The world is becoming increasingly interconnected through the rise of technology along with other powerful forces driving globalization. With a roster of commercial clients operating around the world, one brokerage leader made a decision five years ago to join an international network of brokers, UNiBA Partners, in response to a need among clients for its broking team to have global expertise.
“In my previous life, not only have I had international working experience, but experience working with brokerage networks and I know how much value can be brought to the table for clients with not just cross-border, but global operations,” said Brooke Hunter, president, CEO and founder of Hunters International Insurance Brokers, adding that as an example, Hunters was able to place insurance for a warehouse in India by calling on the talent and experience of a local partner in Mumbai.
“There is a need to have feet on the ground locally because there are compliance issues, not only from the insurance front that become relevant, but even [with] GDPR in Europe, which is going to be far more well-known and understood by my partners with feet on the ground than anyone in my office, so I think that globalization absolutely has affected the complexion of our clients’ risks and having feet on the ground internationally matters.”
Speaking of GDPR, over the past few years, cyber has risen to the top of the list, in terms of issues that have the potential to affect any and all of Hunters’ clients. Hunter mandated that cyber risk be brought up to every single commercial client in the office to shed light on the coverages available to mitigate the risk, but also, she told Insurance Business, to give them “an idea of what cyber insurance might cost so that they could get a sense of how reasonable it is to look at this issue. I think we’ve had some success on this front in terms of getting clients to actually think about this.”
The cyber conversation has become that much more important as mandatory breach notification regulations are now enforced in Canada. Because of the nature of the legislation and it being national in scope, it has an effect on every business.
“The mandatory breach notification has been a reminder to amplify this message, and in fact all of our email signatures speak to both October 17 and November 01,” said Hunter. “Change is change, and it’s our job to illuminate to our clients when change has a meaningful impact on risk.”
The brokerage’s mission statement is, after all, to protect its clients’ prosperity, enterprises, and opportunities because, “When we look at risk, it’s not just about protecting the downside. It’s about facilitating the ability to achieve upside,” explained Hunter.
