Will a hard market fuel or stall M&A?
June 11, 2019 by Adam MalikMergers and acquisitions during a hard market are likely to play out differently depending on whether you’re looking at things as a broker or a carrier. On one side, a hard market may be the fuel to keep the fire…
Are you prepared for insurance quotes through Google Home and Amazon Echo?
May 10, 2019 by David Gambrill“Google Home, Amazon Echo, buy me auto insurance for my new, black 2019 Hyundai Sontata.” If you are a broker, would you be able to handle this voice request for an auto insurance quote? If not, you’d better start strategizing…
Why it’s not so easy for an insurer to go direct
January 21, 2019 by Greg MeckbachWawanesa’s decision to write insurance in Canada through brokers only came as a shock to some consultants. “If you talk to the consultants down on Adelaide Street [in Toronto] in their big offices, what are they going to tell an…
Brokers give performance-based pay a thumbs-up
November 6, 2018 by David GambrillThis story is one in a series reporting on the results of 2018 National Broker Survey, conducted by Canadian Underwriter. The survey of more than 800 P&C brokers nationally was designed to identify the success strategies of both producers and principals. Find other instalments in the…
Wawanesa brings U.S. learnings to Canadian brokers
October 21, 2018 by David GambrillBrokers can learn a valuable lesson from Wawanesa’s $9.5-million investment in an online platform to provide direct-to-consumer quotes for rental insurance, the company’s president of Canadian P&C operations told brokers attending the 2018 IBAO Conference last week. Don’t try replicating…
More commercial brokerage consolidation could follow Marsh-JLT combo
September 19, 2018 by Greg MeckbachA US$6-billion merger between Marsh & McLennan Companies Inc. and Jardine Lloyd Thompson Group Plc could form the world’s largest commercial brokerage, and more mergers and acquisitions among commercial brokerages will likely to follow, a Canadian M&A expert suggests. Marsh…
Should brokerages be open evenings or weekends?
August 20, 2018 by Greg MeckbachMany brokerage offices are open for business outside of normal working hours but some question whether this is really necessary, given recent advances in web services. “It shouldn’t really matter if your technology is structured properly” whether your brokerage is…
‘Lots of people don’t like telematics,’ insurer reports
December 14, 2017 Greg Meckbach, Associate EditorOpportunities for “broker-driven” usage-based auto insurance are likely to be down the road, but brokers are telling a large Canadian mutual that their insurance customers don’t want their insurers monitoring how they use their vehicles. “Our brokers are advising us…