The future of independent brokers
We revisit a conversation with Bryan Davis of VIU by HUB about what’s on the horizon for independent brokers.
The wealth of knowledge available to customers has empowered many to make decisions about their insurance coverage. However, an ever-shifting market can leave even the most well-researched customer with unforeseen coverage gaps when it comes time to file a claim.
According to a 2022 Harris Poll on behalf of VIU by HUB, of those who said they had filed a claim on their insurance policy in the last five years, 40% said they had an event where their policy didn’t cover their claim in the way they had expected, and just over 80% of policyholders said there were things about their homeowners or auto policies they would like to better understand.
So, what can customers do to ensure they get the proper coverage? Turn to the experts.
For this episode of Insurance Speak, we revisit a 2023 conversation with one such expert – Bryan Davis, EVP and head of VIU by HUB – to talk about the value independent brokers offer to customers, and where the future of brokerages is headed.
One of the most important traits brokers can have, Davis said, is neutrality.
“The nature of the definition of a broker is that the broker is totally focused on the customer versus the other entities that the broker may be serving as well,” he explained. “So, the neutrality of being totally customer-centric is the number one value in addition to that, that comes with a neutrality element.”
Basic neutrality aside, he explained there are attributes of brokers that determine whether they are doing a good job of meeting their customers’ needs, rather than looking out for their own pocketbooks.
“A broker – a good broker – has the customers’ interests at heart as compared to the carrier’s interest at heart, and an excellent broker puts the incentives they may receive from a carrier kind of, at the backdrop versus for what is best for the consumer,” Davis said. “And when you compare that on the opposite end, a bad broker definitely doesn’t treat the customer as the center, treats other interests as better than the customer interest, and additionally, doesn’t adapt to the way… the customer, wants to be communicated to and interacted with.”
“So, when you couple all of those components together, a good broker is neutral, is focused on the consumer first, has kind of invested in the capabilities to interact with the consumer in the way the consumer wants to be interacted with versus, ‘Hey, call me between the hours of eight and three or nine to five. And after that, you’ve got to wait till I get back to you,” he continued.
“Those days are over. Good brokers interact with consumers the way that consumer lives their modern lives today.”
To hear our full conversation with Davis about what’s on the horizon for independent brokers and how they can best serve their customers in the modern market, listen to the full podcast episode above or subscribe to Insurance Speak on Spotify, Apple Music or Libsyn.