BDM support may be the most important factor in broker and insurers relationships, but many brokers believe that it has taken a turn for the worse over the past year.
Insurance Business tasked hundreds of brokers from across Australia to rank nine insurers across 11 categories to determine the leading insurers in the country. As part of ranking a selection of insurers, brokers outlined the key factors to consider when working with insurance companies.
Of the 11 categories, brokers chose BDM support as the most important factor to consider when working with insurers, with a score of 4.08 out of 5 (1 = least important; 5 = most important).
Despite BDM support being ranked as the top factor for brokers working with insurers, sixty five percent of those surveyed said it had worsened, while 35% said it had improved, over the past 12 months.
“I don't even know who our BDMs are most of the time. And what they can actually do for us is nothing apart from pass queries on to other people,” a broker told Insurance Business Australia (IB).
Another broker argued: “It has improved. The BDMs are more out meeting brokers and are more proactively participating in negotiations with underwriters.”
The other elements rounding out the top three as key to broker/insurer relationships were premium stability (4.06) and turnaround time for new business (4.06). In both cases and similarly to BDM support, brokers aired concerns.
Seventy-three percent of brokers claimed that premium stability had worsened, while 27% said it had improved over the past 12 months.
“Premiums continue to be on the rise, irrespective of how clean a risk is. Insurers need to consider client loyalty,” a broker said.
Another broker commented: “We are seeing more stable and manageable increases at renewal; there are not too many large scares compared to the previous 12-month period.”
Meanwhile, seventy-one percent of brokers believed that turnaround times for new business had worsened, while 29% said they had improved over the past 12 months.
A broker told IB: “Due to everyone working from home, the care factor is no longer there. Plus, staff are stretched to capacity. More staff would help.”
Another broker said: “A lot of insurers or agencies will respond to quotes within a day or two, with terms following fairly quickly once all information is received.”
See Australia's best insurance companies and their feedback from brokers by reading the IB Brokers on Insurers 2023 special report.
