6 ways brokers can build client trust

Want clients to trust and value your advice? Start by giving them a heads up on risk, say respondents to Canadian Underwriter’s 2024 annual National Broker Survey.

Seventy nine per cent of respondents say proactively informing clients of emerging risks and exposures helps brokers maintain their status as trusted advisors. And 2024’s response is statistically consistent with prior surveys.

One verbatim comment from a newer broker says it’s important to be “analyzing policy wordings and effectively communicating the differences between insurance companies, their coverages, and wordings to clients. Engaging in discussions with individuals about their claims experiences and gaining insights into how each company manages the claims and post-claims processes [also builds trust].”

Said another, “[Brokers need to be] listening to the client’s individualized needs and guiding them on their choices by informing them of industry changes, emerging risks, and exposures that can affect them.”

What’s more, 78% of brokers answering this year’s survey say proactively telling clients about relevant new products helps them maintain an edge. That statistic has ranged between 74% and 80% between 2020 and 2024.

“Meeting with clients and educating them about the products they have purchased and other available products that pertain to their situation [is helpful],” one respondent told the survey.

The National Broker Survey was fielded in January and February 2024. More than 200 brokers nationwide shared views about challenges and opportunities for the broker distribution channel. The CU survey is sponsored by Sovereign Insurance.

Not so special?

Although skills such as developing expertise in specialty markets are still viewed as valuable (65% of 2024 broker respondents answered ‘yes’ when asked if it was a worthwhile skill), that’s down from 70% in 2020.

Plus, developing deep knowledge of a small selection of products resonated with only 61% of brokers, statistically consistent with prior years.

But some verbatim comments differ from the raw numbers. One woman respondent at a small firm notes brokers should be “continually educating beyond the minimum amount. To be a trusted advisor, you need to be actively learning all the time. Each little tidbit you can pass along to a client highlights why they trust you.”

Meanwhile, just over half (51%) of brokers say they’d benefit from digital training – the question was not asked in prior years.

There’s also a long-term dip emerging in brokers indicating that highlighting their credentials, or obtaining new ones, helps them build trust – 32% deemed it useful in 2024, compared with 38% in 2020. And that number slipped as low as 26% in 2023’s survey.

Not surprisingly, brokers with fewer than 16 years in the business consider credentials more important (36%) than do their more seasoned peers (31% for those with 16-30 years in the business and 30% for brokers with more than 30).

But there’s no disparity between the percentage of men and women who see value in highlighting and gaining credentials (31% for both).

Feature image courtesy of iStock.com/MicroStockHub