Brokers who provide advice at renewal time enjoy significantly higher satisfaction from their small and medium enterprise (SME) clients, a study by Vero New Zealand has found.
The insurer’s SME Insurance Index 2022 found that broker clients who were provided advice at renewal time were significantly more satisfied with their broker (82%) than those who renewed their existing policies without any input from their broker (13% satisfied).
“This highlights the need for brokers to engage with SMEs at renewal time and work collaboratively with them to reassess their cover and identify any changes that may need to be made,” said Vero executive manager Sonya Whitney. “While we’ve found that most broker clients appear to be benefitting from expert advice at renewal time, 19% simply renewed their insurance as is, with no review. This suggests that there is a substantial proportion of SME broker clients who have renewed their insurance without the benefit of their broker’s expert analysis and advice.”
Whitney said the COVID-19 pandemic of the past two years means many businesses will have made changes, and there may be a significant number of SMEs that haven’t taken advantage of the annual renewal process to ensure that their insurance is appropriate for their new business needs.
"Brokers could consider taking the annual renewal of policies as an opportunity to get in touch with SMEs clients they haven’t heard from, to ensure they have the right cover for their needs and to grow their relationship,” Whitney said. “Brokers are in an excellent position to educate clients about risks that they may not think about, and renewal time is a good opportunity to share stories and case studies to educate SMEs who may not be thinking about possible risks at this point in time.”
Whitney also reminded brokers to get in touch with SME clients to remind them that renewal season is the best time to check their insurance and make sure they’re fully covered, in order to mitigate the impact of underinsurance as a result of inflation.
When it comes to groups that are more likely to renew their cover without seeking guidance from their broker, Whitney said the data shows female decision-makers and those who are under 45 often renew on their own, so brokers should proactively communicate the importance of a regular review and the value of advice to these segments.
