Blog | ELEMENT Insurance

The role of insurance Brokers in the age of Insurtech: adapting to changing customer needs and building successful partnerships

Written by Stefan Heisig | Jul 11, 2024 11:32:21 AM

In today's ever-evolving insurance landscape, traditional insurance brokers face new challenges. The key question is: How can they thrive in an environment characterized by technological innovations and changing customer demands? 

Traditional insurance brokers have long played a vital role in the distribution of insurance products. They have served as the crucial link between insurance companies and customers, not only by offering products but also by providing personalized advice and support. 

The current changing environment does not only present challenges but also opportunities for traditional brokers. By integrating technology and data-driven solutions, they can enhance their efficiency and tailor their services more precisely to meet customer needs. Forming partnerships with Insurtech companies allows traditional brokers to leverage innovative approaches and technologies, thereby strengthening and expanding their own businesses. 

 

The Importance of Customer Relationships 

The success of traditional brokers hinges on their customer relationships. Adapting to evolving customer requirements is a significant challenge. In an industry deeply rooted in trust, personalized advice and individual support remain critical to success. Brokers must adapt their strategies and focus on their strengths, particularly customer retention and personalized service. This approach needs to be balanced alongside the offerings from Insurtech companies, as both will be concurrently available to customers. 

 

The role of brokers and MGAs 

In the dynamic insurance ecosystem, both brokers and managing general agents (MGAs) play crucial roles. While traditional brokers focus on distributing insurance products and catering to a broad customer base, MGAs take it a step further. MGAs are actively involved in the entire insurance process, from product design to customer-oriented claims handling and support. 

A crucial aspect of adapting to the modern insurance landscape is the collaboration between brokers and managing general agents (MGAs). This partnership combines the extensive customer reach and relationship management skills of brokers with the specialized expertise and product development capabilities of MGAs. Together, they can offer more comprehensive and tailored insurance solutions that meet the diverse needs of their clients. By working closely, brokers and MGAs can enhance their value proposition, streamline operations, and deliver superior customer experiences. 

 

The role of ELEMENT in the insurance ecosystem 

In this changing environment, partnerships with innovative risk carriers like ELEMENT play an increasingly important role. These carriers understand the business challenges faced by MGAs and assist in their growth. Through these partnerships, MGAs gain access not only to extensive insurance capacities and data-driven insights but also the opportunity to offer their products across a broad European market and scale their services efficiently. 

Thanks to a pan-European license, our MGA partners can utilize the full range of ELEMENT’s services in all 27 EU markets, facilitating scaling across different regions. Under the leadership of our experienced management team, we have achieved steady and sustainable growth in recent years. The combination of our Freedom of Services (FoS) status, market compliance, and licensing—along with our outstanding insurance expertise and technological capabilities—ensures that our partners can always rely on our 100 percent performance. 

Our smooth and streamlined onboarding process, conducted by ELEMENT’s international onboarding team, enables a faster introduction compared to lengthy and complex negotiations with national business units. Additionally, our products are fully white-labeled; we act as a strategic ally for our partners and do not distribute their products through other partners. 

Overall, a partnership with an innovative risk carrier like ELEMENT offers traditional insurance brokers the opportunity to assert themselves and continue to succeed in a transforming insurance landscape.