National brokers are biggest threat

Large national brokers pose the biggest threat to brokers, says the latest report from Datamonitor. The direct channel poses the greatest threat to brokers selling commercial vehicle insurance.

Allianz and Zurich were highlighted in the report as good insurers to deal with, offering good products.

The majority of broker respondents were looking to grow their business, though the report predicts that consolidation is unlikely to take off again this year.

It found that a significant number of brokers want more help from insurers in compliance, which costs them up to 10% of their turnover.

In the survey of commercial brokers, 18.3% of respondents cited large national brokers as a high threat, while 44.3% saw them as a medium threat. Some 14.7% saw small regional brokers as a threat, and 13% direct insurers.