Insurance producers have experienced many business disruptions over the past couple of years as they work to provide policies that are needed most while adapting to fast-changing market conditions. Many insurance companies have recently worked to “de-risk” their businesses, developing exclusions around COVID-19, communicable diseases, severe weather events, wildfires, and more.
While challenging for insurance producers, these exclusions have generated new business opportunities. Revenue in the insurance industry is expected to grow by $7.5 trillion globally by the end of 2025. Producers should capture more of that market and fuel their business growth.
GROWING BUSINESS THROUGH EMERGING RISKS
New businesses are emerging, such as home-based businesses, security guards, high-end properties, legal cannabis industry, and these emerging industries present difficult and misunderstood risks. For producers, offering insurance solutions to emerging risks is a way to grow your business.
Producers know that all policies have exclusions and risks; whether it’s primary coverage, umbrella coverage, or other coverage, there will always be “gray areas.” Specialty insurance looks at these gray areas to provide necessary coverage that is hard to secure elsewhere.
The specialty market gives producers access to hundreds of new opportunities, many of which are emerging risks. A recent report detailed some of these fast-growth areas, highlighting lines such as property risks, commercial auto, and health risks, among others [see Emerging Markets, below].
When you choose to support these markets, you can access untapped demand for insurance, which fuels growth in your book of business.
Emerging Markets: The Key to Growing Your Book of Business
Emerging markets are growing fast, and hard-to-place risks that are served by specialty insurance include:
- Property risks. The limited and restricted ability to offer policies in high-risk wildfire or coastal areas.
- Commercial auto. Including trucking risks with existing claims and poor MVR scores.
- Other risks. Communicable Disease Liability coverage as an optional policy enhancement.
- Industry-specific risks. Cannabis-related businesses are an example of emerging risk and, thus, hard to place.
- The influx of specialty purpose acquisition companies. These companies frequently need Directors & Officers Liability (D&O) coverage but have difficulty accessing that coverage.
WHAT TO LOOK FOR IN A SPECIALTY PROVIDER
Providing the type of experience that customers demand requires the support of a strong carrier. That’s why it’s critical to forge the right partnerships and work with providers who put personalization and quality at the forefront. Consider the following when looking for a partner:
A Solid Underwriting Process
A partner should invest time learning about your business and the insureds and fully understand all aspects of risks. This enables your partner to write personalized policies that fully address risks and offer the needed coverage.
A Claims Partnership Approach
A customer’s experience can drastically transform based on how a claim is handled. That’s why claims and partnerships are key elements to successfully growing your business. Some specialty providers staff their claims team with seasoned attorneys. These attorneys work directly with your insured if an incident occurs and ensure that any claims are handled quickly and fairly.
Clarity of Coverage
The process for determining the coverage required and a personalized approach to that coverage are key. Work with a partner providing complete visibility and transparency to understand the personalized risk and write a policy to meet those needs.
Accessibility
Ensure that your partner offers total visibility into the claims process and access to top leadership. Fast response times, for example, are essential when an insured is under stress due to a potential claim.
The insurance market will always have challenges. The producers who will thrive in the future are the ones who pivot to meet these challenges and emerging markets.
CONTACT
To learn more about Prime’s specialty coverage, contact us at 1-800-257-5590 or info@primeis.com. To get a quote, click here.
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Prime Insurance Company (“PIC”) is an unlicensed excess and surplus lines insurance company domiciled in the State of Illinois, and its principal place of business is in Sandy, Utah. Full disclaimer at primeis.com/legal.