Note: The following is an Open Letter that you should consider sending to your best prospects and clients. It will help them understand how Analytic Brokers focus on their key issues. We will soon be releasing our Whitepaper entitled, ‘How to Select Your Broker in the World of Analytics and Data.’ As a service to your buyers, we will be making this widely available to them.
Dear C-Suite Buyer:
I am writing you today to inform you of some tremendous changes inside the insurance brokerage industry. For years you have wanted a better way to judge the performance of your broker other than simply a pricing competition or how they work under the pressure of an important claim.
In every other buying decision, you look for providers who can help you drive your margins, earnings, productivity and shareholder value. Yet, when choosing your risk financing and services providers, you are given a very limited method of selection.
Here is a truth that virtually all brokers know… They are at the mercy of third parties such as insurance carriers and underwriters. Here is another truth… they all essentially represent the same carriers and providers. So, to choose a broker based upon ‘competitive’ pricing is both an antiquated and expensive way for you to make such a critical business decision.
Oh, and here is another something you should know… Virtually all of the best brokerage firms have internal resources in claims, risk management and other ‘capabilities’ (or they have special relationships with other service providers.) So, selecting a broker based upon simply having these services is not the issue.
Look, I know you are frustrated with the outdated way the insurance brokerage world provides you options and decision support. Given the fact that you are spending considerable money and effort to create analytic dashboards that measure KPI’s and business outcomes, who could blame you for the frustration you are feeling?
Actually it is quite sad. Can you imagine investing tens of thousands of dollars (in some cases hundreds of thousands) in resources and capacity to improve how you serve your customers or constituents… and then not knowing how it actually impacted them? Or worse yet, can you imagine not maintaining your relevance with your best customers who are now requiring a financial approach to decision support?
First of all, it is not your broker’s fault. For over 350 years they have been trained to focus on coverage, price, policy surveys and insurance companies. Until very recently, with the advent of cloud computing, they really have not been in a position to provide you with much else. But that has changed.
Just like you, the smart brokers are investing in dashboard and technology capabilities to demonstrate and deliver a quantifiable ROI that goes well beyond the risk financing and third party costs. They are seizing on the capabilities of technology that did not exist several years ago. They know that without it, they won’t be able to keep up with your changing financial expectations.
Of course, some brokers will be much slower to adopt this. You probably should weed them out now, as they won’t be of much good to you in 3 years. Why? Because they don’t have a strategy or a plan, and they will never be able to catch up as the gap grows.
By the way, we will be releasing a Whitepaper shortly. It is entitled, ‘How to Select Your Broker in the World of Analytics and Data.’ We will provide you with the ability to interview and select the broker who best fits the direction of your company as regards business outcomes, analytics and financial results.
Thank you very much C-Suite buyer. I know that you agree wholeheartedly with my assessment of our industry’s prior failures to you. Virtually every other industry is providing you with ROI data and analytics for predictive decision making. But, again, it has not been the broker’s fault – up until now. The astute ones are changing and evolving rapidly to maintain your confidence and business expectations.
Best Regards to Analytic Brokers™
Rob Ekern, CAB (Certified Analytic Broker™) Chairman, TCORCalc®