Failing to plan is planning to fail – How to make more of data in the annual commercial insurance planning cycle

The commercial insurance sector operates on an annual cycle, with strategies, twelve-month plans and activities devised and designed to both maintain market share and to drive towards achieving ever-stretching growth targets. And key to this annual commercial insurance planning cycle is data, in all its forms, to inform decisions, help focus resources and illuminate paths to growth.

Broker Insights’ pioneering use of data provides a wealth of industry insights that can be used by both brokers and insurers to better define their annual commercial plans. In this article, Alun McGeoghegan, Head of Revenue at Broker Insights, outlines some valuable areas of data insight and seasonal pinch points to consider as you plan for the year ahead.

Annual commercial insurance planning – search for opportunities

October 2022 was the busiest month on record for insurer searches on the Broker Insights platform, with search actions over twice as high as any other month in the year. This was triggered by the annual commercial insurance planning cycle and new targets, as business development managers used the platform to build a pipeline of new business opportunities with brokers.

As we head towards the same period in 2023, platform users are encouraged to factor the search function into their plans as a source of market information. With over 640,000 policies within the system, there are vast amounts of opportunities for brokers and insurers to work together, and drive outcomes for the end client.

Plan ahead for key months

Key findings from the analysis of 2022’s data, also trending into 2023, show that the commercial insurance calendar features several ‘pinch points’ and times of intense activity as both brokers and insurers seek to meet targets and closeout trading periods in a strong position.

In May, we published an article highlighting the busier times of the year and the need to plan ahead. Further data analysis shows that March, April and October remain the busiest months for the commercial insurance sector, with fluctuations in renewals corresponding with rates of churn. This is most likely due to volumes of renewals consuming resources throughout the distribution chain, leaving little capacity to address other areas of business. In short, brokers may be challenged by significant volumes of renewals and remarketing in the same month.

The average rate of churn (policies taken to market) for 2022 was 19.7%; October 2022 saw an increase of 3.3% on the yearly average churn rate, to 23%.

Efficiency is critical during periods of increased workload. Planning ahead for the remainder of 2023, all parties are encouraged to use Broker Insights Vision™ to pinpoint in-appetite business, engage early, and maximise resources of those striving to end the year ahead of plan.

Time to engage

Data from our Vision platform shows that, on average, insurers engage with brokers over in-appetite business 102.06 days ahead of the renewal date. For ease, let’s call it three months.

At the time of writing, it is three months until October, suggesting that now is the time for both and insurers and brokers to lean on the pipeline management tools within Vision, pinpoint the right type of business at the volumes required to help achieve stretching targets, and start to engage over opportunities.

Given the ambitious growth targets at the core of many commercial insurance organisations’ annual plans, finding the new activity required to meet these targets is an ongoing pressure, as is dealing with fluctuating resource requirements throughout the year. Real data understanding can not only inform annual planning, but open up opportunities, build engagement and enable effective resource allocation year-round.