Ellipse raises money for Comic Relief

Ellipse had its very own Comic Relief day yesterday (a day early, but we pride ourselves on being ahead of the pack). Everyone came to work in their jeans (and tops!) and the best bakers of the bunch made cakes, slices of which were on sale. Rather creatively for an insurance company you could also purchase fairy cakes which you then had to decorate yourself. Needless to say none of them looked that good in the end.....

Our CEO John Ritchie challenged the sportsmen of the company to wear a rival teams shirt. The cost of refusal was to match the value of the money raised to get them in the shirt! (You try getting a Scotsman into an England shirt and see how much he is willing to pay not to do it!)

In total £241.31 was raised for Comic Relief.

Hello, good evening and welcome...to the possibility of compulsory income protection

First time I've seen anyone outside the industry suggesting incentives should be given for employers who provide IP.  If it's followed through it puts a big responsibility on providers to get the delivery of IP right.

http://www.dwp.gov.uk/newsroom/press-releases/2011/feb-2011/dwp022-11.shtml

http://www.ifaonline.co.uk/cover/news/2034148/incentives-address-poor-employee-protection

Armageddon the feeling we've been here before...

So, as widely anticipated, the ECJ have ruled that insurance premium rates must be the same for men and women.  It's the end of insurance as we know it. 

Well boo-hoo.  It might be a daft decision, but I suspect anyone old enough to remember the removal of LAPR and MIRAS will feel disinclined to waste their energy in wailing or teeth-gnashing.  There have always been 'bombshells' and the industry has always - and will again - evolve and adapt.

Cheers for the feedback...especially the criticism!

In week 2 in February we surveyed all advisers using our on line group life and CI quotes process to get some further feedback on ease of use and competitiveness. 75% of respondents indicated that we are competitive. 61% gave Strongly Positive responses on competitiveness, 8, 9 or 10 on a ten point scale.  On ease of use, 83% were Positive, 50% Strongly Positive.   

We have acted on early feedback and are now changing some screens particularly on data upload processes.   Thanks for the feedback.  

Smooth the flow

For finance managers with a December year-end, January can be a long and busy month. As well as keeping stakeholders informed on performance, putting together the accounts and preparing for audits, we hopefully have a realistic budget in place for the coming year.

During these uncertain economic times the need to control costs and cash is forefront in the minds of all managers, not just the finance professional.

Costs such as office service charges, healthcare costs and group risk insurance premiums can be difficult to manage as it’s often the case that actual costs for the year are not known until the end of the billing period, when an under or over charge is calculated.

Ellipse’s processes ensure our client billing reflects the cover in a more dynamic way. Our clients can choose to provide us with updated employee data, monthly, quarterly or annually. By opting for more frequent updates the client advises us of salary changes, leavers and joiners when they occur rather than at the end of year, meaning they pay for the cover they have as close as possible to the period they have it.

When a lot of companies are downsizing and making changes to their workforce, the chance to have this reduced cost reflected in insurance premiums earlier rather than later is a definite plus. If your scheme is ’unit rated’ and your workforce has got younger and smaller in the rate guarantee period you will be paying too much – sometimes quite a bit too much.
It seems a bit counterintuitive to say that providing data quarterly will mean less work. But providing data close to the point where it is current is easy; providing it at a date in the past is always a chore.

All this begs the question, why run your budget and forecast your cash flow blindfolded when you no longer have to?

How did you celebrate the DRA exemption?

Probably without the panache of these lads from FC Stjarnan,  

but whether you just breathed a sigh of relief or threw an all-night party it’s certainly a positive start to 2011 for all of us in the group risk market.  The nightmare scenario of businesses, faced with huge liabilities, scrapping their group benefits altogether has been averted.

The Government’s decision should ensure that employers continue to make group risk benefits an integral part of employees’ welfare packages. With the prospect of the long-term dilution of state benefits, it’s all the more important that the Government encourages businesses to pick up the slack, and avoids regulation which will discourage group benefits provision in the workplace.

Collective thanks are due to the Regs team at GRiD for taking the case for the exemption to Government so effectively.

Analysis – Aussie style

Tidying up my notes from a November conference in Sydney and pining for their coastal golf courses – they may be having horrible weather in Queensland but it’s still summer down there – I found a note I made of an exchange between two advisers.  (Yes, they sledge at life insurance seminars too.)

When the speaker was challenged on his aggressive advocacy of straight-through processing and automated underwriting, he came straight back with “Look, why let an insurer’s poor process cost you money ?”

As we emerge from the Christmas/New Year hibernation into a new business year where adviser productivity will remain a big issue, have a think about what you and your support staff do in your processes.  Questioning whether activities are just habits that are a by-product of the way this business is usually done and looking at where you can trim elapsed time and squeeze operational risk out of your business too may be a good way to start the year.               

If you do what you always did, you’ll get what you always got.  Wise words, mate.

PS This is the bit where I want you to watch our video to see whether our approach might be a help.