A CFO friend asked me what I thought about the recent M&A news involving two large business insurance brokers and how M&A might impact clients. I nodded with a shrug ??and shared these thoughts:
Business insurance is about the experts and individuals ACTUALLY WORKING on your account. It’s about the team (and the individuals) you have, not necessarily the company they’re associated with. Expertise within a single organization can vary significantly. A team in one region could be very different from a team in another (I'll leave this topic for another article).
When your insurance broker undergoes a transaction, focus on a few key things:
- What additional resources (or expertise) am I getting??
- Will my core service team utilize these new resources??Many organizations require revenue-sharing when using these resources, so no, you don’t always get access to better resources automatically. Insurance buyers should push to ensure they receive the best available expertise. I’d also recommend asking your broker to perform an internal peer review with these new experts.
- Will any key lines of insurance be streamlined??
- Will any members of my core servicing team leave??
- What are the new SOPs?
There are additional considerations, but don’t panic—give it a year to assess any changes. My biggest takeaway is this: push to utilize additional resources. Clients should benefit from the transaction too!
- This blog/article?does not intend to provide legal advice or create an attorney-client relationship. You should consult your attorney in connection with matters affecting your own legal interests.
- Opinions?expressed?are?solely?my?own and?do not?express the?views?or?opinions of my employer.
- I am not your insurance broker and I don't know your specific insurance coverage. Please read the terms of your insurance policy or contact your broker for specifics.
- This is a casual post, there will be occasional typos and grammatical errors.
