment to its community and country.

“Our MUA Strategic Entrepreneurship program is focused on picking up on opportunities to develop and grow a business portfolio in various ways to diversify an intermediary’s offering to clients, making them indispensable. Our brokers are telling us what they need and the skills they need to acquire and we’re strategically identifying partners to co-create this content as a step and an action that enables momentum for an intermediary business to progress forward.” highlights Michelle Ashen who co-hosts the global education macro hub and is a facilitator of change within the Presencing Institute’s community.

3.   Talent

The World Economic Forum’s Future of Jobs 2020 report highlights that most companies have put talent development on hold during the pandemic and that employees need to initiate and nurture their own skills development. Human capital can be either a liability or an asset to hedge against future disruption.

“We have spent the past 18 months conducting research with our brokers to understand their challenges and threats as an opportunity for us to explore solutions that not only address their concerns, but strengthen the sustainability of their business as well as our partnership in a challenging economic climate. They have identified specific skills to be developed as well as highlighted the need for industry insights that can support their client acquisition and retention strategies. We have come to appreciate that while skills development can be an expensive investment, ignorance is more costly. The pandemic has revealed that we cannot keep doing the same thing and expecting a different or even better outcome,” says Loots.

Intermediaries should be upgrading not only their technology systems and operating models, but talent capabilities to resolve an expected exodus in baby boomers and a widening skills gap to appropriately address emerging risks, societal and economic challenges that continue to plague the insurance industry.

How do you future proof your business during these economic times?

• Don’t depend on one part of your business for complete success.

An intermediary business is a system. “We need to look at a brokerage as a human cell. A cell is made up of various departments that provide different elements for the energy we need to grow, the information storing and gathering, the transaction and communication between various internal departments to the environment that needs to be nurtured. If one aspect of that cell does not work efficiently the entire cell and system collapses, this is inevitable but also predictable. This is whole awareness and systemic thinking in action.” says Koch.

Intermediaries should explore a diverse offering of services as well as diversification of their business. Again, drawing on the evidence from thousands of companies across industries, Saville notes that “thrivers” display two core features that relate to diversification: they are willing to explore and experiment, and if they find traction, the push into new avenues; and they innovate at every level of the business, from new ideas to new markets. Some of the standout examples include companies that have been born out of “dead” industries; Fujifilm, which is alive and thriving, is a great case in point. 

• Rethink your past strategies that may fail to engage new customers.

The familiar quote “What got you here, won’t take you there” is a reminder that the strategies that you used to acquire an existing base of clients may not be useful to acquire new clients in the future. Reflecting on the past is just as important as talking to potential new clients and must be balanced to remain relevant and responsive to the environment.

• Predict the future demands today.

Your clients can’t always tell you what they want, you must anticipate it. This needs some imagination and experience with the trends of the industry you work in.

• Identify & start managing risks.

You won’t be able to predict the problems that might occur in the future, but you can take steps to better prepare yourself. First, we need to find the risks or possible points of failure with our business. These risks are wide ranging and can include people, systems, business processes, legal compliance and data security. You are the best person to identify the risks in your business and take measures to mitigate them, that’s why employee engagement and sensing journeys could be a useful exercise. Another important point, often ignored, is data security. Data is everything and if you lose it, you run the risk of going out of business.

• Listen to clients & observe their behavior.

Business owners are so busy that they completely forget their main stakeholder – the client. To future proof your business, you need to identify changes in consumer behavior and its impact on your service offering. Consumer behaviour and critical thinking skills are becoming increasingly important as a necessary contribution to hedging against future disruption according to the latest WEF’s Future of Jobs 2020 report.

• Follow the trends in developed countries.

To stay ahead in the game, you must regularly track what’s happening in other developed countries related to your industry. There are numerous online research reports that can provide you with this information. You can even create a Google Alert on the topic of your interest.

• Watch for influencing factors surrounding your business.

“You must be intentional about listening and being aware of the developments happening around you even if those are not related to your industry.” advises Koch. Consider how smartphones killed the camera industry, climate change and how corruption is affecting our economic recovery. With faster internet, consumer habits changed dramatically, and it affected many different businesses. You need to watch out for such influencing factors that can indirectly impact your business.

• Create Favorable environment for innovation

To foster the culture of innovation, create a favorable environment for it by giving your employees freedom to experiment.

Things are changing fast in today’s business scenario and even a successful business cannot guarantee its survival if it’s not prepared for the future. “Organisations need to co-create microeconomic systems across industries to support macroeconomic growth for mesoeconomic impact.” observes Ashen.

“The financial services industry needs to support one another not just with words, but through its actions. We are hosting webinars and working with brokers who want to experiment with new ideas to grow and sustain their business. It’s not enough to host a webinar and share insights, it’s about what we do after that really makes the difference in how we build a sustainable future. We’re inviting all brokers across South Africa to take the next step with MUA alongside with them as a thinking partner who cares.” offers Ashen as her closing comments for brokers to reflect on.

“While disruption continues to be the norm of our reality, these landmines present us with an opportunity to stop what we’re doing for just a moment to reflect on where to from here knowing that the destination is not a journey one can do without collective effort for the benefit of our community, company and country.” advises Saville.

“Your success is our success!” concludes Loots.

All brokers are invited to enjoy free CPD content on www.acdevelop.co.za co-created with expert thinking partners like AC Develop and produced by MUA Insurance Acceptances (Pty) Ltd in support of the industry and skills development for the benefit of insurance clients. If you do not have a profile, you’re invited to email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. with the reference MUA FIA in the subject of your email and one will be created for you. This article has been CPD approved and is accompanied with a webinar and teachings on Theory U, liminal thinking and economic literacy. Enjoy!