Little differentiation between insurers in marketplace: IBAO survey

Brokers see little differentiation between insurers in the marketplace, according to the Insurance Brokers Association of Ontario (IBAO)’s latest Brokers Choice survey.
IBAO worked with Navicom Inc. to create a comprehensive questionnaire that explored brokers’ views of insurers’ performance in the following key areas:
• broker channel leadership;
• channel support;
• product and service innovation;
• senior management; and
• technology and operations.
More than 1,600 broker management and administrative staff members responded.
Only Farmers Lindsay and Gore Mutual had performance scores consistently above average in the survey, suggesting brokers saw little to choose between the insurance companies in the marketplace.
Brokers gave top ranking to Intact Insurance when asked to choose the companies they consider to be key partners in their brokerages, despite the fact that Intact had not placed in the ‘companies above average’ category in the summary of key performance attributes.
Gore Mutual and Aviva rounded out the top three insurance companies, as ranked by brokers.
Brokerage management and administrative staff had different perceptions of insurers’ performance.
Management tended to feel insurers’ overall company strategies were consistent with broker needs. Administrative staff held insurers’ product, service and technology innovation in a higher esteem.
The detailed survey results will be distributed to IBAO membership over the course of 21 regional meetings occurring in the coming weeks.