Insurance Age - Brokers uncertain over the future state of play

Insurance Age - Brokers uncertain over the future state of play

Brokers uncertain over the future state of play
With this year's British Insurance Brokers' Association conference in London just around the corner, Insurance Age conducted an online poll of readers on what their thoughts were on consolidation, training in the industry and the importance of the internet.

WHAT YOU SAID ON TECHNOLOGY
Imarket gets a bit of a pummelling from brokers in our survey with three quarters of respondents not using the system on a regular basis. As you will see from the responses below this seems to be mainly due to the fact that it is still seen as being too slow, lacking in products and having long quotation forms. In answer to the question 'in your opinion, how effective is imarket?', the majority thought it was 'slightly' or 'not very' effective.
It is however encouraging to see that so many brokers now have websites, although this figure drops drastically when the question of business transacted through websites is asked, with only 30% of brokers currently doing so.
BROKERS' COMMENTS ON IMARKET
- "Imarket is far too slow and time consuming"
- "It is only slightly effective, because it is too complicated to use"
- "It's OK for personal lines"
- "It is used purely as a portal into insurer sites, as its quote forms are too long. I do not have confidence in the system - although with Fortis and MMA now onboard, I expect things to improve"
- "Needs greater support and more products"
- "Long-winded forms are not user friendly. Poorly designed web pages"
- "Far too slow and time consuming"
YOUR COMMENTS ON INSURERS' SERVICE LEVELS
A real mixed bag here from the broker respondents, but with most insurers in the market receiving praise from their broker partners. Top of the pile in terms of popularity was the troubled NIG, which goes to show there is still life in the old dog yet, especially at grass roots level.
NIG was closely followed by broker-focused insurer Fortis and the UK's number one insurer, Norwich Union. What do all of these insurers at the top of the tree have in common? This is an easy answer - they have helpful and knowledgeable staff.
However, insurers should be warned that a significant number of brokers in our survey agreed that "no one is outstanding", which indicates that there is still room for improvement.
INSURERS THAT WERE RECOGNISED FOR THEIR SERVICE
- "NIG - good local service, reasonable underwriting and quick responses"
- "Fortis generally provides a prompt and efficient service, and it does not use offshore call centres"
- "NIG - excellent quote turnaround on the commercial side"
- "MMA is friendly, co-operative, flexible and professional"
- "Hiscox - knowledgeable with flexibility and authority, and is backed-up by efficient systems"
- "Allianz - good service and good rates with a one-to-one approach".