When things go back to normal (if at all), National Insurance Brokers director Abbie Wilson (pictured) is looking to interact a lot more with clients. For now, the Horsham-based broker is sharing how she’s tackling the current difficulties in the world of insurance broking.
Within her portfolio, Wilson said she’s still seeing “extreme” premium increases to the point where “you just struggle to think of ‘how am I going to tell the client this’,” especially when a similar coverage or other options don’t seem available.
“It’s hard to explain to a client that relies on us to explain insurance,” stated Wilson. “We can’t just say it is how it is and that’s it. I think brokers are working so much harder than ever before. A lot of the client situations, they’re not necessarily difficult or complex, but the ability to find the better and most suited outcome for the client is.”
According to the Victoria-based broker, the insurance market has not steadied yet. In her view, “some shocks” remain in the offing – and while she tries to maintain a positive stance, Wilson conceded that the present market woes have at times left her questioning her abilities.
She told Insurance Business: “My feeling is that most days it’s like you’re driving down a long road and trying to make a successful turn somewhere but are always being stopped by roadblocks, like you just can’t get ahead.
“Personally, that leaves me doubting my own professional ability. It leaves me doubting myself. It’s always been easy – you can always find something. There’s always been solutions. Whereas now the ease of solutions is no longer there.”
One example of the severity of the situation relates to contract harvesters that are located all around Australia.
“There’s a lot of them out there and it’s not an uncommon risk,” Wilson pointed out, “yet no provider can give a solution unless they impose a total fire exclusion on the policy, which then defeats the purpose of coverage in the first instance because fire is the most significant risk.
“Why offer a high premium to have the highest risk not covered? Is it because the underwriter doesn’t actually fully understand the risk? I don’t know.”
In such situations, Wilson said she’d rather lose a client than have them take up coverage that won’t really protect them.
“For hard-to-place risks,” she noted, “it’s easier for me to inform the client that I couldn’t find a suitable option and have them go to somebody else. I’ll say, ‘Look, I’ve searched the current market and there’s no suitable solution’.
“If we refer back to the contract harvesters, I’ll say, ‘We can find a solution, but I’m not prepared to offer it to you because of the total fire exclusion’. Because I know the risk; I know why they want that coverage. If there’s going to be an exclusion, I don’t want to be the one to offer that to the client when it’s only substandard.”
Wilson stressed that it’s not all about the earnings.
She asserted: “I can go to sleep at night. I’m not a broker who will just focus on commission and fees. I don’t look at that. It’s making sure that I’ve got the strong focus on the cover and the service that can and should be provided to clients. If I can’t do that, then I won’t offer anything.
“I refer them back to try to find another broker or see if a direct market will take them on. I’m lucky with my clientele – they get it. They get that I’ve tried. I’m open and honest with them and I won’t sugarcoat anything. That’s a risk on its own, but they do appreciate what you’ve done.”
For Wilson, the current market is an “absolute” challenge – something she’d like to take on with a sense of positivity.
“We’re not scared to say that [it’s challenging], taking a challenge doesn’t necessarily have to mean it’s bad,” she explained. “It just means that we have to think outside the box a little bit more than what we’re used to.
“The current market is tough. It’s tough on all levels. When I say ‘all levels,’ it’s the higher premiums, stricter conditions, and the significant delays that we’re all encountering. [To manage expectations], I’ve always advised my clients to expect it to remain very tough for some time.”
Claims-wise, Wilson also makes sure that expectations are managed as well.
She declared: “The entire claims process has certainly taken a turn. We’ve seen significant delays due to multiple reasons. The ability to negotiate or just have a simple small claim finalised in a prompt manner seems to be another challenge.
“But I’m sure that they’ll find a solution to all that and it’ll get better. It’s something that I stressed to my clients that, depending on the claim type and the incident that’s occurred, there may be delays. I think me pre-warning them softens that blow a bit.”
Post-COVID, meanwhile, the broker has a couple of things she looks forward to.
“The client interaction will be something I’d probably even grow on more than I ever had before,” she said. “Because I think we’ve realised how important the human interaction is. Whereas before we may have thought it was a bit of a chore being on the road, or an extra day a week, but now we’re longing for it.
“I’m really positive. As a nation, we’ve all struggled somewhat over the last 21 months. But as things start to ease and we’re able to move a bit, our attitudes and perceptions are going to change. And I think it’s only going to ever be for the better. If we all hopefully start thinking more positively, then maybe certain challenges aren’t going to seem so bad.”
