P&C agents never expect a carrier to be the best choice for everything that they submit. But agents get frustrated when they think they’re honoring a carrier’s appetite only to receive a steady stream of outsized premiums or rejections. What gives?
In conversations with agents and carriers, we use the term Underwriting Flexibility to represent an agent’s perception of how clear and consistent a carrier’s appetite is. Can agents count on a carrier to actually write the business they say they want? And will the agent end up having to move that business elsewhere at renewal?
Agents also take into account an underwriter’s willingness to collaborate and problem-solve when thinking of Underwriting Flexibility, as well as how competitive they are with price and coverage. Is it a partnership, or is underwriting a black box?
Jason Bogart and I recently had the pleasure of talking with Chris Burand of Burand & Associates and Paul Borup of Sentry West Insurance to examine how a focus on Underwriting Flexibility can improve carrier profitability and growth, and what carriers often get wrong when developing go-to-market strategies. Their insights into measuring the financial strength of carriers made it a particularly fascinating discussion.
With their permission, we present the podcast here.
Key Moments
(Please note that the timestamp links below work only on Apple devices.)
- 1:03 What does underwriting flexibility mean?
- 3:03 What carriers often don’t consider in underwriting strategies that undermines financial performance
- 4:08 Matching underwriting flexibility to a carrier’s strategic intent
- 5:54 How the DCC Index helps carriers find their competitive sweet spot for underwriting flexibility
- 7:58 Why DCC Index scores and underwriting flexibility correlate to carrier success
- 12:24 The importance of carrier execs being honest with themselves about their real appetite
- 16:46 How carriers can use DCC scores to predict when they’re beginning to falter
Key Takeaway
A key performance indicator for P&C carriers is how well they achieve the correct balance of Underwriting Flexibility to attract their best business. DCC Benchmark Analytics tracks client carrier’s performance—and the nuances behind that performance—in this and 10 other ease of business factors that correlate to a carrier’s financial strength.
For other interesting podcasts on the insurance business, visit Insurance Banter with Burand & Borup.