In 2019, the Insurance Brokers Association of Canada (IBAC) engaged Deloitte Canada to analyze the economic contributions of insurance brokers to Canada’s national and provincial economies. The study found that IBAC’s member brokerages contributed about $5.4 billion to Canada’s GDP that year. Brokerages also helped maintain an estimated 58,300 full-time equivalent jobs in Canada.
But while these numbers are impressive, they may not be enough to convince the average consumer to work with a broker when purchasing insurance. At a time when direct insurance purchase options are available, how can the industry show the true value of brokers?
Late last month, the Insurance Brokers Association of Canada (IBAC) launched a new advertising campaign aimed at raising awareness of the role of brokers in the insurance process.
Insurance Business approached Peter Braid, CEO of IBAC, to learn more about the association’s approach to this campaign. We asked him about how the new campaign came to be, what brokers can do to further entice customers, and what the industry is doing to attract new talent.
IBAC recently launched its new national campaign with the slogan "The world doesn’t work without insurance. And insurance works best with an insurance broker!” Can you tell us how you came up with this tagline?
Through our recent strategic planning process, the IBAC Board provided us with clear direction – they wanted to leverage IBAC’s effective national advertising program to help respond to one of the key priorities facing the broker channel today: attracting new talent to brokerage businesses across the country. We then worked collaboratively with our advertising agency in Toronto, Agency59, to develop and refine the concept.
We set out to demonstrate how critical insurance is to the proper functioning of our economy and society, and to clearly underscore that insurance “works best” with an insurance broker. The campaign elevates the insurance industry generally and the broker profession specifically.
How can brokers further improve their engagement with their clients?
In terms of insurance distribution channels in Canada, the broker value proposition of choice, advice and advocacy is unmatched in this country. Brokers provide unbiased professional advice to their clients, and effectively serve the interests of their customers. As client needs evolve and the environment around us gets more complex, the expertise that a broker provides becomes even more valuable. Client engagement can be further improved by providing omni-channel methods for clients to communicate with their broker. This means enhancing the exchange of real-time data between insurers and brokers to further improve the customer experience, which is another major priority for IBAC.
And how can brokers demonstrate to carriers that they are an essential part of the insurance ecosystem?
Brokers demonstrate their value to insurance carriers every day. As intermediaries, brokers provide tailored advice to clients on risk assessment and policy selection and gather the key information that insurers need for accurate pricing and claims processing. Brokers also manage customer relationship and provide ongoing customer service.
In addition, brokers operate in virtually every city and town across Canada, expanding access to markets and providing regionally specific knowledge and expertise.
Apart from the new campaign, what else is IBAC doing to attract new insurance talent to the broker profession?
IBAC is also going to profile “a day in the life” of a diverse group of insurance brokers from across the country. We want to highlight to Canadians the many attributes of working in the broker channel. Working as an insurance broker means that you are part of something bigger.
The profession is very fulfilling and provides a huge opportunity to make a real difference in the lives of your clients, often at a time when they need your help and support the most. This is particularly true in a claim situation. Brokers are an essential part of the fabric of their communities. They are entrepreneurial and innovative, and work in an industry that is strong, stable, and always changing. We are also an industry that celebrates diversity and promotes inclusiveness.
