How to Work Better with Brokers

Sometimes throwaway questions can spark very interesting responses during an interview. In reporting the feature story on the excess & surplus lines industry (See N20), Insurance Journal reporters – just for the heck of it – asked brokers around the country how they could improve relationships with agents. The answer, in a word: Communication.

One of the more common refrains repeated by brokers everywhere was the need for sending along completed submissions. That means filling out all required items and attachments, as well as passing along additional details, required or not, that will ultimately help place a risk at a good price, and quickly.

Greg Provenzo, senior vice president of Atlantic Specialty Lines in Richmond, Virginia, had this advice to agents: “Give as much information as possible, including the terms that are needed, premiums, deductibles or anything else to sell a piece of business. That will speed things up.”

That point was echoed by Bart Koch, of Tejas American General Agency in Cedar Park, Texas. “Submit complete information,” he said. “You’d be surprised how many applications come in without even some basic information on there. it just takes a few minutes. A lot of times we’ll call agents and they’ll tell us, but (on a submission) they’ll only describe what the business does in a word. A little better description would help a lot.”

It’s easy to forget that the E&S business has become one in which speed is now a major priority. Automation has greatly increased at both large and small wholesalers – and everywhere else, too – and this has created a culture where customers, agents, brokers and underwriters all vie to quote and deliver policies on a quick-turnaround basis.

Part of that is self-fulfilling, wholesalers said: The ease of shopping accounts has made it easier to shop accounts, although no brokers seemed to think that was a major problem.

But keeping face time is a two-way street, and many brokers also say they try their hardest to keep the lines of communication open with agents for that very reason.

“Developing a better, closer relationship with our individual retailers is key because they have to understand how we operate and what we need in order to place business,” said Jim Roe, president of Indianapolis-based Arlington/Roe & Co.

He added: “Likewise, we’ve got to understand how they do things. And one of the issues that always comes up is information. What is your relationship with the buyer? Do you really have a good idea of what you’re doing there? That is a big piece of what we do, educating the retailer about new classes of business and new products. We will take them and meet with their clients so they can offer the expertise level where they can make a different for their clients.”

In a business increasingly built on speed, an open dialogue can be the key to getting an agency’s clients the products, policies and coverage they want and need.