Empirical study of the cooperation process between broker and insurer

The study assesses and proposes opportunities for change in the cooperation between brokers and insurers using the Swiss commercial non-life insurance industry as an example. The term "cooperative production process" refers to functions which typically involve cooperation such as need analysis, submission process, and contract issuance. A functional approach, value chain analysis and transaction cost theory build the theoretical framework of the analysis. A broad survey and personal expert interviews disclose that the current cooperative process is characterized by a broad range of issues both on a process, organization as well as relationship level. On the one hand, survey results confirm the persistence of a traditional understanding of an intermediary role of the broker and a highly integrated value chain of insurers. On the other hand, there are clear tendencies of a shift of consulting functions to the broker. Overall, unclear roles and respective responsibilities, a low degree of standardization as well as a lack of process performance measurement are the major underlying reasons of issues.