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Issue July 6, 2009 |
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CHICAGO—Aon Corp. has unveiled two new programs for retail brokerage clients that some risk managers say go beyond those offered by other brokers.
Both programs, initially announced at the RIMS 2009 Annual Conference & Exhibition in April but rolled out recently throughout the organization, are intended to improve service, Aon executives say.
The Aon Client Promise is a 10-point program built around delivering Aon's global capabilities according to clients' specific needs, said Steve McGill, chairman and chief executive officer of Aon Risk Services, the retail unit of Chicago-based Aon Corp.
Mr. McGill said Aon spent more than six months last year speaking with clients around the world about what's important to them and what they value most in their brokerage relationships. The Aon Client Promise—and internal processes to ensure Aon fulfills the promise—developed from these discussions, he said.
Elements of the client promise include a focus on optimizing total cost of risk, designing programs around client needs, dedicating teams and resources, local access to global resources, innovation, benchmarking and performance driven by client feedback, Mr. McGill explained.
Other brokers have developed written standards for service, but two risk managers say Aon's appears to be more extensive. London-based Willis Group Holdings Ltd., for example, has a Client Bill of Rights. In other cases, some brokers have published mission statements and service philosophies.
“The biggest strength of Aon in doing this is it standardizes their services. The Aon Client Promise really gives them a standard platform upon which everybody can work,” said Linda Flanagan, director of risk management at Furniture Brands Inc. in St. Louis. Furniture Brands has been an Aon client since 2001 and also works with Marsh Inc., she said.
“When you put down a set of goals against which you're measured, it's absolutely more powerful than if it were unwritten. It's very similar to setting goals for yourself or your employees. It gives you something objective to measure against,” Ms. Flanagan said. The client promise “gives risk managers a better tool to measure their brokers' performance.”
“Any time you can put something in writing, it's better for everyone,” agreed Michael Obertop, assistant treasurer and corporate secretary at American Railcar Industries Inc. in St. Charles, Mo. “All the time with other brokers, you get a lot of attention around renewal time,” he said, adding that his company uses Aon and other brokers. Aon's efforts show “they're a step ahead of everybody else. I wouldn't be surprised if the Aon Client Promise will be copied” by other brokers, Mr. Obertop said.
Developed in tandem with the client promise on benchmarking is Aon's Global Risk Insight Platform, a secure, real-time online system offering information about Aon's global insurance placements, by industry, geography and individual insurance market.
The platform, called GRIP, “gives our clients, for the first time, empowered broking with our teams,” said Ted Devine, president of Aon Risk Services. “Say you're a retailer in Minnesota and you want to understand product pricing in London and New York for your property program. With GRIP, we can give that to you in a matter of seconds. Or you want to understand the terms and conditions and deductible levels that others are using in your space, we can give that to you on a real-time basis,” he said.
For insurance companies, “GRIP helps them align their resources to better fit with our clients' needs and, as we develop these innovative solutions, get in the lines of business that will help our clients create more capital in the marketplace and ultimately lower their total cost of risk,” Mr. Devine said.
By last month, Aon expected to have data for 85% of its global placements in the GRIP system.
For reprints of this story, please contact Lauren Melesio at 212-210-0707 or email lmelesio@crain.com
