Scotia Group Jamaica is reporting the successful launch of its newest subsidiary, Scotia General Insurance Agency (SGIA), which is being marketed as ScotiaProtect.

Speaking at a quarterly media briefing on Monday, president and CEO of Scotia Group Jamaica Audrey Tugwell Henry confirmed that SGIA has been operational since the end of November.

“The Scotia General Insurance Agency is officially launched and operational. We do have the option to sell outside of Scotiabank but our customers have started to access that service.”

She explained that the interface for the new product will be largely digital which allowed the company to strategically save on its labour expenses.

“It’s a very small team relatively because the product is being sold through our digital platform, so like other areas of the bank we are focused on utilising and optimising our investments in digital,” Tugwell Henry disclosed.

Similarly, head of retail for Scotiabank Jamaica Perrin Gayle advised things are running smoothly so far in terms of building out the organisational structure for the subsidiary.

“We’re in the process of finalising staffing which will be finalised within the next week but most of the management team is already in place and we expect to make further announcements in January as it relates to having a full public launch of all the features, services and product offerings under that business line,” Gayle stated.

In terms of how the subsidiary fits into the group, Tugwell Henry said, “Scotia General Insurance Agency will be integrated as one of the financial service offerings for our customers. So as our customers take mortgage or car loan, they will have SGIA as an option for insurance to cover that asset. It’s an ongoing business so there’s not a switching over if you will.”

The company said it decided to form a general insurance agency because its previous group policy referral arrangement was limited in underwriting capability which meant that premiums weren’t always as competitive. In addition, the company complained that the group policy didn’t allow to serve all Scotiabank customers, including non-loan customers. Scotiabank also disclosed that the SGIA provides a better process to protect its collateral assets.

The announcement of the launch of ScotiaProtect comes as the local general insurance market reels from the strict stance being taken by major reinsurers to either reduce capacity in the Caribbean or to pull out of the region altogether.

However, Tugwell Henry said SGIA have not experienced those market conditions since the subsidiary was launched.

“This is a new subsidiary for us, we started operating/piloting towards the end of November so some of the issues that were raised we would not have experienced those issues ourselves. One thing we do know is that the platform on which the product will be sold and the way we have operationally organised the business, it will be highly efficient so we expect that we’ll be able to offer rates that are meaningful to the customers and that we will be able to deliver value. But as we progress and we look at the performance of the business against our targets then we’ll be in a better position to see what would be our key concerns and how we would address those,” Tugwell Henry stated.

GK General Insurance is the underwriter of ScotiaProtect offerings and will be responsible for paying the claims of ScotiaProtect customers. Scotia General is registered to carry out busienss in liability, motor vehicle and property as per the Financial Services Commission’s registered insurance intermediaries.