B.C. brokers push “value-added” role

With increasing technological and market pressures coming to bear on the broker distribution channel, it is more important than ever for brokers to market their expertise and customer-service excellence, says Renate Mueller, new president of the Insurance Brokers Association of British Columbia (IBABC).

In her first address to members, at the association’s annual meeting in Whistler held in June, Mueller told members that to weather the winds of change brought by e-commerce, consolidation and legislative issues, brokers must “be sure both insureds and insurers understand the value-added role of the broker”. The federal government’s recent announcement that the broker lobby had won out again in the fight to keep banks from selling insurance through their branches is welcome news on this front, she says. IBABC also played a key role in the Insurance Council of Canada’s brief to the federal government against having the insurance industry placed under the jurisdiction of the federal banking ombudsman, offering its provincial Insurance Dispute Resolution Services as a model of consumer protection.

In the coming months, Mueller expects talks with the ICBC to heat up on certain sections of the Broker Strategic Accord, following the start-up of a dial-a-decal Autoplan renewal distributor which she says runs “contrary to the spirit of the accord”. Under the terms of the accord, new forms of distribution, and specifically new technologies, are to be approved by a joint committee, a step that seems to have been bypassed in this case, she says. One role of the committee is to ensure brokers throughout the province are cooperatively involved in emerging technologies. The association had hoped that last year’s discussions had resolved any outstanding issues in the five-year accord (which is now more than two years old).

Lobbying efforts will also continue in the fight to stop not only banks, but also other non-insurance service outlets, such as AirCare testing stations, which may want to sell insurance through their locations.

The association will continue “fighting the good fight”, she says, to maintain the profile of brokers in the face of a changing industry. “In our rush to give customers control, convenience and a sharp price, we must not undervalue our role in the transaction. If we contribute to making insurance a commodity that anyone can sell, then soon anyone will be selling it.” The transition to online sales and service challenges brokers to prove that they offer something beyond cheap, quick service. “In their rush to save $50, customers may not stop to consider whether they’re buying adequate coverage, or whether you’ll be there to answer a question or advocate on their behalf in the event of a loss.”

Marketing campaigns, such as the national Broker Identity Program (BIP), must make brokers the clear distribution choice of consumers and insurance companies based on their customer-service value and expertise. At the association’s Whistler meeting, brokers approved another two years of involvement with the national and provincial BIP, a program Mueller says “makes [brokers] unique” in the minds of consumers.