The past couple of years have seen vast technological acceleration – with the impact of the pandemic shifting much real-world work into the virtual domain.
It has been a trial by fire for many organizations. Yet for Markel – whose Markel Connect portal has been growing in both power and popularity since its 2015 launch – it was an opportunity to innovate even further.
“We have seen an increase in the number of brokers requesting access to the Markel Connect portal as a result of the pandemic,” explained Emilie Gravel, manager of online business development at Markel Canada. “This is likely attributed to our broker partners pivoting their workflows to handle standardized accounts more efficiently in a virtual environment. As the demand for online products grows, we have taken this opportunity to apply our expertise in the Environmental Impairment Liability area to develop some innovative new online products.”
The products in question? A whole new suite of offerings that, according to Gravel, reflects the fact that the “time is right to start focusing on speciality insurance solutions.”
Among the line-up will be Contractors Pollution Liability (CPL) and a new Storage Tank product.
“Smaller CPL risks fit very well within the portal model,” reveals Emily Horsman, vice president at Markel Canada and leader of their Alternative Distribution team. “We feel this is a great way to bring efficiencies to our brokers in a totally different area. This is also the logic behind our Storage Tank product, which will arrive on the coattails of the CPL offering and easily works within a portal. Our broker partners have shared that this is an area of need for them and their clients.”
So – what exactly is it about Markel’s approach to these sectors that makes it so innovative and forward-thinking?
It all boils down, Horsman insists, on fusing a progressive outlook with the sheer convenience of the Markel Connect portal.
“If you talk to the vast majority of our brokers who are familiar with our portal,” she said, “it is easy, straightforward, and fast, offering small businesses Office Package, Miscellaneous E&O and, depending on jurisdiction, Not-for-Profit and Private D&O policies at our brokers’ fingertips. We have a portal team focused on quickly responding to any questions or issues our brokers have, whether it is a referral within the portal due to a response to one of our underwriting questions, or a password issue.
“The team is also experienced in offering online demonstrations to our brokers who are new or need a refresher on the portal, and these can be set up quite easily. Our portal is available to any licensed broker in Canada, it just requires a request to one of the team for a login. Of course, many of our brokers might also say the best benefit is the exclusive enhanced commission granted on all bound policies.”
There’s no reason to believe that Markel will be resting on its laurels after this product line-up is unveiled, however.
As Gravel puts it, “our expertise is in unique packaged products and client-focused sector solutions … and we are continuing to carry this focus through to our online solutions” – so the future is looking full of exciting new developments.
“We are delighted about having the opportunity to create broker-specific portals for particular programs as we continue to build our portal product book,” Horsman added.
“Markel has also recently been focusing on specific sectors of business with our CARE and PLAY products, and we expect these will provide some great online product opportunities in the not-so-distant future. The ability of technology to make business easier, faster, and more efficient on risks where it makes sense is very exciting for us, and we feel the sky is the limit!”
