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I believe Edison’s statement is an imperative for P&C insurers who depend on the broker channel for product distribution. I also believe it is of equal importance to brokers.

I’m not just talking about finding a better way in order to become a little more efficient, and hence more profitable. I’m not talking about helping a company grow a little quicker. These are table stakes in today’s rapidly changing environment, and are things we all do, at least to a degree. I’m talking about changing the traditional business model. Our long term survival depends on it.

The conventional P&C insurance business model of an insurer providing its products and services through a broker intermediary is an expensive business model. This is because it is rooted in relationships. Relationships cost both time and money.

In highly commoditized businesses, customer-intimate, relationship-driven business models are highly susceptible to lower cost alternative providers or disruptors. Today, most insurance products are commodities.

Don’t get me wrong.

I am a huge believer in relationship based businesses. Our great relationships with our brokers is the primary reason we have been successful in building Trisura.  I am also a big supporter and advocate of the role the broker plays in representing the interests of the client. However,  in order to thrive in the future insurers and their broker partners have to work together. Costs must be driven down in order to compete effectively.

There will always be clients who want the advice, advocacy and choice represented by brokers. Brokers offer a bespoke, tailored solution, but there will be a growing percentage of clients attracted to technology-driven solutions purporting to offer the same product for a much lower cost. The majority of small to mid-size companies will have this option available soon.

Insur-tech

In 2015, over $2.5 billion was invested globally in Insure-tech. 2016 and 2017 are likely not much different. Firms and investors see an opportunity to either disrupt or enable our business models because they see, as I do, that our business is inefficient.

Concerns about potential disruptors like Google and Amazon are real, with their excellent “customer” focus, trust, efficiency and access to data. Furthermore, consider the plans of insurers like Aviva with their “ask it never” concept of asking customers no questions when providing a quote. They can access enough information to pre-underwrite, pre-approve and provide a massive price discount (they suggest 20%).

Don’t be an ostrich

Brokers, in my opinion, cannot simply continue to consolidate their business with fewer insurers and simultaneously demand even higher commissions, thereby increasing costs to customers. It’s like the old joke that you don’t need to out-run the bear, you just have to out-run your buddy. Brokers cannot simply ignore the issue and, ostrich-like, stick their head in the sand and hope the problem goes away. It won’t.

Brokers have to partner with the right insurers and find ways to do the business more effectively and efficiently, thereby reducing costs and passing those savings on to their customers. Only in this manner can the potential gap between brokered business and direct writing be narrowed to the point where the broker value proposition (advice, advocacy, choice and relationship) clearly continues to win the day.

Edison said there is a better way to do it. We have to work together strategically in order to find it. The future of the traditional client-broker-carrier model depends on it. It’s time to get our heads out of the sand and face the challenges of our changing landscape head-on.

Left to right: Claudia Erban, Ryan Vandenburg, Mike George, Aaron Nusbaum, Michael Campbell.

Meet the Team

Allow me to introduce you to Ryan Vandenburg and Aaron Nusbaum, two of Canada’s top beach volleyball players on the cusp of the most important competition of their careers: the 2017 FIVB Beach Volleyball World Championships in Vienna, for which they’ve recently qualified by winning the World Beach Volleyball Trials in Canada.

Unabashedly self-identifying as “men with cats” (also: cat shorts), and touting the celebratory Talladega Nights-inspired exclamation of “shake-and-bake”, this dynamic duo understands the formula for success. Succcess means finding the balance between serious dedication and having a little fun.

It’s for this reason, and a recommendation from a Trisura staff member and friend to the team, Claudia Erban, that Trisura is supporting the pair of promising athletes on their road to Vienna, and ultimately, the road to a gold medal at the 2020 Olympic games in Tokyo.

“People take things too seriously sometimes. Of course we take it seriously. We train seriously. We play seriously too, but beach volleyball is about the crowd. The atmosphere. We like to have fun and entertain because that’s the kind of guys we are off the court too,” said Vandenburg.

“We’re so focused that we can step back for a second and enjoy it, then get right back in,” added Nusbaum. “That kind of atmosphere is something we aspire to be a part of. It’s the kind of atmosphere that’s going to be at the World Championships, with a grandstand of 10,000 people looking on. We’re not interested in playing on the side-court.”

History of Success

Both Nusbaum and Vandenburg have a history of success. Nusbaum holds a silver medal from the U21 Beach Volleyball World Championships and an OUA Gold Medal. He’s also the newly minted owner of a premier league volleyball team in the rapidly growing league, ONE Volleyball. All of this without mention of running a financial consulting business on top of it all. Vandenburg is a 4 time OUA All-star, a US Open National Champion and Canadian Club National champion. The holder of numerous OUA records, Vandenburg was inducted into the Ryerson Athletics Hall of Fame in 2016.

The schedule crunch of pursuing athletic success isn’t remotely manageable without the mental strength and drive that this team lives day-in, day-out. This attitude embodies the Canadian spirit. Any person, team, or company do the same in order to survive and thrive in today’s competitive world. It’s also the kind of attitude that many young Canadians can learn from, especially when they have access to people and a community that embraces these values.

“It doesn’t matter how young you are or how old you are. If you have a goal, and you really want to accomplish it, there’s literally nothing that can stop you,” said Vandenburg. “Yeah, it’s going to take time. And yeah, people are going to tell you no consistently. I’ve been told no a million times over. Now I’m going to the world championships.”

Yep that’s a cat riding a rainbow unicorn. Coach Steve gets in on the shot.

The World Championships begin July 28th and run until August 6th. Keep up-to-date on all the action at the tournament website.

Follow team shake-and-bake on Instagram.

Find out more about the growing volleyball community in Canada. Visit ONE Volleyball.