Increased number of employers feel optimistic
about organizational performance, satisfied with insurance
broker
MILWAUKEE, Aug. 15, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Zywave, a leading
insurtech provider, released the results from its 2024 Broker
Services Survey, an annual survey of employers from across the U.S.
that provides valuable insight into their top business challenges,
as well as the expectations those employers have for their
insurance brokers.
Broadly, sentiments around both business outlook and insurance
broker relationships skewed positively, with nearly 92% of
employers noting their performance outlook in 2024 was either about
the same or better as last year's, and nearly 86% of respondents
indicating they are either satisfied or very satisfied with their
insurance broker's services.
"Today's consumers are demanding, and insurance buyers are no
exception," said Patrick Noonan,
vice president of content development for Zywave. "The encouraging
news is the majority of survey respondents reported satisfaction
with their broker's services, meaning many brokers are meeting
those high expectations. Of course, it's still vital they stay
informed of their clients' evolving challenges and needs to
maintain strong relationships and retention numbers."
Additional findings from the 2024 survey remain fairly
consistent with previous years' results, with employee attraction
and retention, compliance and technology playing important roles.
Most clients continue to seek information on a consistent basis
from their brokers—nearly 83% of respondents wanted to hear
from their brokers weekly or monthly for information on certain
insurance topics—and have high expectations for prompt and
effective service or answers to their questions.
Most Valued Broker Services in 2024
In a broker-client
relationship, employers most valued client service and a broker's
level of expertise. When selecting a broker, looking for someone
who provides prompt, effective service, and timely answers to
questions (57%) were the most important criteria for
employers. Employers' second most important selection criterion was
that brokers are "trusted advisors rather than insurance
salespeople" (53%). Other broker criteria that were highly
valued by employers included being able to challenge or negotiate
the renewal (48%) and offering compliance resources
(33%).
What Are Clients' Biggest Business Challenges?
Each
year, the survey asks employers to name their top business
challenges relating to insurance. In today's hard market, financial
considerations and policy coverage and packages were top of mind
from both an employee benefits and commercial insurance
perspective.
When asked to select their top three employee benefits
challenges, participants identified the following:
- Mitigating health care costs
- Offering a competitive benefits package
- Attracting and retaining employees
When asked to select their top three commercial challenges,
participants identified the following:
- Understanding the level of insurance needed
- Affording insurance
- Implementing risk management and employee safety strategies,
policies, and procedures
"The responses to this year's survey suggests that employers
continue to deal with many of the same challenges as they have for
the last few years," added Noonan. "However, challenges within the
insurance market are turning up the pressure on brokers to bring a
new level of industry knowledge and business expertise to their
clients."
Zywave has produced its Broker Services Survey for over 10 years
to help brokers understand what is most important to their clients
so they can prioritize their offerings and address their clients'
most pressing business challenges. For additional insights,
download the full 2024 Broker Services Survey.
About Zywave
Zywave leads the insurtech industry,
fueling business growth for its partners with cloud-based sales
management, client delivery, content, and analytics solutions.
Zywave's all-in-one platform provides customizable, user-friendly
options that enable insurance professionals to build a unique
solution to fit their specific growth goals—their own Modern RevOps
Machine. More than 15,000 carriers, agencies and brokerages
worldwide—including all of the top 100 U.S. insurance
brokerages—use Zywave solutions to enhance client services, achieve
business growth and promote greater health, wellness, risk
management and safety. Additional information can be found
at www.zywave.com.
Editor's note: The 2024 Broker Services Survey was
completed in June 2024, by more than
375 employers in all regions of the
United States.
Contact: April Larsen
april.larsen@zywave.com
414-918-0547
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SOURCE Zywave