Commercial insurance trends: How to get better options for your business customers

by Alyson Paisley , Vice President, Commercial Lines, Intact Insurance, Ontario?

In the current commercial lines market, many insurers – Intact among them – are broadening their appetites. This is excellent news for today’s business customers, and the brokers who support them.??

I asked Intact’s commercial lines directors, business development team and underwriters what brokers could do in this environment to really deliver value for customers.?

Here’s what they said.???

Get that quote!?

Don’t eliminate markets just because you haven’t traditionally quoted that type of risk with them or because they have turned down a specific risk previously. At Intact, for example, our appetite, capacity and product suite have all expanded dramatically over the last few years. Between the commercial and specialty expertise we onboarded through the RSA acquisition and our overall stable financial position, we can find the right solution for your customer in most cases – even on large and complex risks and in sectors in which we were not active before.?

Know your customers?

At the heart of what we do is your customer – getting them the right solution means understanding the ins and outs of who they are, what they do and where they operate. And yes, sometimes this means asking a lot of questions. At Intact, we want to get your customers their quote as quickly as possible, so we’re focusing in on the questions that really matter.??

Across the industry, markets – including Intact - are making it easier and faster to get quotes to you and your customers. Take advantage of these systems and tools that improve cycle time.?

Leverage tools like soft credit checks?

A business environment that’s still digesting high inflation and a cost-of-living crisis still means customers are price-conscious. Ensure the carrier has all the information they need to give your customer the best quote and leverage all available tools and discounts. At Intact, using Stability Advantage, a soft personal credit check on a business customer’s quote, can drive the price down by as much as 25%, and increase the binding rate by 20%.?

Ask for the ‘why’ behind decisions?

If you don’t understand an insurer’s decision – whether on price, decline or conditions – ask! An insurer should be prepared – and happy – to explain. At Intact, we’ve been working hard to upskill our underwriters so that they can deliver stellar product knowledge with the expertise necessary to both be flexible and to explain the rationale behind our decisions.?

Prioritize communication with your carriers??

Open, two-way communication with insurers improves the customer experience for you and your customers. Intact’s most recent Voice of the Broker survey showed high (and climbing) broker satisfaction with key service performance indicators such as ease of dealing with our team, explanation of underwriting decisions, employees’ knowledge of products and communication on appetite. Whether it’s on the phone, over email or in person, visits and conversations with your insurer representatives ensures you can deliver for your customer.??

Think long-term on product?

The economy evolves and so must any business that wants to thrive. Whether the market is hard or soft, consider your customer’s long term insurance needs. They will not always be a one-location start-up. They’ll grow, diversify, reposition. Consider an insurer with a product suite that gives customers options and reliability as their needs evolve. That’s the approach we’ve taken at Intact with our EDGE Complete and Liability EDGE products, which allow customers to tailor their insurance package as their business changes.?

Think long-term on price?

Nobody likes pricing volatility. To shield customers from price swings – and yourself from the toil of annual remarketing – choose an insurer with a pricing strategy that’s sustainable. Intact maintains our disciplined approach to underwriting throughout all market cycles because we want to be a stable insurer your customers can depend on.?

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Looking to grow your commercial lines book with Intact? Talk to your Intact Insurance representative about the strong commercial lines value proposition we offer to you and your customers.?

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Additional resources, exclusive to Intact brokers?

Need more resources to grow your commercial lines book? These Pathways courses, available on the Intact Portal, can help:?

• Commercial Lines Submissions Essentials – This 1-hour eLearning shows you what information underwriters need to get your customers that best price.?

• The Intact Commercial Advantage – This highly rated 1.5-hour instructor-led course takes you deep into how policies are constructed and how to explain them to customers.?

• Broad Form Property & EDGE Complete – Take this 1-hour instructor led course to find how the flexibility of our EDGE product grows as your customer’s business grows.?

• How to Approach Renewals – This 20-minute eLearning will make your renewal conversations with customers easier and more efficient!?