A Macquarie Bank business sentiment survey has found “remarkable resilience” among brokers and the broader general insurance intermediary sector in the way they have responded to pandemic-related challenges.

They are also the most upbeat about their prospects for this year, compared to other industries covered by the Macquarie Bank Business Barometer.

About 51% of the 112 insurance intermediaries – which includes underwriting agencies – who took part in the survey say they have invested in technology as part of changes to their operations during the pandemic, 57% changed how they interacted with customers, 34% worked on reducing business costs and 46% invested in systems and processes.

Some 85% say they provided flexible working arrangements to manage staffing challenges during the pandemic and 37% gave wellbeing support measures.

Macquarie Business Banking Head of Insurance Segment David Ball says the results show the sector has withstood covid-related pressures and other challenges despite the interruptions to their businesses.

“Insurance intermediaries have shown remarkable resilience over the past few years, with the majority saying they have adjusted well to the covid-19 disruptions, without any significant change to their business, with the current hard market conditions providing both challenges and opportunities,” Mr Ball told insuranceNEWS.com.au.

He says operational efficiency looms as a major challenge for brokers and agencies, based on feedback from the sector.

“We are hearing from brokers that the ease of doing business is at an all-time low, both on the placement side as well as claims,” Mr Ball said.

“As it relates to placements, shifting insurer appetite and increasing premiums are resulting in difficult conversations on both sides of the equation for brokers.”

He says brokers are also setting aside more time to help clients with their claims, which have grown in frequency due to recent weather events and increasingly complex claims such as cyber and business interruption.

When asked how they see this year panning out, 89% say they have a positive outlook, marginally higher than legal (88%), built environment (87%), strata (85%) and real estate (82%).

The sector’s level of confidence is also stronger than the overall 71% score tabulated by the survey of the diverse panel of nearly 1800 business leaders, carried out in December last year.

In other key findings, 27% of general insurance intermediaries are expecting net profit margins of 21-30% for the FY2022 financial year and 21% are projecting margins of more than 30%.

Click here for the survey.