Corporate groups offering insurance alongside their product must respect the commercial market and not presume they are smarter than their peers, according to Edouard de Lamarzelle, CEO of Stellantis Insurance.
De Lamarzelle will be leaving Stellantis after 24 years with the company, previously PSA Group, which included launching the motor giant’s insurance operation which both sells coverage direct to customers from its own regulated entities and partners with third party commercial carriers.
Speaking in a wide ranging and exclusive interview on the Global Captive Podcast, De Lamarzelle shared his 24-year journey, encompassing the group’s launch of its first insurance companies, growth to millions of customers and how it has entered new markets around the world.
Industrial groups in sectors such as motor, telecommunication and manufacturing have had a long history of offering ’embedded’ insurance products to customers, and it continues to be a popular strategy for captive owners.
Asked to share what advice he would give to other industrial groups that are considering the launch of an insurance business to serve their customers, he explained that there is no room for arrogance that you know better.
“My best advice would be to be respected by your insurance peers, make sure that you are regarded as professional,” he said. “It’s a serious matter insurance, it is a complex topic.
“In Rome, do as the Romans do! Insurance is insurance and don’t consider we are smarter. We are probably more rigorous than any insurer because we know that is the only way it works.
“What was great with PSA, and now Stellantis, is the fact that the management always respected insurance. They always took the time to try to understand.”
Stellantis, then PSA Group, established its first insurance company in Malta in 2008 and began by targeting its most important market, France.
From there, the insurance business has grown considerably with several insurance companies in place across multiple markets.
Products offered by the group include GAP Insurance, breakdown cover, motor insurance and credit protection.
In some markets where Stellantis does not sell insurance itself, it partners with commercial carriers, such as Direct Line in the United Kingdom.
De Lamarzelle added it is also important to translate insurance language when discussing operations and financial performance with the wider, non-insurance group.
“We use terms that have a different definition. I really had a situation where I realised that when I was talking about claims, which in insurance it’s where, in fact, you’re going to deliver the value, people were hearing ‘complaint’.
“For ‘premium’, they were hearing ‘bonus incentive’. Whereas for me, it’s a selling price.”
Listen to the full interview with Edouard de Lamarzelle on GCP #108 here, or on any podcast app. Search for ‘Global Captive Podcast’.