More than a quarter of SMEs would consider changing brokers for better online services, according to a recent market survey.
According to the questionnaire, 26% of companies would end their broker relationship, some of which may have lasted for up to 10 years, if they were provided with “fluid information” on the web.
Half of those asked also said they wanted to access “far more information” online; only 20% thought their broker had an online service and 100% felt that that service was “extremely limited”.
SMEs told the survey that they wanted broker online services to allow them to access, view and print policy information, report and track claims and also view financial and account information.
Mike Dodd, executive director of software house, Sirius Financial Systems, told delegates at the Insurance Times' conference that brokers had a “secure SME customer base” at the moment, with 94% of SMEs using a broker for their business insurance.
But he warned: “Using IT correctly and obviously using the Imarket portal will safeguard against the risk of a diminished share of commercial business and put users in a competitive position.
“If brokers haven't got an e-trading strategy in place, in three to five years' time they won't really have a business.”
