Catherine Lesourd (APCAL): 10 Years of Insurance Brokerage Support
“The need to deal with several insurers to find relevant insurance solutions continues to grow,“ says Catherine Lesourd, Administrator of the professional association of insurance brokers of Luxembourg (APCAL). She also explains how APCAL supports its members in the face of the challenges and opportunities they encounter.
Can you describe APCAL in a few words?
The professional insurance brokerage association will celebrate its 10th anniversary this year. We represent more than 83 life and non-life insurance brokers who comprise the majority of active players. Our association focuses on three core businesses: Information, training and consultation. It also ensures the representation of the profession at a national and international level to defend the interests of brokerage and its members vis-à-vis the supervisory authorities. APCAL offers professional mediation support and is responsible for promoting the brokerage profession.
“Digitalization is a major development in the insurance sector - amplified by the Covid crisis”
How are the needs of your members changing?
They are constantly evolving according to regulatory requirements and developments in the brokerage business. Digitalization is a major development in the insurance sector - amplified by the Covid crisis. It is essential, in a constantly changing context, to support our members, and more particularly smaller brokers, by pooling resources. With this in mind, we have strengthened our collaboration with law and consultancy firms to create guidelines and procedures for our members. We also offer training covering all current topics. This includes tailor-made training according to the needs identified by certain actors. Communication is also a key factor in the proper functioning of the organization. It is imperative to communicate with our members but also with our peers and the various national and international public institutions. Communication ensures we benefit from their support and that we are always aware of future developments that may impact our profession.
What challenges and opportunities do you identify for insurance in Luxembourg?
In general, the duty to advise is constantly reinforced. However, this duty to provide maximum transparency for client protection can lead to administrative burdens that clients must indirectly bear. The “hard market” cycle is also affecting the awarding of contracts. However, this challenge can turn into opportunities for brokerages as the need to deal with several insurers to find relevant insurance solutions continues to grow. The recognized expertise of brokers is essential. Finally, in Luxembourg, as in many countries, competition between brokers is intensifying and all must demonstrate their ability to face new challenges while providing customers with quality service and advanced technical expertise.