Briefing: Brokers are upset - which insurers will lose customers over BI claims?

Briefing by Saxon East

Speaking to a public relations owner the other day, he made it quite clear how his broker felt.

’Usually, my broker places me with Hiscox. This year, he’s placing me with Markel. It’s a backlash from the pandemic,” he told me. 

It would be unfair to pick on Hiscox, as there are other insurers involved who put on ice paying out on business interruption and/or denial of access claims during the pandemic.

But as the process draws to its conclusion - six insurers dropped their High Court appeal against some policies - the next big question is around how much certain insurers will lose business from the pandemic, and at the other end, who will be the big winners. 

One very good indicator of broker sentiment will be the Insurance Times Five Star Survey, currently being surveyed and published in the New Year.

Hiscox actually improved its score from 2018 to 2019, landing itself with a very solid four star. But what will the 2020 score look like? 

Elsewhere, Markel has been fast out the blocks during the pandemic, ready to help brokers.

It says confidently that it didn’t batten down the hatches when Covid struck. 

Can it improve on its current score of 4.30, giving it five stars and leading all other insurers by a considerable margin? 

Below is a quick reminder of the scores in commercial lines. 

In summary, never has there been a more important time for insurers to perform well in our annual survey. The results will be coming out soon - and it will make very interesting reading.