98% growth of Alborz insurance portfolio this year
Mohsen Purkiani, CEO of Alborz Insurance Company, including the insurance market, stock exchange and bank, can be called the triangle of financial development. In the triangle of financial development, insurance is the basis of confidence that is necessary for the development of both markets. As a result, the triangle remains uninsured, pale and inefficient.
Purkiani says that even in many countries of the world, the bank is used as a short-term and medium-term financing institution, and long-term financing is the responsibility of other institutions, including the insurance industry. You can read the continuation of ISNA’s interview with Mohsen Purkiani, CEO of Alborz Insurance:
* In Iran, the insurance market and the capital market are much smaller than the money market. What do you think should be done to make the insurance market, where you have been for years, more prominent and also to be able to interact with the capital market?
The insurance industry in the world has a penetration rate of about 8 to 12 percent. This penetration rate in our country is about 2%. That is, our industry is one-fifth the size it should be. This means that the industry has not reached where it should be at all and is still very small. This is not true of the country’s banks. Insurance companies and the capital market in our country do not fulfill their duty of financing, and all this duty is on the shoulders of banks, and this is what they say, Iran’s economy is bank-oriented.
What do you know about the most important current challenge of insurance in Iran and the insurance industry?
Everyone can answer this question, but in my opinion, the lack of integrated inter-organizational systems, lack of information exchange between organizations and service institutions in the insurance industry, the lack of rating agencies and risk determination in general are the most important challenges in the insurance industry. It is Iran.
Without an integrated system, the various components of the insurance industry now work separately and without organic connection, thus creating many opportunities for fraud and corruption. As an example and the most obvious is the lack of connection between the country’s health complex and insurance, which creates problems in providing services.
Also, the lack of rating agencies, it will not be possible to properly measure the risk of individuals, when this possibility and this data does not exist, there is no possibility of proper pricing for insurance companies and the result is to impose losses on high-risk individuals to low-risk individuals. This is neither fair nor religious, and it is one of the obstacles that has made the insurance industry in the country not grow as much as it should. God willing, we must move in this direction as well.
* How do you evaluate the structure of insurance in the country and the structure of Alborz insurance? Is this structure optimally designed and agile enough?
The structure of Alborz Insurance was redesigned from the beginning of my presence with an agile approach and also the possibility of providing more desirable and better services to customers. Of course, in order to streamline and facilitate the executive processes in order to provide faster services to customers, more measures should be taken, which is foreseen in the five-year plan set for the company and in the horizon of 1405.
In your opinion, what is the biggest asset of Alborz Insurance?
The trust of the Iranian people is the main asset of Alborz Insurance. I always tell my colleagues that we should not forget that this company is the result of the efforts of our predecessors and the trust of the people. Trust is hard to come by, but easy to lose. With the slightest slip on the part of managers, the slightest mistake on the part of employees, or the slightest failure to provide services, people’s trust is damaged. We are responsible for the trust that people have in this company, that is, in us.
Considering the damage that the Corona virus has caused to the industry and especially to the insurance industry, what measures have you put on the agenda and what effect has this virus had on the amount of the portfolio or the damage of Alborz Insurance Company?
As you are aware, when an outbreak occurs, the first area that is most affected is health insurance, and then, due to the increase in mortality, it is life insurance whose status is questioned, and this is the case in the current crisis. In fact, Quidd creates 19 broad sets of challenges for life insurers. Issues related to business continuity, market shifting and uncertain mortality outlook and… affect the profitability of the field. One aspect to consider is changes in life / death rates and the other aspect is changes in the stock investment sector. In addition to the risks covered by life insurance, the amount of sales and redemption of savings insurance, issuance and insurance processes, as well as premiums received by the insurer are also affected by the current crisis. In health insurance, due to the increase in hospitalized people and also the lack of services, equipment and medicine, Corona has been the most and most direct effect on health insurers. On the other hand, the insured have canceled any treatment and surgery of their choice, from physiotherapy to dentistry. Therefore, referrals to hospitals have decreased sharply and this pattern has been effective in reducing health insurance losses in Iran.
Of course, it is necessary to pay attention to one point along with the harms and problems that Corona created for the country’s insurance industry, and that is to create an approach to use more information-based services and move towards digital transformation in all areas, including export and damages. It was insurance companies. In this regard, Alborz Insurance has prepared a written plan and started measures.
Given the importance of the digital transformation plan in insurance companies, what solutions have you put on the agenda in this regard?
At present, without exaggeration, more than 90% of the company’s administrative activities in the field of headquarters, branches and representatives are carried out in a digital context, and the company is committed to maintaining environmental standards. In addition, launching e-sales in some fields that do not require an initial visit, announcing online damages, issuing referral letters for online health insurance, and…. These are measures that have been taken to reduce the traffic of insurers in the current coronary conditions of the country. In addition, designing software for online inspection of car body damage, online inspection of damage in residential fire insurance and the use of blockchain platform to encourage insurers to buy insurance policies and…. It is on the agenda that, in the hope of God Almighty, they will be prepared in line with the 5-year operational plan and will be operational on the horizon of 1405.
