Uppsala universitet

Comprehensibility
HIGH
LOW
Trust
HIGH
LOW
MISTRUST AND
LOW COMPRE-
HENSIBILITY
Desired
result

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Figure 5.
The relationship between trust and customer comprehensibility in a business
relationship.
6. Relationship Marketing in Insurance Business
One of the subjects that was mentioned initially was the nature of the influence of insurance
marketing on relationship management. Based on the research presented above, the
conclusions could be developed into the following conceptual statements:
•
insurance services are inherently intangible by nature
•
insurance services are characterised by varying levels of complexity
•
the customer’s level of comprehension is dependent on the insurance manager’s experience
in, knowledge of, and skill in, managing the complexity and intangibility of the service
provided
•
insurance relationships may involve aspects of mutual distrust
•
good strategies in relationship management are required to enhance customer
comprehensibility and to lower customer mistrust in an insurance relationship
•
the need for efficient relationship management is increasing in insurance marketing
•
the concepts of relationship marketing and service management are interrelated
•
customer retention and customer loyalty are viewed as key variables for managing
increased competition in general as well as in the insurance business
There are relevant indications that tactically applied relationship marketing strategies provide a
viable solution to insurance companies in competitive distress. Managed in the right way, the
adoption of the relationship management theories treated in this report have every chance of
being a key factor contributing to success, and even to survival, in the years to come. The
competition in the insurance markets will most certainly continue to intensify: banks, insurance
companies, and other financial institutions will keep on merging, cross-selling services and
erasing the borders between the respective fields of financial services.
The financial markets of the 21st century may be markets where there are no longer
anything called “insurance companies” or “banks,” but only more widely encompassing
financial services organisations. This development gives cause for launching every action
possible to retain and deepen profitable customer relationships in order to survive the battle for

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market share. The customers are, and have always been, the perhaps obvious, but still vital,
key to holding a favourable position in the market, and to do so at a profit. “The customer is
king” is a well-known phrase in marketing. However, following this reasoning relationship
management is the indispensable queen, which requires the deepest respect and a strong and
well-elaborated sense of strategy.

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