Chubb’s ambition is working with brokers

Brokers aren’t commission chasers. They don’t put profits ahead of the interests of their clients, according to Chubb’s head of distribution for independent brokers, Hannah Hosking. 

Headlines around Aviva’s decision to drop consolidator GRP’s agency over commission levels, and the FCA fining Bluefin £4m for driving business towards its parent company AXA, have seen the profession come under the microscope recently.

But Hosking says from her experience she only sees the opposite and that not enough is said about the vast majority brokers she works with who go to extreme lengths to help their customers.

She says that in her role she has seen large groups of independent brokers happy to take a reduction in their commission when they see the loss ratio move out, because they want to get the right result for their clients.

“I see some really good behaviours out there,” says Hosking. “I really think the independent broker segment represents a group of brokers that are more focussed on the services of their client than on the earnings that they receive.

“It’s easy to focus on one or two examples of poor behaviours in the market, but actually there are a huge number of brokers doing a brilliant job and working really hard for their clients.”

Chubb has recently had an overhaul in how it deals with brokers in an effort to be more accommodating to the needs of independent brokers.

Middle market ambition

Hosking reveals there has been a growing recognition at Chubb of the importance of the middle-market going forward and says changes have been made to support their growing “middle-market ambition” over the next five years.

She adds: “We recently changed our servicing structure and set up independent broker teams in London, Leeds, Manchester, Birmingham, Glasgow and Ireland. Each of these is dedicated to working with local independent brokers and to providing bespoke insurance solutions for their clients.

“The independent brokers can work exclusively with a bespoke independent broker team, which means that they can develop local relationships. This improves both continuity and understanding and it allows us to coordinate business when it comes in.

Cross-selling opportunities

“This means that we can create opportunities for cross-selling and also provide a more joined up response. In the past brokers might have had to make multiple separate submissions, so the idea is that with the independent broker team they can send it in to one team, one person, and they can make sure they come back with a joined up response.”

Other changes include a new training and development programme, one for Chubb’s most prestigious 25 “cornerstone brokers”, presenting a bespoke offer, and a wider one available for all independent brokers.

At Biba this year, Hosking is keen to receive some honest feedback on what brokers think of the changes, as well as meet up with industry professionals and friends made after 20 years in the industry.

Along with meeting cornerstone brokers, she says a huge benefit of Biba is the varied cross-section of other brokers that she will get to spend time with, and she says she is keen to speak with as many people as possible about their product lines.

Hosking adds: “Brokers are crucial to our mid market business and we rely on them to educate the customer for us. 

“We know what an important role our brokers play for us in the distribution chain and what we recognise is that we haven’t historically had a bespoke solution for our independent brokers, we’ve now addressed that. 

Really important partners 

“Independent brokers have really strong and long-standing relationships with their clients, as well as a depth of knowledge of their businesses so they are really important partners.”

And as Chubb introduces changes to how it services independent clients, Hosking says the industry as a whole also has to show flexibility to react to a raft of changes currently rocking the insurance broking market.

She adds: “There is a huge amount of consolidation going on among brokers. A lot of change is happening within all segments and there’s a really big difference with how different brokers trade, whether that be trading as one organisation while others, although they may buy smaller sized brokers, still trade as if they were independent brokers. 

“What we have to do at Chubb is be really flexible and be able to adapt quickly to all the changes going on in the market. We must also be able to adapt our service so it suits all the brokers that we trade with, not just one segment. 

“To do that, we have to change how we work and keep evolving and refining the process as the market changes.”