Briefing: Are brokers to blame for etrade service issues?

The frustration of brokers is palpable. 

Many feel etrading service from the majority of insurers has been underwhelming. 

One of the biggest gripes is over waiting times on referrals, which have shot up according to our survey results.  

It would be all too easy to simply blame the insurers.

The argument goes that the slow response times also come with inconsistent wordings and a constant churn in staff, so brokers lose their touchpoints. 

The widespread poor service is largely insurers’ fault.  

However, an interesting discussion during an Insurance Times webinar, sponsored by Applied Systems Europe, gave a different point of view.

According to the panellists, brokers can do much more to improve the service from insurers, such as: 

• Not waste time leaving open-ended questions hanging with insurers - instead, close them at the first opportunity.
• Stop asking ‘what if’ questions and be much more specific with the line of questioning to the insurer.
• Spend more time simply looking up the policy and documentation, where the answer often lies, rather than requesting help from insurers.

The webinar participants agreed that many brokers are quite simply wasting insurers’ time.

Some brokers are lazy and do not read the policy wordings, they said. 

Finally, and above all else, brokers need to invest in the right staff and train them. Staff should understand an insurer’s risk appetite so that they are not asking the same questions again and again.

In summary, the webinar showed that there are two sides of the coin in the debate around etrading standards.