Why Brokers Need to Make Phone Calls

In today’s article we will discuss why brokers need to make phone calls to clients and underwriters – instead of just emailing them.

Granted, it may be easier to simply email someone, but doing this means your message becomes just another one in the recipient’s often overloaded inbox.

Some Benefits of Making Phone Calls

Here are some of the benefits for brokers of making phone calls. Note that many of these benefits are interrelated.

1. To better understand your clients’ needs and your underwriters’ guidelines and requirements
2. To build stronger relationships with your clients and underwriters
3. To get your job or task done properly and more quickly
4. To avoid misunderstandings which could lead to broking errors and/or lost business
5. To learn important things that you would otherwise not find out in an email exchange
6. To develop skills that are critical to work and also life

Phone Call Benefits Relating to Underwriters

There are very important benefits to making phone calls to underwriters. Here are a couple of reoccurring examples from my career as a broker:

Multiple Submissions

Underwriters often receive multiple submissions for the same risk from different brokers. This could relate to a piece of new business but also an existing account of yours that another broker is attacking!

Underwriters may advise you of such a situation in an email, however, it is unlikely that they will provide you detailed information about this in writing. A phone call with the underwriter is the best way to get such critical information which could include details on the other broker, the quality of their submission, and/or whether the underwriter has already quoted or declined the risk to the other broker(s).

Your relationship with the underwriter will often dictate the amount and quality of information they share with you about this. A relationship that you need to nurture by speaking to them.

Pre-Renewal Discussions

Good underwriters are often prepared to engage in pre-renewal discussions to set some “renewal expectations” with brokers – sometimes they even instigate these discussions. This is not to say that an underwriter would not supply you such information in an email exchange independent of a verbal discussion.

A verbal conversation does however create space for a discourse and all its benefits – such as the ability to probe the underwriter and understand nuance in a situation. This exchange creates a far better basis for building underwriter relationships. It can also help your negotiating position later in the renewal / placement process. After all, knowledge is power…

Note that the pre-renewal discussion is often even more valuable when the insurance industry is in a “hard market cycle” – see my article Broker Tips to Navigate a Hard Market.

Phone Call Benefits Relating to Clients

On the client-side, there are also very important benefits to making phone calls. Here are a couple of reoccurring benefits from my career as a broker:

Getting to the Bottom of Things

The benefit of verbal communication to truly get to the bottom of the client’s enquiry or their issue quickly.

Clients are often poorly versed in insurance and its terminology. As such, they may struggle to explain their needs or questions in writing. A phone call which creates open discourse will enable you to probe the client in “real-time”. This will help nullify the client’s insurance-related knowledge deficiencies, and in so doing, help alleviate client frustration arising from the “back-and-forth” email process.

Being Proactive

Being proactive and calling clients means that you will often get better results from them when asking them for something. This becomes particularly apparent when deadlines need to be met. For example, having them agree to provide you their completed renewal information by a certain date (usually well before the expiry date of the existing policy). In this example, explaining timing and the renewal process to them is very important as well. As previously discussed, a pre-renewal discussion with the client (after the underwriter) are recommended for the best outcomes here.

Document Everything

Importantly, whilst there is a significant benefit in speaking to underwriters and clients, brokers always need to ensure that the details of such conversations are confirmed in writing. Retaining notes of discussions is also recommended.

Keeping these emails and notes in a location where other staff will be able to readily access them is also of critical importance.

Step by Step

I realise that making phone calls may be intimidating for some. I also realise there are generational differences relating to this.

As with most things, the key to success is making the first step. I therefore encourage you to take that first step today and make a phone call to a client who hasn’t answered your email requests, or an underwriter who has not replied to your request for terms (or both!).

Think of the phone as your friend in getting your job done well and your ally in fulfilling your career aspirations!

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