NIBA / Special Feature
For brokers the opportunity lies in using client expectation as a starting point rather than the destination, and redefining the role you play. Goodall says, “Commercial acumen will become more important than pure insurance knowledge alone. Many brokers today are excellent relationship managers, but the future broker probably needs to operate closer to a business adviser. That means understanding financials, industry dynamics, technology, data interpretation, organisational risk and executive decision-making. “Communication skills will also matter more, not less. As AI commoditises information and administrative work, the value shifts toward judgment, interpretation and trust.
“As more information becomes readily available, the differentiator is not access, but the ability to interpret that information in a way that is relevant, practical and aligned to a client’s broader business objectives. Brokers will also need to be comfortable engaging with technology and data-driven insights – not to replace their role, but to strengthen it – ensuring that advice remains grounded in context, experience and a clear understanding of the client’s risk profile.” Borden agrees that while expertise is critical, information is going to get less valuable. “In the past, people have relied on a broker because they know a lot about insurance. Well, information is getting easier and easier to access, so the fact that I know about insurance and you don't, doesn't necessarily keep me in a job forever as your broker.
“What will keep me in a job is my ability to bring together that information in a way that makes sense to you, and creates trust. The brokers who are successful in 10 years’ time will be the ones that are able to walk beside their clients through important business decisions – for example, expanding a business or buying new premises. “The broker who is always consulted on and involved in those key decisions is invaluable. An adviser who can look at the insurance and risk implications, and turn that into relevant, strategic advice will be a part of the future for a very long time to come.” The risks of inaction Brokers are good at spotting risks for clients – but what about for themselves? Because, at present, the greatest risk for
BY DEFINITION, A BROKER IS SOMEONE WHO FACILITATES A TRANSACTION BETWEEN A BUYER AND A SELLER. SO, A QUESTION THAT DOES NEED TO BE ASKED IS: ‘ARE BROKERS SELLING THEMSELVES SHORT BY CALLING THEMSELVES BROKERS?’ DOES ‘BROKER’ CONVEY THE FUTURE ROLE OF A ‘TRUSTED ADVISER’?
As we look ahead to the challenges of the next ten years, what customers and clients need and want, and where technology platforms add value, the ‘broking’ of a deal – connecting the client to the insurer – is of significantly less importance. That’s the piece that technology can easily and simply replace. If the trusted adviser and risk advice component is key, shouldn’t that be the value proposition demonstrably put in front of clients? Andrew Borden says, “The term ‘broker’ has all the implications of an intermediary, a transactional- based intermediary, and there's probably not a great future in being a purely transactional-based intermediary. “If we take the proposition of a ‘broker’ literally, if we are just someone who purchases something on behalf of the client, I think that's got a really short runway. “However, if we're someone who is a risk adviser, then there's a big future in that. Clients' businesses change rapidly and they're not experts in risk management, they're not experts in insurance. “They need that expertise externally, and they need something they can trust and rely on, and it needs to be dynamic. That goes well beyond managing an insurance purchase. The word broker is problematic as, taken literally, it really does sell the value proposition short.”
58 / INSURANCE ADVISER JUNE/JULY 2026
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