“Our two biggest challenges for 2023 were attracting new talent and improving our systems technology,” said Daniel Berry (pictured above).
Berry is partner and broker with Dudgeon Berry Insurance Group, a family run brokerage in Lismore. Despite efforts from peak bodies and insurance firms to improve the image of the industry and deal more effectively with recruitment issues, Berry and many others spent 2023 grappling with this major challenge.
“I’m finding that insurance just isn’t an industry that our younger generation can see themselves in,” he said. “These are entry level roles with very promising career opportunities, with education and training all included, yet they’re taking roles in other industries.”
Berry said there are also major issues around integrating the different platforms used across the insurance industry.
“On the technology front, while there have been great improvements in the last few years, there is no customer facing integration into these platforms,” he said. “I take the view that these are experiences that customers expect from us in our modern world and would greatly improve the efficiencies in our operations.”
However, Berry said last year his firm adopted a new technology that has significantly improved their service to customers and helped overcome some of the industry’s technology shortfalls.
“We are now using the Insurebot platform and so far the results have been brilliant,” he said. “Our staff are using it to assist in quoting various insurance products which saves a lot of time.”
This platform was developed in 2020 by Brisbane-based insurance broker Scott Norton and IT developer Jack Marrows. According to Insurebot’s website, the technology helps brokers speed up their quoting process by automating much of the data collection and quote presentation process.
Berry said his firm has also rolled out a version of this offering that allows clients to use Insurebot themselves. He said this is particularly useful for clients who don’t have time during the day to talk to his firm, or who work night shifts.
Berry’s other 2023 learnings include the importance of remaining positive despite negative social media posts and media coverage where people vent, sometimes valid concerns about negative claims outcomes.
He said he’s learned that brokers can “add a lot of value to people’s lives” and create significant growth in their own business “by helping people that might just need a little explanation about how a cover might operate, or pointing out what the policy benefits are in their product when they need to make a claim.”
“When a client expresses their gratitude for the assistance you’ve given them, that’s the highlight of the year for me,” said Berry.
However, he expects 2024 to bring serious challenges for his profession – particularly around pricing.
“We’re entering into new commission disclosure requirements that may or may not become problematic,” said Berry.
“It’s fantastic to see more transparency coming through and it reinforces client best interests,” said Berry. “The question here is what value are we giving to our clients and for some policies where you are receiving a significant sum – what are we giving to the client to prove that point?”
He said the “next phase” of this transparency process as likely causing many clients to look for cheaper alternatives.
“Particularly given we’re in the middle of a cost-of-living crisis,” said Berry. “For many insurance brokers I think there is going to be 12 months of pricing questions from clients.”
However, the Lismore broker said this is also an opportunity for brokers to show their value.
“We have so many resources available to us to compare products we offer to those direct market options,” he said. “It is very easy to identify the discrepancies in policy benefits, quantify them and give that information back to the client to make an informed decision.”
For example, Berry said a premium that is a few hundred dollars cheaper could actually result in “tens of thousands of dollars in benefits lost” when it comes to making a claim.
“When you’re able to highlight these, most clients tend to see the value we offer as their broker, but also in the products we’re offering them,” he said.
Are you an insurance broker? What did you learn from 2023? What’s your biggest challenge this year? Please tell us below
