The Number 1 challenge facing Canada’s broker channel
May 11, 2021 by David GambrillOut of all the challenges facing the broker channel right now, the hard market is the biggest one of them of all, according Canadian Underwriter‘s 2021 National Broker Survey. Seventy-four per cent of Canadian P&C insurance brokers who responded to…
Broker strategies for making it through the hard market
May 11, 2021 by David GambrillBrokers are currently caught between a pandemic and a hard market, with several insurers predicting that Canada’s hard market cycle in property and casualty insurance will last at least one or two more years beyond the end of the pandemic.…
Brokers cut insurers some slack during the pandemic
May 11, 2021 by David GambrillBrokers appear to be cutting their insurer partners a bit of slack during the pandemic, with more brokers agreeing this year that insurers are striking a fair balance between the interests of carriers and brokers. Over the past three years,…
In the hard market, are you selling on price or coverage?
May 11, 2021 by David GambrillPrice point and carrier capacity have become increasingly important factors for brokers in recommending insurance coverage to their clients over the past year, according to Canadian Underwriter’s 2021 National Broker Survey. Canadian Underwriter asked 234 Canadian P&C insurance brokers across…
Has the pandemic dampened brokers’ enthusiasm for referrals, new business?
April 13, 2021 by David GambrillBrokers don’t appear to be as enthusiastic about generating new business through referrals as they were before the pandemic, according to Canadian Underwriter’s 2021 National Broker Survey. In fact, brokers’ support for almost all traditional means to generate new business…
Brokerage interest in M&A dips slightly in early 2021: CU survey
April 12, 2021 by David GambrillFor Canadian brokerage principals, interest in mergers and acquisitions as a growth strategy increased dramatically in September 2020, during the second wave of the pandemic, but seems to have cooled somewhat since then, according to the results of Canadian Underwriter’s…
NBS 2020 Brokers during the pandemic
November 5, 2020 by David GambrillCanadian Underwriter’s 2020 National Broker Survey was a survey unlike any other. Conducted during a one-in-100-year global pandemic, we talked to 220 Canadian property and casualty insurance brokers about pressures on the distribution channel, operational challenges, best practices, optimal marketing…
NBS 2020 What brokers think about their post-pandemic financial health
November 5, 2020 by David GambrillBrokers tend to be an optimistic lot. In both 2018 and 2019, most brokers in our National Broker Survey predicted that their financial performance would be better the next year than it was the year before. The same was true…
NBS 2020 Specialization and its limits
November 5, 2020 by David GambrillSpecialization remains the name of the game in the property and casualty insurance industry. For the past three years, brokers have extolled specialization in our annual National Broker Surveys. This year was no different. We conducted our study in August…
NBS 2020 How brokers are finding their leads during the pandemic
November 5, 2020 by David GambrillPhysical distancing or no, brokers still see referrals as being the best way to generate sales leads and gain new clients. “Word of mouth,” one broker in the 2020 National Broker Survey wrote, when asked about the most beneficial way…
NBS 2020 What brokers REALLY think about their jobs and their bosses
October 26, 2020 by David GambrillBrokers are more satisfied with their jobs now than they have been over the past three years, Canadian Underwriter’s 2020 National Broker Survey reveals. What’s more, they like their bosses better than their bosses think they do (at least, this…
NBS 2020 Broker principals reveal their favourite way to pay producers
October 16, 2020 by David GambrillIn the dog-eat-dog world of trying to generate sales during a global pandemic, brokerage principals are increasingly turning to performance-based compensation to help improve the performance of their brokers, according to Canadian Underwriter’s 2020 National Broker Survey. Of the more…