Feb. 14, 2022 — INSURERS must work closely with brokers to overcome the new challenges facing the industry, an executive at broker Hub International says. 

“Open the lines of communication, be transparent, work on finding solutions and explain the dynamics to the brokers so the broker can explain it to the client,” said Linda Regner Dykeman, Hub’s chief marketing officer for Canada. 

The hard market of the past several years created challenges for brokers trying to get their clients the best coverage, she said. Insurers were inundated with requests for coverage, which led to a lot of declines, unreturned phone calls and frustration for brokers. 

“It’s been very, very difficult from a broker’s perspective to respond to a client quickly and help find that solution,” Ms. Regner Dykeman told Thompson’s. 

Open and transparent communication between insurers and brokers is key to finding the best solutions for consumers, she added. 

While there are signs the hard market is beginning to ease, the pandemic, increasing claims from natural catastrophes, supply chain issues and cyber risks are creating new challenges for the industry. Claims costs were down in the pandemic due to lockdown measures, but it’s difficult to predict what will happen to claims as things return to normal. 

“The question is, now as we come out of this pandemic . . . what will normal look like?” she asked. “And now we’re returning to the office, but we’re not going to be in the office 100% of the time.  “Most companies are talking about a hybrid approach. So we’re not sure what’s going to happen with the frequency and severity of losses.” 

That makes it hard to predict exactly what will happen to pricing and capacity, she said.  Ms. Regner Dykeman noted that some lines such as cyber will continue to pose challenges and concerns with property coverages will continue to emerge as natural catastrophe costs rise due to climate change. But along with those challenges comes opportunity, she said. 

“It’s a great opportunity for insurers to better partner with brokers in selling these coverages and to round out the offering.” 

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