“I know I’m not my broker’s only or biggest client, but the team makes me feel that way.” That’s the response you get from Lori Seidenberg, ARM, RF, senior vice president, risk management, for HCP Pacific Asset Management LLC, when you ask her about her relationship with her broker, one that’s lasted for seven years. “My broker is there for the bad times and the good.”

Seidenberg’s comments echo those voiced in a recent study of large business commercial insurance customers conducted by J.D. Power and RIMS, published in December 2014. The study found that most risk managers want to have a strategic relationship with their brokers, not merely purchase insurance coverage through them. The study also found that the most important factor in customer satisfaction among risk professionals was how easy it was to contact the broker, followed by the broker’s ability to understand the customer’s needs.

National Underwriter interviewed a cross section of risk managers and brokers to get their views on how to build a strong broker relationship and what they recommended as best practices. The risk managers and brokers NU spoke with all agree on the need for open and honest communication, from the time the request for proposal (RFP) is issued throughout the relationship to its termination. They also agree that trust on both sides at all levels is key to making the relationship work.