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Rather than selling the insurance broking
operations to outside investors, Citicorp
agreed to a management buyout. “The
officers and directors of Citicorp Insurance
Brokers – who were mainly based in New
York and London – bought the company
from Citicorp,” Vic explains. “They took over
the Citicorp operations worldwide, except
for those in Mexico and the Philippines,
because these were not 100 per cent owned
by Citicorp.”
In 1994, Vic left Citicorp to enter
a joint venture with the original directors
of Citicorp Insurance Brokers, and this
led to the establishment of what is now
Lockton Philippines.GETTING THE RIGHT TEAM
There are three main strategies Lockton
Philippines uses to ensure it attracts the best
talent to the firm. The first is the advantage
of being a local insurance broking company
with local knowledge and a global reach.
Vic says Lockton Philippines was the only
insurance firm in the country with an
all-Filipino team. “We are still an all-Filipino
team,” Vic says. “We know the local marketbetter than most. But on the other hand,
we have a international reach, because of
the Lockton connection.”
The next strategy is how the company
prides itself on its reputation. “As far as
the insurance companies are concerned,
we have the reputation of being demanding
when it comes to getting our insurance
claims settled,” Vic continues. “But we also
have the reputation of remitting premiums
to them promptly. “And that’s the benefit
of coming from the insurance background;
I know how they feel; I know what they
expect from their intermediaries. I can put
myself in their situation and I understand
why they should pay promptly. So when you
pay your insurance companies promptly and
a claim appears, you have every right to
demand prompt payment.”
And the final strategy is an emphasis
on employee training and keeping workers
engaged in whatever role they play. “We
get involved in charitable events and use
that as one of the factors in rating the
employees’ performance,” Vic says. “In some
cases, it’s part of their KPIs. And our local
staff turnover is very low. We had some
employees who left and then came back
after a few years. And we’re open to any
suggestions from the employees of how
we can be useful to the clients and the
community as a whole.”“WE KNOW THE
LOCAL MARKET
BETTER THAN
MOST.”
“Starr has consistently had and will continue to have an
excellent relationship with Lockton. Both organisations
share a common understanding of risk, which enables us to
work with our team of professionals to find innovative and
satisfactory solutions for our mutual clients.” – Gary Wong,
General Manager, Starr Philippines