SDT 2010 Insurance Conference a 'Huge Success'

SilverBridge group company SDT reports that its annual insurance conference, held in Cape Town, was a huge success with unprecedented interest shown by a group of top executives.

"As a theme, we looked at the importance and necessity of "bridging the gap between sophisticated and emerging markets," says SDT CEO Gawie Erasmus. "This is one of the most important drivers in the insurance market, where insurance providers are focusing on how to deliver high-quality products and services to entry-level markets, from the same operations basis as the traditional sophisticated business. This poses challenges in terms of focus on the right markets, through the right channels, at the right price point.

"We elected to focus on top management as we were sure this would create significant scope for collaboration, networking and other forms of interaction between industry-leading peers and we were very pleased with the outcome as we received precisely that.

An array of world-class speakers provided industry insights to delegates. The keynote was delivered by Sizwe Nxedlana, senior economist at FNB Commercial, who spoke about the state of "Living in the New Normal", which focused on the new state of the local and global economy after the recession, as well as the potential risks and signs of further decline in business drivers. Schoeman Rudman, a very experienced and internationally renowned speaker, now an independent consultant at Absa Life, spoke on a case study "Enabling Absa Life operations across all segments in South Africa and Africa". Rudman has been instrumental in implementing SDT's Exergy at Absa Life over the last 12 months.

Randall Mocke of The Best Funeral Society presented on Global Micro Insurance, a topic he is well qualified to address as he has been instrumental in setting up the Hollard Life JV which addresses funeral policy needs at the lower end of the market.

Raymond Africa, Head of IT and Infrastructure at Sanlam Developing Markets (NSI), outlined the way in which Sanlam is addressing the entry-level market by adopting a similar sales and delivery strategy to that used by the cellular market. In his talk, "Reaching mass markets through sophisticated simplicity", Africa drew on his experience in designing delivery systems for the entry-level market at both Metropolitan and Sanlam.

Other presentations included using business intelligence to drive business cohesion; the challenge of customer service; and the challenges in and importance of doing business in Africa; while inspirational speaker and humorist Gavin Sharples, closed day one with his own brand of humour and Erasmus closed day two with a roadmap outlining the future of the SDT solution set.

In between, delegates were treated to a gala dinner and a wine tasting.

"Our annual conference has become an integral aspect of connecting with the financial services market and a highlight in the calendar of all who attend," adds Erasmus. Our thanks go to all who attended and contributed to the success of the conference."

source: http://www.sdt.co.za/press-office/news-room