Distribution channels of insurance and reinsurance services

Abstract

Insurance and reinsurance industry is famous for its traditionalism, that is uninventiveness and neglecting of marketing as business concept and function and by doing so, neglecting opportunities for optimal combination of different distribution channels. However, having in mind Drucker's thesis that only marketing and innovations produce results and that everything else are costs, that applies to all businesses including insurance and reinsurance companies, it is clear that they need to change their way of managing business. Keeping current and attracting new customers, by using optimal combination of marketing mix elements and within its scope by creating optimal mix of distribution channels, as business requirement and objective of insurance and reinsurance companies with strong marketing orientation that leads them to fulfillment of primary objective of their existence - making profit, is becoming specially emphasized with opening of domestic insurance and reinsurance market to foreign competitors with long history of gaining high level of customers' loyalty. Besides that, issues of successful distribution channels' management of insurance and reinsurance services are not treated holistically in domestic literature. Distribution channels of insurance and reinsurance services, as this study shows, are of critical importance for business success of insurance and reinsurance companies.

Keywords

• services
• insurance
• marketing channels
• reinsurance industry
• portfolio