Empirical study of the cooperation process between broker and insurer

Beschreibung
The study assesses and proposes opportunities for change in the cooperation between brokers and insurers using the Swiss commercial non-life insurance industry as an example. The term "cooperative production process" refers to functions which typically involve cooperation such as need analysis, submission process, and contract issuance. A functional approach, value chain analysis and transaction cost theory build the theoretical framework of the analysis. A broad survey and personal expert interviews disclose that the current cooperative process is characterized by a broad range of issues both on a process, organization as well as relationship level. On the one hand, survey results confirm the persistence of a traditional understanding of an intermediary role of the broker and a highly integrated value chain of insurers. On the other hand, there are clear tendencies of a shift of consulting functions to the broker. Overall, unclear roles and respective responsibilities, a low degree of standardization as well as a lack of process performance measurement are the major underlying reasons of issues.