Area Manager - Agriculture at Santam Insurance

Job description

Position Details

Position Description

An exciting opportunity exists for a Area Manager (Agriculture) position in Bethal, Mpumalanga.

The Area Manager role is focused on the retention and profitable growth of allocated portfolios through developing and management of strong crop relationships directly with the client and internal business partners.

Portfolio Growth

Key Responsibilities

• Identify new potential clients/brokers.
• Develop competition and market intelligence.
• Provide input into the broker business by sharing analysis and compile and manage broker’s client prospect list.
• Preparing and delivering quotes (direct and through broker.)
• Identify and facilitate opportunities to be part of industry forums and events.
• Senior Relationship Manager also assists Regional Manager on regional level.
• Grow the portfolio through direct sales and through brokers.

• Area Management
• Execute relationship management with brokers and clients.
• Attend/handle meetings with brokers to discuss performance statistics and growth.
• Understand the business opportunities in the area, client segmentation.
• Attend to ad hoc queries and resolution of issues from brokers and clients.
• Promote Santam through marketing activities to broker, clients and the community.
• Portfolio management:
• Assist in developing the sales strategy for the area and/or the region.
• Identify broker training needs.
• Manage realised rate levels according to minimum and target rates.
• Identify cross and up selling opportunities.
• +B2* Monitor crop profitability.
• Business planning:
• Contribution/participate/prepare in preparation of area reports and presentations (can be regional as well at a senior level).
• Assist/drive profitability by improved cost management (commission, management expenses, assessment cost).
• Assist in /producing analysis of existing clients and segments.
• Provide input to marketing ideas.
• Identify opportunities to market the brand, budget to spend on events, invite the brokers, participate.
• Analysis of existing clients and segments.
• Loss assessments:
• Performing assessments
• Manage part-time assessors
• Train assessors in collaboration with technical insurance services
• Performing control/inspection assessments and with re-assessments where complaints are logged on assessments
• Distribution channel management:
• Advise broker on appropriate channel selection.
• Take ownership and manage channel solution implementation at broker level.
• Manage Sales function such as above mandate quotes (large quotes) channel conflict or under quoting, NQR, etc.
• Claims Resolution
• Conducting claims estimates on allocated business/portfolio.
• Facilitate resolution of queries at any point of claim by understanding end-to-end claims process (registration, assessment, settlement, repudiation, dispute handling, etc.).
• Interpret policy wordings against claim situations.
• Analyse and report on claims drivers affecting portfolio growth and profit such as frequency, average cost per claim (acpc), severity etc.
• Manage ex gratia requests by assessing merits (loss against policy cover, policy and broker history) and create business case for management consideration.
• Maintain close network relationships with claims handlers, assessors etc.
• Internal Networking
• Build relationship with Business support and Insurance support facilitating resolution of queries and issues with claims.
• Contract and monitor service levels with support units.
• Build effective working relationships with RM; RU; assessors; advisors.
• Attending and participating in quarterly Distribution planning meetings.
• Manage escalations, exceptions and service interruptions in the different channels.
• Crops
• Understand the climatic needs for each crop, as well as the genetic differences between cultivars.
• Able to distinguish problems regarding weeds, diseases, nutrition, insects etc.
• Farming methods:
• Understand the need for and effective use of equipment and machinery.

Minimum Requirements

• Grade 12
• H Dip in Agriculture / Degree (preferably with Horticulture as subject)
• FAIS compliance – 60 credits, C/L, 30 credits P/L
• Drivers license
• RE 1

Experience

2 – 3 years specialised Crop experience from Entry level.

Skills

• Business management
• Negotiation
• Sales
• Conflict management
• Presentation skills
• Writing skills

Competencies

• Analytical thinking
• Information seeking
• Conceptual thinking
• Drive for results
• Initiative
• Integrity
• Emotional self-control