ACE Insurance South Africa, a provider of specialist insurance, has appointed Gary Jack as its new manager of Accident and Health Division. With multiple distributions to look after, Jack’s particular focus in the near future will be finding new ways of marketing to a select customer base.
Formerly the Underwriting Manager, Jack has close to 10 years industry experience to draw on as he seeks to position his division as the leader in its field.
Having begun his career in the long term insurance sector with Alexander Forbes Financial Services, Jack moved into the short term arena in 2005, taking a position at what was then AIG. He holds a B.Com from the former Rand Afrikaans University, as well as Post Graduate and Advanced Post Graduate degrees in Financial Planning from the University of the Free State.
He provides some insight into the ACE Insurance offerings: “At the moment, we have three core distributions within Accident & Health. Firstly, we offer group schemes to the corporate market sold through brokers, secondly we offer bespoke affinity programmes and finally,we have direct marketing.
Noting that the environment has become tougher in recent times in the field of outbound marketing, Jack says a struggling economy, coupled with a more educated consumer, means insurers have to add clear and sound value. “One of my first considerations will therefore be how we can diversify and find other ways of accessing our customers,” Jack says.
On the corporate side, ACE is performing well. Jack says the company continues to grow, and with its affinity programmes, remains on the lookout for opportunities to work with new partners.
Commenting on the current economic situation, Jack believes the worst is over and anticipates a gradual recovery through 2010, contributing to organic growth for the insurance industry. “It is a difficult environment where disposable income is in short supply for the consumer; insurance is on the front line of expenses that people like to cut. At the same time, more of those who already have policies are either cancelling them or their payments are lapsing,” he notes.
He indicates that the best way for his division to overcome these current industry-wide issues is to remain tightly focused on its existing customers while also seeking other means and mediums for tackling this space. “It is all about being innovative in terms of both our products and our approaches to the market.”