Brokers know client relationships are paramount to successful business – and there may be none as potentially lucrative as the partnership they have with a risk manager.
It’s smart strategy for brokers to establish a good rapport with risk managers, who wield the policy purchasing power at companies and institutions. But how can brokers stand out from the rest of the pack and win a risk manager’s business?
Steve Pottle, director of Risk Management Services for York University’s finance department, says he considers a number of factors when choosing a broker – especially knowledge and a penchant for great service.
“The broker is your face to the market. How they represent you as a client is important, so you set that expectation early,” he says, adding that brokers are wise to brush up on the industry before making a play for the business.
“Have some familiarity with the organization whom they hope to be the service provider,” he says. “What I find frustrating is sometimes you get people that honestly don’t know your market.”
As well, making the effort of face-to-face interaction – whether the team is setting up its first risk program, or countering a contentious claim – is an important level of service, Pottle says.
“Ideally, you want to have those opportunities because sometimes brokers are a little reluctant and sometimes underwriters are a little reluctant to meet with each other,” he says. “I personally like the idea of the broker, the underwriter and the risk manager sitting down and working through renewals and claims.”
Pottle adds that once a broker has the business, there are a number of service tactics they can take to exceed client expectation.
“The relationship isn’t specifically, ‘Go find me some new policies every year or renew my policy.’ It’s ‘You’re there if I need you in the event of a claim, the underwriters are there in the event of a claim,’” he says.
Renewal time also presents brokers with the chance to re-establish a positive relationship, he says, “Treat every renewal as though it’s the first with the client,” he says. “It benefits brokers who look at every renewal as if it was the first time with the client, and make sure it’s the best one it can be. Who from a risk manager’s perspective is going to complain when someone does that?”
And, be sure you’ve got great word of mouth because –shocker – risk mangers compare notes. “A lot of times I find that we – risk managers in our specific industry group – will benchmark against each other saying, “How well are you doing with broker X?’ And I’ll say, ‘You know, they’ve been great, and they know the industry and they are constantly sending me information about trends in my industry, or types of claims that are relevant to my industry,’” he says.
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