Some 70% of brokers say they are spending more than three hours each day on administration tasks such as processing data and about 20% say that adhering to compliance is becoming harder and more time consuming, a report by an insurance software company says. 

When asked how they would instead spend the admin time if possible, 38% of respondents said bringing in new business, 36% answered learning and development, 32% nominated diversifying their client portfolio and 32% said managing insurer relationships. 

JAVLN, in conjunction with global research company Censuswide, surveyed 500 brokers at small and medium-sized firms for the report titled Brokering Change. 

“Given customer service is now such a big part of the job, it’s worrying the brokers we surveyed for this research say admin, particularly claims admin and processing quotes, is just as big a challenge as the really important parts of their job, like sourcing terms from the market and reviewing clients’ insurance needs,” the report says. 

The report argues that brokers are being pulled in different directions by menial tasks which are limiting their ability to deliver their ideal levels of customer service. Only 28% said their clients would rate their customer service at least 8 out of 10. 

“When you look at the root cause of most productivity issues in Australian brokerages, you quickly realise it’s a tech problem,” JAVLN founder and CEO Dale Smith said. 

“Most brokers are lumbered with old clunky technology to do their jobs, which makes managing client and policy information extremely difficult, and in turn makes customer service difficult.” 

About 25% of brokers said they had the right skills to be successful this year, while 23% said their employer gives them what they need in order to be as productive as they possibly can. 

The report finds 27% of brokers say the technology they use to manage clients and policy information is too confusing, and 23% say the technology serving the industry is “not fit for purpose anymore”. 

Almost a quarter of brokers say the insurance industry needs to do more to make adhering to compliance simpler, and a fifth said they had accidentally missed a compliance requirement while handling policies for clients last year. 

“A similar number admits to deliberately ignoring a compliance requirement to get work done faster,” the report says. “Clearly, this is not acceptable. Brokers deserve manageable compliance requirements, and the tools to achieve demonstrable compliance in the most efficient way possible.” 

Making insurance affordable was mentioned by 28% of brokers as the industry’s top challenge. Other issues were intensifying customer demands, increasing competition, providing cyber insurance, providing adequate cover for natural disasters, measuring an evolving risk landscape and attracting and retaining talent.