If you take a step back and have a look at the reasons why this is happening, it’s clear that the market dynamics, technology innovation and regulatory horizons have all aligned to encourage firms to adopt insurance referral services to support and meet their clients’ needs.
Trusting the insurance referral partner
One reason behind the accelerated adoption of insurance referrals has been how technology has helped to improve adviser confidence and trust. The absolute key to successful insurance referral partnerships has always been transparency of data, such as lead progress and performance. Technology more recently has helped deliver this in real-time and configurable to individual firm requirements.
Paul Clark, managing director at City Mortgage Solutions told me: “Real-time case updates and knowledge that the overall service matches the high standards we set, is why I finally chose to refer insurance.
“Confidence in your partnerships and affiliations is critical in any business decision. For me, client service and satisfaction are the absolute fundamental pillars I need to get right as a business principal, and when you take the time to pick the right partners you quickly realise your overall proposition has been improved.”
Technology has helped to shift intermediary mindsets
Arguably, the biggest reason for the increase in referral traffic though, is that insurance technology can now work hand-in-hand with an adviser.
The integrated nature and seamless ability of today’s tech to pinpoint exactly when home insurance becomes a need, gives a significant advantage for advisers competing against direct insurers or price comparison sites.
This elevated customer experience stands out, as advisers can now automate relevant insurance communications at the right time they are needed.
This was backed up by Anthony Rose, chief executive at LDN Finance, who told me: “It’s really important to us that we’re smart with our clients’ time and deliver as much value as possible.
“We know more about our client’s mortgage status than virtually anyone else and can therefore use this data to trigger insurance communications in the right moments, at the time when the client needs it most. Utilising technology available to us means we can efficiently offer a more complete service to every customer – in a straightforward and simple way.”
Meeting client needs
The final pillar behind increased referrals is undoubtedly the way the new Consumer Duty drives advisers to deliver the very best outcomes for their clients on a holistic basis.
Part of that is considering their insurance needs alongside any other financial product. Mortgage clients have a clear need for insurance and referral technology helps to bring the two product needs together at the same time so that advisers can deliver true value.
The result of all of this is a snowball of client satisfaction. It means better served customers, a more complete service and the realisation of additional revenue that might not be accessed today.
