James Barwell, insurance director at Bionic, talks about his firm’s entry to the Digital Broker of the Year category
1. Why did you put yourselves forward for the category?
Face-to-face broking has been done – it is where our industry started with human expertise. Fully digital broking has been done – some competitors were delivering this 20 years ago.
But between the two models is a gap where many SMEs find themselves – too confused by digital options and not big enough to justify in-person broking costs.
We put ourselves forward believing we’ve made big steps forward in a new model that blends the best of these two, making insurance more accessible to a heavily underinsured segment.
2. What do you think makes your entry stand out and why should you win the award?
Our entry demonstrates real support for SMEs – not just digital innovation for its own sake. We’ve built a platform that combines speed, simplicity and transparency with human reassurance, giving small business owners the confidence to make informed decisions.
What makes us different is how we’ve integrated technology with human touch. We’ve embraced technology and automation where it makes sense and enhanced human support for moments that matter.
This approach has delivered significant improvements in customer satisfaction, conversion rates and operational efficiency. We believe we should win because we’re not just digitising insurance – we’re redefining how brokers can truly support SMEs.
3. What would winning this award mean to you and your firm?
Winning this award would be a huge recognition of the work our team has put into transforming the SME experience. It would validate our commitment to innovation and customer-centricity, showing that technology can genuinely make insurance simpler and more accessible for small business owners.
Importantly, it reinforces our focus on creating a true one-stop shop for business essentials – making our customers’ lives radically easier by bringing everything they need into one place.
For us, it’s not just about the accolade – it’s about motivating our people to keep pushing boundaries and proving that we’re redefining what a modern broker can be.
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