The number of obstacles insurance brokers have to negotiate in the marketplace is certainly growing, but with a bit more athleticism, flexibility and sheer determination the broker force should be able to march on without too many problems.
A helping hand along the way is always nice. That’s where
Intact Insurance’s business development manager Julia Fischer truly shines. She recently picked up the
Business Development Manager of the Year award at the
Insurance Business Canada Awards 2017 – an accolade she described as a “whirlwind” and “an honour.”
Almost a year ago, Fischer moved from Intact’s Durham location to its Toronto hub, taking on a brand-new subset of around 80 brokers, none of whom she’d met before. Forced to hit the ground running, the award-winner built new relationships from scratch and helped many brokers grow their businesses through
Intact’s initiatives.
“Helping brokers really move forward and remain relevant against the growing number of direct marketers is our key focus,” Fischer told
Insurance Business. “We have lots of exciting initiatives at Intact to help with this, including our broker-led telematics program [the My Driving discount], which is a great new business attractor for our brokers as well as a fantastic retention tool.
“This year we’ve also been able to give our broker partners the digital experience. We provide a digital platform that customers can visit to obtain policy documents, view billing statements and get up-to-date claims information. There are lots of exciting things going on – and there’s a lot more to come.”
There is
fear among insurance brokers, Fischer admitted, but it’s a doom and gloom outlook that brokers can avoid if they embrace innovation. It’s important that brokers fully understand where the industry is going and what’s required from them to navigate certain obstacles, she added.
Engaging with a business development manager like Fischer and utilizing a brand like Intact is one way brokers can retain relevance and move forward in the evolving industry.
“When I visit brokers, I really try to make sure they’re
embracing industry initiatives because there are tools that can really help,” Fischer said. “80% of what we do [at Intact] is through the broker channel, so we want to make sure we keep it alive by offering these types of initiatives to give brokers support.
“Success in this role is about staying progressive and continuing to give brokers everything they need for the next five, 10 or 15 years. Unfortunately, there are some people who think the broker channel won’t be alive that long - but at Intact, we see things differently.”
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