New Insurtech Australia member CoverMy is encouraging brokers nationwide to join its online marketplace.

Launched a year ago and with seven brokers already onboard, CoverMy allows brokers to compete for new business and helps generate new sale leads.

Though digital, CoverMy brings expert broker advice to customers and allows discussion about specific needs.

“I am trying to onboard more brokers. We are actively looking for more,” founder Josh Scutts tells insuranceNEWS.com.au. “Any authorised broker can onboard to the platform and start working leads straightaway.”

“House insurance, car insurance – that is nice and easy to compare but when you start talking harder market stuff, complex business insurance, there are plenty of customers that have not dealt with a broker yet.”

Brisbane-based Mr Scutts, an experienced broker who created the platform himself, says it allows the “right” broker to clinch a customer policy, with an expert in any given field more likely to win business in their specialty area.

“So you are having the right broker compete for your policy. It shows the client the value of a broker,” Mr Scutts said.

“When you think about the underinsurance in Australia and about the hard market, brokers can play such a great role. There are so many customers that don’t know how valuable brokers can be,” he said today.

Brokers sign a referral agreement and Mr Scutts says for the many brokers not yet in the digital space, CoverMy offers greater market share.

“This gets them in the door overnight, working leads. If they are needing leads or wanting to acquire more customers, this is a sure-fire way of getting them,” he said.

The CoverMy website says broker quotes are not reviewed, ranked, ordered or rated, but simply displayed as and when they are uploaded to the platform.

“The platform is not a comparison site and it simply facilitates a marketplace for you to provide quotes to customers and interact with customers in relation to quotes,” it said.

It promises to boost broker visibility and says it is ideal for brokers who are “a master in the category of insurance you write”.

“There's nothing wrong with customers wanting to compare insurance, they do it every day. The problem is the lack of advice when receiving their quotes which can lead to customers purchasing the cover which is not appropriate,” it says.

Brokers only incur a cost if the client selects their quote and the policy bound and paid.

CoverMy says it is “not picky” when it comes to onboarding insurance brokers.

“We simply provide you with the leads and the platform to which your customer wishes to connect,” the website said.

“The general insurance industry in Australia is very large and complex, so choosing the right policy can become difficult. CoverMy bridges the gap in the insurance market by providing access to an insurance marketplace for today's world,” it says.