New 'creditors' product insures clients 'debtors' books

Eikos Risk Applications has just ended its current financial year on a positive note but is bracing itself for a difficult few years ahead as all indicators point to a period of continued low growth, says director Hugh Reimers. “We have budgeted aggressively and we realise that we can’t rely on organic growth to grow the business.” With several newcomers having entered the insurance industry, serving a finite and in fact shrinking market, rates are under pressure which is not a good thing, says Reimers. Against this background of static growth, Eikos has diversified its portfolio and introduced a new ‘Creditors’ product focusing initially on its freight forwarding client base but due to be rolled out more widely in the near future. “It’s been on our planning boards for some time,” said Reimers. “We’re now able to insure our clients’ debtors’ books. Initially we tried to get it going in partnership with various service providers but have now gone out on our own.” And while business growth is an industry-wide challenge, the skills deficit is equally so. Reimers firmly believes that the demographic needs to change. “There are a number of initiatives under way. An ‘Insurance Apprentice’ programme was launched by the industry a year or so ago and various institutions have also introduced graduate programmes in insurance and risk management. There are a number of professional qualifications available but it’s a challenge attracting people into a very specialised sector of the profession.”