Fraser Fontaine & Kong enters life insurance market
After more than 50 years as an insurance brokerage, Fraser Fontaine & Kong (FFK) Limited is entering the life insurance industry.
The company has joined forces with Chris Lawe to offer life insurance products. The two are collaborating to build out ‘Spartan Sales Force’ as a division under FFK Insurance Brokers focused on providing individual life insurance coverage.
Vice president in charge of the new division at FFK, Chris Lawe, says the team of eight advisers, two managers and two administrative support staff are working out of the 28 Pawsey Road FFK headquarters. Apart from office space, the team utilises FFK facilities, including FFK’s iT infrastructure.
“We’re striking out to broaden the horizons and chart new frontiers. We’re pushing the boundaries of insurance offerings, providing comprehensive and tailored solutions that reflect the evolving demands of the modern consumer,” he said, adding that by January the team will be expanded further as soon as suitable arrangements are settled.
Lawe says the vision is to create a new era in the individual life business, catering to the evolving needs of clients in a rapidly changing economic and social environment.
The team will be selling a wide range of life insurance solutions.
Lawe is emphatic that the outfit will not be in direct competition with the likes of Sagicor or Guardian Life but that his team will act in a complementary way, delivering life insurance solutions to clients.
“We will be strategising with several companies to do actual product development via exclusive contracts, but we are not the direct provider,” he said.
Lawe comes from a long line of insurance professionals. His father Michael and uncle Patrick both blazed a trail at Life of Jamaica and then Sagicor. Chris has a 20-year career in the life insurance industry, rising to the level of senior branch manager of Sagicor’s Holborn branch.
He says the move to join with FFK has to do with helping to diversify income streams of a business with a log history and a strong track record. Lawe notes that while FFK carved out a large space in the general and group life insurance business, there was room for it to grow when it came to individual life policies.
“FFK has been Jamaica’s largest producing brokerage, doing general insurance and group insurance. With their performance and my grounding in the industry, we can see this as a coming together to build an individual life division at FFK,” Lawe said.
The association between Lawe and President and CEO of FFK, Gerard Fontaine, goes back to prep school days. Fontaine says long relationships aside, it is a great business opportunity for FFK to leverage strengths and produce more on all sides.
“It’s just a good opportunity for both of us. Chris has a solid track record in individual life; FFK is the largest insurance broker. We’re always looking for great opportunities to grow as a company and cater to the needs of our clients. It’s only natural that at some point we should get together,” Fontaine says.