THEIR ROLE
Providing better insurance
As players with both broad knowledge of the insurance marketplace, including products, prices and providers, and an acute sense of the needs of insurance purchasers, intermediaries have a unique role – indeed many roles – to play in the insurance markets in particular and, more generally, in the functioning of national and international economies.
Intermediary activity benefits the overall economy at both the national and international levels: The role of insurance in the overall health of the economy is well-understood.
Without the protection from risk that insurance provides, commercial activities would slow, perhaps grinding to a halt, thus stunting or eliminating economic growth and the financial benefits to businesses and individuals that such growth provides.
The role of insurance intermediaries in the overall economy is, essentially, one of making insurance – and other risk management products – widely available, thereby increasing the positive effects of insurance generally – risk-taking, investment, provision of basic societal needs and economic growth.
There are several factors that intermediaries bring to the insurance marketplace that help to increase the availability of insurance generally:
Innovative marketing
Insurance intermediaries bring innovative marketing practices to the insurance marketplace. This deepens and broadens insurance markets by increasing consumers’ awareness of the protections offered by insurance, their awareness of the multitude of insurance options, and their understanding as to how to purchase the insurance they need.
Dissemination of information to consumers
Intermediaries provide customers with the necessary information required to make educated purchases/ informed decisions. Intermediaries can explain what a consumer needs, and what the options are in terms of insurers, policies and prices. Faced with a knowledgeable client base that has multiple choices, insurers will offer policies that fit their customers’ needs at competitive prices.
Dissemination of information to the marketplace
Intermediaries gather and evaluate information regarding placements, premiums and claims experience. When such knowledge is combined with an intermediary’s understanding of the needs of its clients, the intermediary is well-positioned to encourage and assist in the development of new and innovative insurance products and to create markets where none have existed. In addition, dissemination of knowledge and expansion of markets within a country and internationally can help to attract more direct investment for the insurance sector and related industries.
Sound competition
Increased consumer knowledge ultimately helps increase the demand for insurance and improve insurance take-up rates. Increased utilization of insurance allows producers of goods and services to make the most of their risk management budgets and take advantage of a more competitive financial climate, boosting economic growth.
Spread insurers’ risks
Quality of business is important to all insurers for a number of reasons including profitability, regulatory compliance, and, ultimately, financial survival. Insurance companies need to make sure the risks they cover are insurable – and spread these risks appropriately – so they are not susceptible to catastrophic losses.
Intermediaries help insurers in the difficult task of spreading the risks in their portfolio. Intermediaries work with multiple insurers, a variety of clients, and, in many cases, in a broad geographical spread. They help carriers spread the risks in their portfolios according to industry, geography, volume, line of insurance and other factors. This helps insurers from becoming over-exposed in a particular region or a particular type of risk, thus freeing precious resources for use elsewhere.
Reducing costs
By helping to reduce costs for insurers, broker services also reduce the insurance costs of all undertakings in a country or economy. Because insurance is an essential expense for all businesses, a reduction in prices can have a large impact on the general economy, improving the overall competitive position of the particular market.
Of course, the insurance cycle of “hard” and “soft” markets can have a significant impact on the benefits – both good and bad – of increased availability. Generally, however, increased availability benefits the consumer by leading to product competition, price competition, and improved services. By reducing insurance costs across markets, intermediaries make an important contribution to improving the economic conditions in a country.