Why Bigger Isn’t Always Better: A Broker’s View on Client Relationships

By Chris Foyster, Senior Account Executive and Head of Development, BLW Insurance Brokers

Relationships sit at the heart of everything we do in this industry. After thirty-two years in insurance, I’ve seen plenty of ways companies talk about that, and most put on a good show about how much the client matters. There’s truth in it, but the story often gets polished up by big marketing departments with bigger budgets, and client-facing teams are told to talk up the size of the company and the size of the book, as if bigger automatically means better. In my experience, unless you’re dealing with an international plc, none of that matters much to the client at all.

That’s part of why BLW appealed to me. No airbrushed facades, no faffing about, just the chance to look a client in the eye and mean what you say. I put our strong retention rate down to exactly that. Our approach often reminds me of David and Goliath: being smaller means we can be nimble, responsive and decisive, and our clients never have to press option four just to get through to a real person. After more than three decades in this industry, I still value the simple ability for a client to pick up the phone and speak to someone directly.

Recognising the convenience of accessible services and responding in a timely manner, often the same day, is crucial in our fast-paced electronic world. During the last two days, I have received two WhatsApp messages with new business instructions. The first instructions were received at 7.13 pm on Friday evening from a builder who had been referred to us. The second was a Text message from a CEO on Monday afternoon at 3.49 pm. It is not always convenient for people to talk, and do they really want to be talking about insurance late on a Friday evening? Backing this up with a quick acknowledgement and then getting new documents out shortly thereafter is what people want; convenience and efficiency supported by a local, experienced team at BLW. Simply being there for your client and doing what you say you will do are fundamental morals that make us successful.

The CEO that sent the text message has been a longstanding major client. Many years ago, when I successfully secured this business, it was formerly held by American giant AJG. AJG had never visited the client, as I suspect the premium was below their threshold (now often £10k). Simply being with the CEO in his boardroom obviously meant a lot to him. Since then, our client’s business has gone from strength to strength, and I have supported them with many larger and complex building projects, and once again being available for site visits whenever required.

Meeting Clients Where They Are

Easy, convenient access matters just as much as the relationship itself, and that means meeting clients on their own terms when it comes to communication. My own instinct is for structure and formality, but I’ve learned to blend that with text and WhatsApp so clients can reach me however suits them.

Not having an office in the North of England could have been a limitation. Instead, it’s become an opportunity. Tradespeople don’t always have time to call or sit down and write an email, so a text or WhatsApp message fits far better around a day spent up a ladder or down a hole in the road, including outside conventional hours, when it isn’t always safe to be on the phone.

As well as tradespeople, the wheels of agriculture frequently turn 24/7. At 5.15 pm one of our clients sent a WhatsApp photo showing delivery of a new Teleporter. In this instance, to our longstanding clients’ satisfaction, Tom worked until 7 pm to complete the MTA and get his first Teleporter on cover. Work at BLW is better than on Clarkson’s Farm