Area Manager at Santam Insurance

Responsible for increasing and protecting the organisations market share in the agricultural segment through a pro-active and planned marketing strategy. Required to attend various public functions, seminars, farmers’ days/shows. Research emerging farmer markets and investigate the feasibility of projects. Responsible to grow the agricultural credit book and provide technical, economic and financial information to the agricultural segment. Responsibilities include promoting crop insurance and assisting and advising brokers in the preparation of competitive insurance quotes.

What will make you successful in this role?

Portfolio Growth

• Identify new potential clients/intermediaries.
• Identify competitors and gather market intelligence.
• Provide input into the broker business by sharing analysis, compile and manage intermediary clients’ prospect list.
• Preparing and delivering quotes (direct and through intermediary).
• 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 intermediaries.

Area Management

• Execute relationship management with intermediaries and clients.
• Attend/handle meetings with intermediaries to discuss performance statistics and growth.
• Understand the business opportunities in the area and client segmentation.
• Attend to ad hoc queries and resolution of issues from intermediaries and clients.
• Promote Santam through marketing activities to intermediaries, clients and the community.

Portfolio Management

• Assist in developing the sales strategy for the area and/ or the region.
• Identify intermediary training needs.
• Manage realised rate levels according to minimum and target rates.
• Identify cross and up-selling opportunities.
• +B2* Monitor crop profitability.

Business Planning

• Contribute/participate/prepare area reports and presentations (can be regional as well as at a senior level).
• Assist/drive profitability by improved cost managements (commission, management expenses, assessment cost).
• Assist in/produce analysis of existing clients and segments.
• Provide input to marketing ideas.
• Identify opportunities to market the brand. Events budget, invite the intermediaries and participate.
• Analyse 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 re-assessments where complaints are logged on assessments.

Distribution Channel Management

• Advise intermediary on appropriate channel selection.
• Take ownership and manage channel solution implementation at intermediary level.
• Manage sales function, 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 intermediary history) and create business cases for management consideration.
• Maintain close network relationships with claims handlers, assessors etc.

Internal Networking

• Build relationships with business and insurance support, facilitate the resolution of queries and issues with claims.
• Contract and monitor service levels with support units.
• Build effective working relationships with RM, RU, assessors and advisors.
• Attend and participate 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 the problems regarding weeds, diseases, nutrition, insects etc.

Farming Methods

• Understand the need for, and the effective use of equipment and machinery.

Qualification And Experience

• Grade 12
• H Dip degree in Agriculture (preferably with horticultureas a subject)
• FAIS compliance: 60 credits Commercial Lines 30 credits and Personal Lines 30 credits
• Driver’s licence
• RE 1

Experience

• 2 - 3 years’ specialised crop experience from entry level.

Knowledge And Skills

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

Competencies

• Analytical thinking
• Information seeking
• Conceptual thinking
• Results driven
• Takes initiative
• Integrity
• Emotional self-control