What is the status of Alborz Insurance performance indicators in the six months of 1400?
Alborz Insurance Company with more than 60 years of experience in the field of insurance industry, has been able to maintain its position in the capital market by relying on the reputation and reputation of customers and benefiting from the professional and professional ability of employees and their financial and managerial wealth. . Meanwhile, due to the loss of some insurance fields, Alborz Insurance has tried to adjust the current composition of its portfolio based on the principles of insurance ethics and increase the share of optional and profitable fields and in fields such as freight, engineering, oil and energy and Fire professionally operate. In addition, encouraging agents to sell micro and individual insurance and attracting specialized life insurance agents are among the measures that have been seriously pursued in order to achieve the optimal composition of the company’s portfolio. Accordingly, in the first six months of 1400, Alborz has been able to grow its targeted and controlled portfolio by 98%. It should be emphasized that in addition to the insurance field, Alborz Insurance Company has also achieved very good success in the field of investment, an example of which is the very favorable rate of return in the field of investment.
Given the high rate of return of Alborz Insurance Company in the field of investments, what do you know the reason for this success?
Alborz Insurance in the first six months of 1400 with the approach of maintaining the legal framework and paying attention to the quotas contained in the investment regulations of the Central Insurance of Iran has made investments with a diverse portfolio and use all available capacities. In addition, by benefiting from the opinions of experts in this field in the form of the Investment Council, it has succeeded in increasing the amount of stock market investments, strengthening the field of construction, and also in the field of bank deposits. Of course, profitability in the field of insurance operations has also happened to this company.
Please explain the reasons for the profitability of Alborz Insurance in insurance operations in this period?
One of the reasons for the success of Alborz Insurance is the focus on retail. Alborz Insurance has tried to create a sales organization to sell life insurance and believes that by observing customer-oriented standards, it should increase the level of customer satisfaction Insurers are with Alborz Insurance. In addition, concluding contracts with large companies and providing services to them, such as the Ports and Shipping Organization, the Oil Company and Contractors, and the Transport Association Association Center, based on the scientific and practical ability of Alborz executives and insurance experts, has become possible. Which is a great competitive advantage for the company.
To what extent have you achieved the plans you envisioned for 1400?
This year’s performance forecast was based on the long-term plan prepared in Horizon 1405, the trend of previous years and taking into account the economic and political conditions of the company. According to the performance report of the first six months of the year, the company’s movement is very favorable and we are somewhat beyond the projected plan.
What is the current share of Alborz Insurance Market and do you have any plans to develop this share or not?
Alborz Insurance is currently among the top 4 companies in the market. We believe that the company can maintain its market share only if it expands along with the portfolio of large insurers. Retailing and relying on micro-insurers can bring a stable portfolio to the company. In this regard, the company is trying to activate its representatives in all sectors and areas with written programs, so that at the end of the five-year plan prepared as the leader of the private insurance market in the country.
* Protecting the secrets of insurers and paying damages as soon as possible is one of the legal duties of insurers, if you want to give a score of 100 to the Iranian insurance industry in this regard, what score will you give? How do you assess the situation of Alborz Insurance in this regard?
I do not have any specific information about other insurance companies, but in Alborz Insurance, in terms of the rule and principle of protecting the secrets of insurers, we should not disclose or publish any information about insurers. The information of the insurers is safe for our company and cannot be provided to others unless it is inquired and questioned by the competent legal authorities.
The fact that in some cases with the presence of insurers we deliver the compensation check to the insurer or hold a ceremony in such cases with the knowledge, consent and presence of insurers and the intention of both parties, promoting insurance culture and informing the public To realize the importance of insurance and the consequences of damages.
In Alborz Insurance, the process of handling the damage and paying it to the insurers as a principle of customer orientation and based on the company’s macro policies is done in the shortest possible time and a good score can be considered for this area. Khorasan Razavi, Moheb Hospital and. Are examples of this.
* It is said that life insurance will be one of the most suitable and best-selling insurances in the future. Alborz Insurance has a special program in this field? Advertising in this field is very low these days. Do you have a special program in the field of culture in this field?
Life and savings insurance should be introduced gradually in the country, in Japan, Germany and other countries the major premiums they receive are related to life and savings insurance. When our country’s economy is fluctuating, as a result, it is not possible to push people towards life insurance. The living conditions of the people must find a normal and natural condition in order to lead the people in this direction by creating culture, awareness and propaganda. In general, life insurance is the most important portfolio of insurance companies in the world and it is structurally very different from the country. We are managed.
We will move towards being a leader in life insurance by restructuring, creating life insurance sales management, increasing the number of life representatives, and targeted advertising in this area.