For Canberra-based brokerage allinsure, excellent customer service and technological innovation have brought rewards, notably being recognised by Insurance Business as the Australian Brokerage of the Year in 2021. Peter Chamberlain, allinsure’s managing director, says the award acknowledges the company’s investment in all aspects of its business.
One of allinsure’s strengths is being locally owned and operated, which enables it to focus on providing quality customer service, Chamberlain says. Using data and market-leading technology also allows the brokerage to know more about the client’s situation, such as their financial information, and even the soil type their building sits on and crime rates in their locations. But beyond technology, building strong relationships is key to the brokerage’s success.
“No matter what role technology has to play in our industry moving forward, it’s crucial to understand that relationships will always be key. Our industry has been one that historically has struggled with [being seen as] untrustworthy, [and] trust is a key focus for what we should be doing as an industry and how we should be seen or perceived by our customer base and by the wider public,” he said.
Developing trust with clients makes it easier for the brokerage to share knowledge and ensure that customers have the right policies, while establishing strong relationships with business partners helps add value and expertise, particularly in a hard market that’s facing underwriting challenges. Maintaining an interactive relationship by assigning a senior and a junior underwriter to every client regardless of the business size, and truly understanding the client’s needs, have paid off for allinsure.
“With most of our clients, we’re seen in the exact same way as their accountant, their lawyer, their financial planner, their banker … We visit our clients regularly,” he explained. “We don’t just see them at renewal time. We complete contract reviews … Whatever add-on value we can provide so that we’re seen as a quality partner and a quality resource sets us apart from the rest of our competitors.”
Chamberlain also believes that when it comes to insurance coverage for the impact of natural disasters, such as storms that periodically occur in Australia, being proactive is becoming a norm in the industry.
“We’ve got different insurers who are starting to react through things like weather alerts and providing their clients with storm warnings and advice to move their cars inside or into the garage … That’s one place where technology can really help our industry and really enhance the client relationship part,” he said. Feeding the necessary information back to brokers can also help maintain a high level of customer service.
In 2022, one of the greatest challenges for the industry is attracting the right number and quality of brokers and other professionals. To solve this problem, Chamberlain suggests the creation of high-level traineeships and roles that allow people to transition to insurance from other fields. He believes that training for one to two years can help professionals acquire the technical and customer service skills that the industry needs at present.
