How small brokerages can outperform insurance giants

When I was about 10 years old, our local Pizza Pizza sponsored my soccer team.  

Our team jerseys also happened to be neon orange that year. Whether that was a chance stroke of luck or some plotted branding scheme, I’ll never know. But years later, I still remember those jerseys. 

In fact, between myself and my brother, I remember a lot of the businesses that sponsored our team jerseys. And I think of them whenever I walk by their offices, hear their names, or see their products. 

That should be music to local brokerages’ ears. Especially those who are looking for the advantage over national consolidators.  

Such was the case made by Martin Ross, director of broker relationships at SGI Canada, during the Young Brokers Conference in Niagara Falls. 

“You know who doesn’t know how big your insurance company is, or how big your brokerage is?” said Ross. “Your customer.” 

“They have no idea about market consolidation. They just want to deal with you,” he said during a panel discussion, when asked how small brokers can compete with the big players. 

“Kiwanis, rotary, hockey, soccer—you need to be part of that community as the insurance person. You need to live and breathe that community. Your feet have to be on the ground in that community.” 

Industry consolidation remains among the Top 5 worries for brokers in 2024, according to Canadian Underwriter’s National Broker Survey. This concern has been statistically flat for the past five years – 50% in 2024, against 48% in 2023; 50% in 2022; 47% in 2021; and 46% in 2020.

By becoming an integral part of the community, being visible, and being involved at the grassroots (or soccer field) level, brokers can establish trust and build relationships with their clients in ways that a national consolidator cannot duplicate.  

That’s Step 1, according to Ross. Step 2 is proactively responding to complicated insurance risks. 

“You are licensed professionals just as much as an accountant or a lawyer [is]. Your job is to gather information, and then propose solutions,” Ross said. 

Seventy-nine per cent of respondents to Canadian Underwriter’s 2024 National Broker Survey say proactively informing clients of emerging risks and exposures helps brokers maintain their status as trusted advisors.

“In Northern Ontario, I saw some massive ‘small brokers.’ It’s because they took the time to manage risk appropriately,” Ross said. “They took information from their clients, they consulted with them, they walked through the value of the policy that they were selling them, and they are multi-generational, multi-million dollar brokerages that a lot of these big consolidators are now trying to buy because their systems are so solid.” 

Snowmobiles, cottages, old infrastructure, a heavy reliance on specific industries by small towns — all these risks might prove unique risks in communities. And all of them required tailored insurance solutions.  

“If you can gather that information and propose a truly solid insurance solution, you will build an unlimited book,” Ross said. 

 

Feature image by iStock.com/Lorado