Is instant quoting the future of cyber insurance and broker-carrier relations?

For better or worse, the cyber environment is a place of constant evolution. On the plus side, that evolution means tremendous innovation. On the downside, those leaps forward are unfortunately opening the world up to increased threats of cyberattacks.

For businesses, this increase in cyber threats has resulted in a corresponding increase in the need for more comprehensive cyber coverage. But as more attacks make headlines and businesses clamor for increased cyber coverage, premiums have similarly spiked.

In fact, according to Aon Plc, cyber coverage policyholders can expect rates to climb between 20% to 50% throughout 2021. As a result of this premium increase, insurance brokers will face a significant spike in requests from policyholders to shop for alternative quote options.

To keep up, brokers will need to explore solutions that will allow them to not only manage but also grow their quote volume capacity and ultimately commissions.

Instant quotes: The broker’s ultimate solution?

One such solution is API-enabled instant quoting systems — an electronic approach to quoting that reduces a broker’s time spent on manually chasing quotes. But are instant quotes the broker’s North Star for thriving in this hardening cyber market?

In terms of the benefits of instant quotes, one of the primary perks offered to brokers is the ability to handle a higher quote volume as compared to a manual approach. Instant quotes achieve this by electronically connecting brokers to carriers and reinsurers. That connection means brokers have easy and real-time access to quote information. As a result, brokers can generate quotes at much higher speeds than possible with manual quote production, leading to a higher quote volume and ultimately higher hit ratios/commissions for the broker.

That said, not all instant quote systems are created equal. Many lack the ability to integrate with a broker’s agency management system. In addition, instant quote systems often only take one aspect of the submission process into consideration — the API-enabled quote retrieval — and neglect the more traditional email submission workflow.

As a result, brokers may need to spend time manually inputting the information from their instant quotes back into their agency management system, as well as manage the many other related processes outside of the solution. The ideal platform should eliminate double entry by providing the capability to seamlessly integrate instant and traditional email quotes into a unified submission workflow.

Opt for all-in-one quoting solutions

Luckily there are best-in-class systems available on the market today that can help brokers receive both instant and email quotes.

When picking a platform that suits your business, look for those that meet the full spectrum of your quoting needs. In particular, look for solutions that seamlessly manage transactions end-to-end across all sizes/complexity of risk and all coverage lines without compromising your organization’s traditional workflows.

Anne Hasenstab is the vice president of cyber & executive risk for Relay Platform. Her 20+ year career spans both public and private company exposures on the underwriting and brokerage sides of the insurance industry. Anne began her career at Chubb in Chicago as an executive protection underwriter and later held various management roles focusing on D&O, EPL, professional liability, and cyber with a variety of firms. 

Eric Lough is director of distribution & AMS partnerships at Relay Platform. In his role, Eric equips agencies and brokerages with the Relay solution to solve their quote chasing and proposal building woes. As part of that, Eric manages partnerships with Agency Management System vendors such as Applied and Vertafore. For close to a decade, Eric has worked in sales and business development, implementing successful sales processes and strategies both as an individual contributor and in sales management. 

You can contact Relay Platform at contact@relayplatform.com. Opinions expressed here are the authors’ own. 

Related: 

• Insurance carriers are attracting hackers at a hastened pace
• How revenue & data influence cyber premiums
• Top three digital transformation myths in insurance