Quality time in front of clients 'is crucial post pandemic': NIBA panel
Brokers should ensure they meet in person with clients following a move to Zoom conversations made necessary during the pandemic, Emjay Insurance Brokers Director Jeff Murdoch says.
“We have just come out of covid and it is too easy to turn around and say ‘we are going to do a Zoom pre-renewal meeting’,” he said during a panel discussion at the National Insurance Brokers Association (NIBA) summit. “You have to spend quality time in front of your clients.”
Mr Murdoch also spoke of the importance of promoting broking, as the sector competes in attracting and retaining talent and said the vital role of industry participants and their influence is underplayed by the often-repeated line that someone “fell into insurance”.
“How people get into insurance is by referral, and it’s people referring other people because of their personal experiences,” he said.
“There are 60,000 people in our industry. If a lot of people in our industry can make a difference to anybody they come in contact with that results in another person joining the industry, then that is a significant difference.”
Mr Murdoch says employee education is also important and should be rewarded.
“We should be supplying funds for our staff to do their diploma and if they want to go on and do a degree, back them in that,” he said. “We have to be more professional in what we do to attract more professional people to our industry.”
AEI Insurance Broking Group Director Ximena Smith says the culture of an organisation is important, particularly as people return to workplaces after the pandemic, and there are opportunities to offer flexibility and non-monetary benefits in assisting employees.
“There are a whole range of things we need to be looking at,” she said. “Just because we’ve done something the way we’ve always done it, doesn’t mean it’s still appropriate.”
Insurance Advisernet MD Shaun Standfield says challenges looking ahead include meeting the rising demand for cyber insurance and the importance of communicating to clients about the impact on sums insured from surging property valuations.
Mr Standfield said the role of quantity surveyors in providing valuations for clients is important and calculators online “have virtually all disappeared”.
“One of the biggest risks for us is to have clients that aren’t properly insured,” he said.
Howden Insurance Brokers Head of Commercial and Affinity Stuart McKellar also spoke on the importance of regular communication in building strong relationships with insurers, and on opportunities within the current market.
“Rates are moderating except in high hazard and really complex industries and sectors,” he said. “There is a lot more discussion around portfolio, around initiatives, around opportunities across the board.”
