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Innovative products for customer needs

Product management introduces itself. The task of product management is to develop suitable future solutions. It always starts with identifying customer needs. The next step is to adapt existing products or develop new solutions. Ecclesia is much more than just an insurance broker that purchases and brokers insurance. “Our special market position and expertise enable us to actively participate in the development of new insurance products and conditions,” says Katrin Gutseel, an Ecclesia expert. She provides insights into the group's product management.

The task of product management is to regularly identify our customers' needs, adapt existing products or develop new solutions. Ecclesia is much more than just an insurance broker that purchases and brokers insurance. “Our special market position and expertise enable us to actively participate in the development of new insurance products and conditions,” says Katrin Gutseel, Team Leader Property/Technical Insurance. We act as a bridge between our clients and the insurers/risk carriers and help ensure that our clients receive the appropriate coverage.

The dedicated Ecclesia teams are close to the insurers and their products. They know the market inside out and thus bring our customers at eye level with the risk carriers. Based on their in-depth expertise and a wide-ranging network, they offer them customized insurance solutions at the best conditions, tailored to your requirements and risks. The product management also takes action when case law changes or new laws are passed. A corresponding insurance solution is then created in the form of a new product. “Particularly in the insurance sector, this is a little more complicated than with material goods, for example,” she reports. “This is because insurance products are not tangible and have to be explained.”

Customer surveys as a product development tool

If our customers express a need, for example for a tenant protection policy (see interview on pages 12 to 15), or if new trends emerge on the market, the product managers check whether there is a need for protection and whether an insurance solution can be created. This is because the products must be useful for customers and must not be developed without considering the needs and the market. “That's why customer surveys are also a means of product development,” says Katrin Gutseel. Prototypes are often used, especially in the manufacturing industry. But product managers at Ecclesia also occasionally test various products. ‘We then approach individual customers with a prototype and ask whether they are interested in it and what could perhaps be improved in terms of coverage,’ explains the product manager.

Development of a cover

On the other hand, in addition to customer requirements, insurers must also be found who are interested in underwriting the risks or acting as risk carriers in the product development process. “Because not every one of our suggestions can be implemented as desired. We are always dependent on the risk carriers. They have to express an interest in the product. For us as brokers, this means that our coverage requirements have to be innovative, but also realistic and achievable,” reports Katrin Gutseel. Insurers are important partners for product developers. But the best possible solution should also be created for the customer. “We act in the interest of the customer, and therefore consensus cannot always be our top priority,” says Katrin Gutseel. The product managers check the different underwriting guidelines of the insurers to find the optimal risk carrier for the product line.

The product development process

It all starts with an idea: “I want to design a product for a specific scenario,” says the insurance expert of the Ecclesia Group. “Then various factors have to be taken into account, such as who exactly is my target group and whether there are already competing products.” Various analyses help us to identify the strategic challenges or to develop a business model, for example the Business Model Canvas, which also classifies the different dimensions. Of course, the question of what the product should actually look like is also discussed. The product managers approach the result by thinking about the different dimensions.

After the analysis, the next step is to define the product in more detail and to define the framework conditions. Here, for example, the question arises as to what should be insured. As soon as a product has been developed, it is made available to customers and enters the larger market launch. “At the end of the process, we have then, in the best case, designed a cover that allows all sides – the customer, the insurer and, of course, us as insurance brokers – to achieve a good result,” explains Katrin Gutseel.

“Various analyses help us to identify the strategic challenges or to develop a business model that also takes into account the different dimensions.”

Katrin Gutseel