Brokers in Australia believe they should get better support from insurers to counter their more nimble and well-funded digital competitors, according to an EY survey.

About 43% are unhappy with the consistency of insurer interactions and only about 20% view insurers as very good or excellent at meeting their needs.

EY Oceania Insurance Customer and Growth Solution Leader Imran Ahmed says digital disruption and changing consumer preferences “are reshaping the insurance industry and intermediated distribution channels are no exception”.

“Online price comparison sites have made pricing more transparent to the end customer and new market entrants in the form of insurtech start-ups and direct insurance propositions are putting increasing pressure on traditional distribution models.”

More than 80% of respondents would value access to technology that automatically identifies opportunities within their books, and 75% say innovation around product bundling could drive growth.

About 81% of brokers expect more support from insurers around product customisation.

“Part of the solution to this problem is about creating closer working relationships between intermediaries and underwriters,” Mr Ahmed says.

“In fact, most brokers surveyed indicated that working more consistently with the same underwriters (87%), having more direct access to them (81%) and making them more relationship-focused (80%) was key to improving the lines of communication.”

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