What’s on the minds of insurance brokers almost a year and a half into the COVID-19 pandemic? Aviva Research has asked this question by commissioning a survey of 220 professional brokers across the UK and has today published the key insights.
From the research, Aviva found that 43% of brokers expect to see their business grow in H2 2021, while only 28% anticipate a decline. Growth expectations were particularly strong among national (50%) and local brokers (48%). However, regional brokers showed less optimism - only 26% expected growth during the remainder of 2021, while 42% expected a decline in their business.
Commenting on the report, Gareth Hemming, Aviva’s chief distribution officer highlighted that, as British businesses get back to more normal trading conditions it is positive to see economic optimism building in the broker community.
“There is an understandable note of caution though as there will be a number of challenges to deal with while businesses adjust to new and evolving risks,” he said. “However, I am confident that by working closely with brokers we can support British businesses as they look to benefit from the growth opportunities in the market.”
Exploring the future of home working, Aviva highlighted that over half of brokers (56%) want to balance working life between the home and office. This was especially high in national brokers at 72%, while 58% of regional brokers expressed the same preference. Local brokers bucked the trend, however, with just over half (52%) of those surveyed stating they would prefer a return to the office most, if not all, of the time.
Aviva also noted that while many brokers wanted to spend more time working at home, almost two-thirds of those surveyed agreed that the long period of homeworking had negatively impacted their wellbeing. This was particularly true among regional brokers, 72% of which agreed that their well-being or mental health had been negatively impacted.
Examining the factors that contributed to this impact, Aviva found that the most significant factor was “difficulties communicating via remote channels”, which was reported by 27% of brokers. This was particularly high in regional brokers, with 36% saying that they had struggled with this. For local brokers, the largest challenge was difficulties in administering policies remotely (28%). Meanwhile, national brokers reported struggles with isolation or removal from their colleagues as their biggest concern (40% ).
Hemming also noted that COVID-19 had impacted people in multiple ways, which had created challenges for brokers as they juggled remote working with supporting their customers’ needs. As the UK reopens from COVID-related restrictions, he said, brokers would need time to adjust to this trading environment.
“A key element for brokers in this new environment will be to continue to provide the high levels of service and risk advice that they have delivered throughout the pandemic,” he said. “This will require dedicated time to plan so that they can still meet in person and build their relationships with customers, while perhaps reducing travel for internal meetings.”
