Preview Biba 2010: Talking up the future

Emmanuel Kenning: Are you all confident that brokers have a positive future?

Gareth Hemming: Yes, because the fundamentals of the advice model are right. There will always be opportunities out there and the right people will find them.

Simon Ronaldson: Without any question the insurer and broking model will continue to succeed. I think the model will change slightly as there will be more emphasis on advice at the high end and on technology and process at the low end. The way it will thrive is that brokers recognise where they do add value around the area of advice and the complexity of insurance like professional indemnity.

Kenning: Any advice for our readers about what brokers should be doing with their websites?

Graeme Trudgill: A broker's website is their shop window now. I think they're very important and I think we're seeing great improvements being made. We're certainly encouraging members to list all their contact details which was missing from some sites.

Elizabeth Foster: Some brokers still fear them. They think it's a wheel and actually it is. Once you've got a website, there's only one thing to do with it to maximise its use and that is keep it up to date. A lot of brokers think they've got their work cut out doing what they do. They're still trying to do everything by the traditional means and haven't moved out to using other methods of growing their business, promoting their business, advising clients, because all those things, if you actually put your mind to it, is what you need your website for.

Howard Lickens: I think the trick - and I wouldn't like you to think it's because we've got it sorted out - is to know what sort of business you're running and then use your website to be the external face of that. It's not about whether you can quote and buy, and not about whether you can drive lots of enquiries to it, it's the outside reflection of your business, the personality of your business, if you can manage to deliver that, it will do something for you.

Kenning: Are there any particular changes that you're noticing in the market?

Jonathan Clark: People are getting a greater realism about indemnity periods. The dominant thing is people wanting to know where they are, that contract certainty is not just what's on this document but where do I sit now? Certainly the brokers that we're working with on incidents want to know - so they can communicate clearly with their client - what's going to be happening and where we are going. I'd say that isn't a seismic shift but it's a gathering momentum...

Malcolm Smith: We've certainly noticed an increase in indemnity limits over the last two or three years, and I think some of that is driven by contract requirements particularly with local authorities. We get a large loss now and there's a five million indemnity whereas five years ago it was one million. Professional indemnity also seems to be becoming quite a routine requirement with local authority contracts...

• To read the full discussion including debate on the impact of the recession on insurer service, hardening in the market, and electronic trading be sure to pick up your copy of the Biba Daily on both days of this year's conference at the London Excel, Docklands, 19-20 May. It will also be available online at www.broking.co.uk.

Source: PB – May 2010