Insurance Brokers

Start with who needs insurance advice and placement and why. Around individuals and companies drive demand in Dubai, Abu Dhabi and the other emirates.

• List 10 offers or suppliers in the UAE with price per policy in AED and who buys.
• Interview 5 people from individuals and companies: what do they buy now, how often, what do they pay, what annoys them?
• Learn three terms: Premium (the price of cover); Exclusion (what a policy does not cover); Claim file (the documents that support a claim).
• Write a one-page brief: user, need, hoped-for price, and the rule that matters most.

Activity. Complete the market table, five interview notes and the brief.

Standard to meet. Price ten offers, interview five users, and state one need in one sentence.

Know the rule before the work. Main hazards here: bad advice and mis-selling. Hazard thinking means list each step, ask what could go wrong, and decide the control.

• Ask your local authority or free zone which licence, permit or inspection applies. Write the answer and the date you asked.
• For each step (fact-find; compare; recommend; place; support claims) write the hazard and the control.
• Use a hierarchy: remove the hazard, replace it, separate people from it, change the way of work, then protective equipment last.
• Keep a one-page incident rule: who you call, what you stop, what you record.

Activity. Draw the flow and mark hazard and control at each step.

Standard to meet. Name a hazard and a control for every step, and answer the licence question in writing.

The work is a short chain: fact-find, compare, recommend, place, support claims. Learn each link, then link them with records.

• Write a checklist for each of the 5 steps: input, action, check, output.
• Time each step three times and note the slowest.
• Record a defect or delay each time it happens: what, where, cause, fix.
• Measure clients renewed; this is your main number.

Activity. Run the chain three times (simulated or real) and fill the log.

Standard to meet. Complete three logs, and give the slowest step a cause and a fix.

What you do not measure you cannot improve. Your main measure is clients renewed.

• Define clients renewed: what counts, what does not, and over what period.
• Draw a simple chart of the last 10 results and mark the average.
• Find the top two causes of loss with a tally sheet, then fix the biggest one first.
• Check measuring tools: are they accurate, clean and in date?

Activity. Collect a tally for one week and make a Pareto chart.

Standard to meet. Complete the tally, name the biggest cause, and plan one fix with a date.

Know the cost of one policy before you set the price. Include materials, labour, energy, transport, licence share, waste and a safety margin.

• Cost per policy = total cost divided by policies sold (not made).
• Margin = (price minus cost) divided by price.
• Break-even units = fixed costs divided by gain per unit.
• Test the price with two users and write down the answer.

Activity. Build the cost sheet with AED on every line and have your mentor check it.

Standard to meet. Check that no cost is missing, and calculate the margin twice by different routes.

Customers return when you keep promises. Promise only what your workflow can deliver.

• Write a one-page offer: what is included, what is not, price, time, how you fix mistakes.
• Write a short script for the first call or visit.
• Agree dates in writing; confirm each change.
• Handle a complaint in four steps: listen, apologise for the impact, fix, record what changed.

Activity. Present the offer to two users and note changes.

Standard to meet. Write an offer with scope, price, time and a fix rule, and collect comments from two users.

Small, real and recorded. Change one thing at a time and learn quickly.

• Keep a daily log: date, units, cost, delays, defects, safety notes.
• Hold a 15-minute review each week with your mentor.
• Write down every complaint and what you changed.
• Take photos only where allowed and never of people without consent.

Activity. Complete 30 days of the log and four weekly reviews.

Standard to meet. Log 30 days, give each defect a cause, and keep weekly notes.

A decision beats a feeling. Compare plan with result and choose to scale, change or stop.

• Make a before and after table: cost per unit, defects, delays, repeat users.
• Write three lessons.
• Decide scale, change or stop, with the numbers behind it.
• Give two peers one strength and one fix each.

Activity. Present to a review room and collect one written comment from a user.

Standard to meet. Justify the decision with numbers, and give two peer reviews.

Advice starts with the client's real risks.

• List assets, risks and budget.
• Compare cover, limits, exclusions.
• Explain in plain words.
• Record advice and client choice.

Activity. Complete a fact-find for a sample client.

Standard to meet. Map the risks to cover.

Claims are where trust is earned.

• Gather documents fast.
• Track claim stages.
• Review cover at renewal.
• Never promise outcomes.

Activity. Build a claims checklist.

Standard to meet. List all documents.

When a claim is refused or delayed, the client turns to the broker. Fair, documented handling and honest explanation are the core skill.

• Read the policy wording and the refusal reason before advising the client.
• Never promise that a claim will be paid; explain the process and expected time in days.
• Escalate with evidence in writing and keep a dated file of every contact.
• Tell the client about the complaints route if the insurer does not resolve it.

Activity. Draft a reply to an insurer refusing a claim, using a fictional case and listing three pieces of evidence.

Standard to meet. Write a letter that quotes the policy clause, attaches evidence and asks for a decision by a stated date.

On the slide: L1 Basic · Premium, exclusion, claim file

Notes: Name the premium, an exclusion and the claim file in a simple policy. Notes: use a sample policy; work only under a licensed firm because brokers need a licence.

On the slide: L2 Awareness · Bad advice and mis-selling

Notes: Describe what bad advice and mis-selling look like and one rule that prevents each. Notes: never promise a claim will be paid, explain exclusions in plain words and record the advice and the client's choice.

On the slide: L3 Foundation · Do a simple fact-find

Notes: Complete a fact-find for a sample client listing assets, risks and budget. Notes: check the cover matches the risk; the course case is a shop with AED 500,000 of stock that needs cover at replacement value, not cost.

On the slide: L4 Practitioner · Compare, recommend and place

Notes: Compare cover, limits and exclusions for a sample client and write a recommendation under a licensed supervisor. Notes: the standard is a plain-words explanation, a written record and a renewal date; the target is clients renewed.

On the slide: L5 Specialist · Analyse claims and renewals

Notes: Analyse a set of sample claims and renewals and decide which clients need a review. Notes: at AED 1,800 per policy and AED 300 cost the gain is AED 1,500, 83.3 per cent; break-even on AED 10,800 fixed costs is 8 policies.

On the slide: L6 Advanced · Coach fair treatment of clients

Notes: Coach a small team on fair handling of refused or delayed claims. Notes: sample five claim files a week for the policy wording read, a dated contact log and the complaints route given to the client.

On the slide: L7 Super expert · Design the broking system

Notes: Design a broking process covering advice records, claims support, complaints and a 12-month plan under the licence rules. Notes: at 180 policies a month the gross gain is AED 270,000; set a renewal target and present one mis-selling risk and one control.