
Last Minute Renewal? BHIB’s Solution – The Power Of 3
Do your brokers leave it until the last moment to provide you with renewal terms? Does this process frustrate you even more if the premiums have increased?
Explaining to any client that premiums have increased will always be a difficult conversation to have. Does delivering this message last minute make it any easier? These think not. At BHIB Insurance Brokers, they believe that meeting the expectations of their clients is of paramount importance.
BHIB speak with their clients on a regular basis and keep them updated with industry issues. Below are just a few of the main reasons why insurance premiums may have increased in the last 12 months:
- Insurance Premium Tax – from June 2017 insurance premium tax increased from 10% to 12%, meaning that since January 2011, the rate of Insurance premium tax has doubled!
- Repair Costs – In the last 3 years the ABI (Association of British Insurers) Reports the average repair costs have increased by 32% due to the complexity of repairs. The current weakness of the pound has also increased costs of spare parts.
- Ogden Discount Rate – from March 20th 2017 the rate was reduced from 2.5% to -0.75%. The Ogden rate forms part of the consideration when making lump sum payments to a severely injured person. It is used to ensure injured claimants are receiving the necessary financial security to provide for their care and loss of earnings. The discount rate is used to calculate the amount of compensation they will receive and reflects the return they will earn when that money is invested. The change in rate will significantly increase settlement payments made by insurers following personal injury compensation payments.
- Increasing Insurer Reinsurance – Some insurers are seeing their reinsurance premiums increasing by over 200%, this will add to insurers overall costs which will increase insurance premiums
In the current environment, it is essential that your broker knows your business inside out and they make every effort to ensure you are well prepared for any potential increase in your premium.
BHIB believe that educating and working with clients can not only lead to potential short-term premium savings, but more importantly can lead to longer-term best practice being embedded into businesses, ensuring ongoing favourable insurance terms and more established partnerships with insurers who will truly understand your business.
Below are some simple tips and techniques that, for renewal, may help insurers view your risk more favourably and in some circumstances lead to premium savings: –
- Risk Management – look to establish any trends in your previous claims history and tailor toolbox talks around these areas and coach your drivers.
- Communication –Relationships between Fleet managers and Operation managers are very important, allowing flexibility for driver coaching and development.
- A proactive telematics system – having a telematics system that allows you to manage and monitor driver behaviour, to allow you to cut out common trends,
- Driver Training –Working with their Key partners, Insurers can offer driver training programmes that educate your drivers in best practice and help to improve the fleets overall safety record. Insurers do want to work with you!!
- Self-insure – Act as though you are uninsured! claim only when necessary
- Don’t regularly swap insurers – moving insurers every year for savings will have a negative effect in the long run, building a working relationship with an insurer is key to reducing premiums
- Regular broker meetings, Speak to your broker regularly with at least 1 review every 6 months, discuss your insurance concerns, discuss proactive measures introduced, discuss claims and procedures, work to an agreed strategy, and challenge your broker
- Learn from claims – upon investigation of claims, share these with staff
BHIB has over 50 years’ experience in providing specialist insurance solutions to the highways industry. During that time, they’ve established a very simple recipe for successful relationships with their clients. This they like to call the “the power of 3”.
The power of 3 works in many ways to establish and strengthen relationships and improve customer experience.
This could be the 3-way relationship between the client, BHIB and the insurers.
It could also be the 3 core values that drive their business:
- “Have quality at the heart of everything we do”
- “Provide confidence and value to lasting relationships”
- “Offering simplicity without cutting corners”
What they won’t do is provide you with last minute renewal terms!
BHIB welcome the opportunity to demonstrate how the power of 3 can help you and your business and would be more than happy to have an obligation free discussion with you on any aspect of your insurance arrangements.
For more information call Tommy Reid our highways specialist on 0330 024 06 06, email [email protected], visit www.bhibinsurance.co.uk or visit http://bit.ly/HighwaysBHIB to view our corporate video
BHIB Insurance Brokers is a trading name of BHIB Limited. BHIB Limited is registered in England and Wales number: 829660 Authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.
www.bhibinsurance.co.uk