Nearly three-quarters of employers say they are either satisfied or very satisfied with the services their insurance brokers provide, but they have high expectations on coverage and communication, according to Zywave’s 2023 Brokers Services Survey.
Prompt service and timely answers to questions ranked highly with respondents to this year’s survey, with 68% of respondents selecting it as their top consideration. Offering products and services tailored to fit an organization’s needs came in as the second most important factor at 61%, a noteworthy change from years past.
“This is a significant change from previous survey results when offering tailored products and services barely cracked the top 10 selection criteria; it was the ninth most important selection criterion in 2021 and the 10th in 2019,” said the authors of the report. “The dramatic rise of tailoring insurance products and services as employers’ second most important selection criterion demonstrates the importance of personalized offerings in today’s market.”
Not only do clients want bespoke coverage options, over 70% of respondents said they’d like to hear from their brokers either daily or weekly. The 32% of respondents wanting daily communication marks a 136% increase from Zywave’s 2021 Broker Services Survey, when just 13% of respondents sought information from their brokers daily.
“This significant increase is something brokers should take note of, especially when taken together with employers’ most important criterion for selecting brokers: ‘provides prompt and effective service/answers questions in a timely manner,’” Zywave noted. “In the current economic climate, brokers who aren’t communicating with their clients on a daily or, at a minimum, weekly basis are at risk of being replaced by more proactive competitors.”
The third most important criterion as ranked by respondents may shed some light on the increased desire for information – more than half (56%) of respondents indicated they want their broker to be “a trusted advisor rather than an insurance salesperson.” Signs point to clients looking to their brokers to guide them through economic uncertainty, post-pandemic business shifts, regulatory changes, and talent shortages.
“Employers expect more proactive and dynamic engagement from their brokers to better address their current challenges and implement effective strategies on issues like controlling rising health care costs, strengthening attraction and retention efforts, and ensuring employee health and well-being,” commented Zywave in the report.
While most respondents have a positive outlook for the near future (83% think their 2023 performance will meet or exceed 2022’s), higher commercial lines premiums and finding available coverage topped their list of insurance challenges for this year. Respondents also expressed concern around insurance literacy — understanding insurance terminology and navigating what is and is not covered by policies were cited as concerns. These results reveal an opportunity for brokers to bridge the gaps in understanding for their clients and truly provide value.
“Brokers who can deliver practical guidance, help clients navigate the hard insurance market, and assist clients through operational and risk management challenges will be able to further distinguish themselves from their competitors moving forward,” the authors of the report said.
Zywave’s 2023 Broker Services Survey fielded responses from over 225 respondents handling both employee benefits and property/casualty lines from organizations of all sizes in the United States.