Since he first stepped into his role as executive director of QBE UK’s insurance business, the message relayed to Chris Wallace (pictured left) from the firm’s broking partners has been clear – “just get the basics right.” And it’s an entreaty that has been asked and answered, as revealed by the broker feedback the insurer has received since it announced its revamped strategy some 12 months ago.
“When I came back to the UK, a lot of the feedback we got was around the need for greater visibility and engagement,” he said. “We’re a well-equipped business with strong performance and great technical capabilities but there has been the need to get a sharper edge around visibility and engagement in the market.
“From meetings with our brokers in the last three to four months, the feedback we’ve got is that we are significantly stronger. In many broker feedback sessions, we’re now getting placed in their top three in terms of how we engage with the market and our visibility. And a key theme behind a lot of the things we’ve done lately has been to get a much stronger, closer alignment with our brokers.”
Something that has become very evident to Wallace and his team is the direct correlation between open dialogue with broker partners and strong performance. The insurer wrote more new business last year than ever before, he said, which goes to show that when you bring together visibility, engagement, and connectivity with brokers, it has an organic and positive impact on performance.
Director of UK regions for QBE Andy Fitzgerald (pictured right) underscored the value UK brokers are placing on consistency of approach. QBE’s stated ambition is to give the same level of service and outcome to brokers, whether they’re based in Glasgow, Bristol, London or beyond, he said, and to be predictable in the best way possible, by providing a safe pair of hands to brokers and their clients.
“You’ll get the same answer from us wherever you’re based and there’s no variance,” he said. “So, people want to come to us because they know we can find the solutions they’re looking for and that we’ll respond on time. Regional empowerment is a key theme for us because we recognise how our brokers value that. It’s not 100% consistent for us across the piece yet, there are areas where can do better but we’re coming out in the top one or two based on the feedback that we’re getting.”
Given the context of the current market dynamics, Wallace noted that there’s a great deal of emphasis on reliability, credit certainty and managing unpredictability. What underpins all of that, however, is a relentless focus on service. The market is seeing different fluctuations in service levels, he said, which presents a challenge to brokers but also an opportunity for QBE UK to showcase its value proposition.
“One thing that’s been really important to us is that when we’re developing a growth initiative or a new strategy to support our brokers and clients, we’re making sure the delivery is consistent,” he said. “So, part of the work that Andy is doing in setting up our new regional structure and having a head of trading in each office is very much about providing a ‘top of the triangle’, a point person for each local regional market that brokers and clients can interact with.
“Making sure they have somebody reliable, who’s front-office, who can drive that theme of service, support and consistency is critical. And it does come back to consistency because one of the challenges that brokers put to us 12-18 months ago was that they saw different levels of service depending on their geographical footprint. So, it’s great to see the work Andy’s done embedding those new regional structures being reflected in the feedback from our brokers.”
Fitzgerald noted that there seems to be a sense that the market is moving towards greater stability in terms of its pricing and how it’s looking to engage with clients. Inflation is still a bit of a worry, he said, particularly in the context of how it’s going to impact some of the cat losses from last year – and the knock-on effect of that on reinsurance pricing. Some of that hasn’t washed its way through yet, so there is some trepidation as to what’s going to happen with rates.
“I think most people are confident that there is some increased consistency,” he said. “There are pricing increases flowing through but they’re not spiking and they’re not dropping. I think those are easier conversations to be having with clients – that yes, there are some inflationary increases flowing through but everybody can understand that, but you’re not seeing any spiking adjustments because of massive losses. So, the mood on the ground is generally quite positive.”
M&A activity continues to be an area sparking interest and conversation, and Fitzgerald noted that there is still a lot of acquisitive activity taking place. Every broker you speak with is talking to other brokers to see what’s available to buy, he said, and he believes that consolidation theme will continue to feature strongly going forward as broking groups become larger still – and he’s looking forward to seeing how they leverage their bolstered size.
“From what I’m seeing in the market, brokers are still progressively requesting greater reliability and looking to make sure that the carriers are at the front of driving greater support around service and delivery in this ever-changing market,” Wallace said. “I think there is an air of frustration from the brokers who are still finding inconsistency in the market whether that’s around service, pricing, or geographic coverage.”
The work QBE UK has done in patching that gap has been exceptionally well-timed, he said, and it’s given the business a strong foundation for growth and from which to adapt to the changes – and the progressive nature of broker expectations – in 2024 and beyond.
