Still a people business

Simon Cooter, UK distribution director, Brit Insurance

It is now three months since I joined Brit Insurance and in that time I have had face to face discussions with more than 100 brokers. It is clear to me that, as a community, insurers are not doing enough to meet their needs.

It is easy to see that a drive to greater efficiency can result in office closures, offshoring and increased commoditisation of business, but the risk is that a point or two saved on an expense ratio is more than lost in terms of broker and client perception and, ultimately, lost business.

The adoption of technology is a key step forward for the industry, and electronic trading for personal lines and small commercial business is clearly the answer today and in the future. For mainstream commercial business I believe that technology is important but it is no more than an enabler. For a commercial client paying £20,000 or more in premium, a Little Britain-esque response along the lines of "the computer says no" is simply not good enough.

I wonder if we have lost sight of the basics. Brokers tell me that they still want to trade with insurers who have local offices and underwriters who have the knowledge and the skills to trade. Most importantly, they want to deal with people who are empowered to make decisions without referral to some mythical head office.

This means insurers having an office that is always open for business. It also means underwriters who will get out in the market and work with brokers to understand client needs and to make sure that the best possible solution is put forward.

Call me old-fashioned but commercial insurance is still, and will remain, very much a people business. Perhaps we sometimes forget that in the current market, but in the long term the majority of commercial clients choose a broker who understands them, who gives them strong and independent advice, and who backs it up with first-class local service.

It seems reasonable to me that brokers should demand the same from their insurer partners.