Specialisation in a market or risk area could be important for brokers as insurance continues to be commoditised.
That’s the opinion of James Fletcher, director of Malton Road, a company that specialises in creative industries such as marketing, advertising and entertainment.
“A lot of brokers try to be all things to all people – but every day there is a new facility that is set up and brokers are starting to focus on niche areas,” Fletcher told Insurance Business. “If you don’t do that then you will eventually lose that business to the people that have decided that is where they want to be.”
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Finding an area of the market to focus on can be a challenge and Fletcher said choosing a niche that is not already saturated is key, as value proposition remains important.
“You need to be able to provide some sort of meaningful service to that audience - so you need to be prepared to do the work to understand what those businesses or industries need and then align yourself with the insurers that play in that space,” Fletcher said.
Fletcher, who was named an Insurance Business Young Gun earlier this year, launched Malton Road over two years ago and took an interesting path into the industry. While he could have followed his father’s footsteps into underwriting, a chance encounter with a broker, who was selling his father a car, saw him move into the intermediary side instead.
Once it was explained to Fletcher the opportunities that existed in the insurance industry and the broker market in particular, he quit his job as a mechanic and has never looked back.
“I’ve always found it interesting,” Fletcher continued. “Every day there is something new that comes up, you can never learn everything.”
Having spent his entire insurance career in broking, could Fletcher be tempted to jump the fence and join the underwriting side like his father?
“The offer was there but I think underwriting is a very different beast and I don’t think I’ve got the right talent for it – despite what my Dad says,” he concluded.
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