MGAs – communication in a time of Covid

29th July 2020

Necessity is the parent or guardian of invention, and whilst the vast majority of MGAA members are enthusiastic about getting back to face to face business, they are also realistic about what needs to be done now in terms of staying in touch with broker partners, customers and capacity providers.

According to our recent survey of MGAA full members, the vast majority of you are being pro-active in embracing alternative forms of communication as we all adapt to the demands of doing business in a Covid19 world.

Perhaps not surprisingly there has been a marked increase in the use of social media and video-conferencing tools such as Zoom, Microsoft Teams and WebEx since March. In fact, one in three MGAs surveyed (38%) are using LinkedIn and Twitter more during lockdown than ever before. And looking forwards, 80% said they will continue to use social media and online meeting tools to communicate with their brokers and partners when we get through the other side of the pandemic.

These methods of communication are making a difference. According to our survey, whilst full members cited traditional email marketing (22.5%) and use of the good old telephone (37.5%) as the most productive communication tools during the pandemic – the response to virtual/online conference tools was increasingly successful – with a promising 25% citing them as the most productive, followed by 12.5% voting for LinkedIn.

And there is a lot to communicate, if our survey results are anything to go by, with nearly three quarters of MGAs (73%) having taken some form of action to help brokers and policyholders during the pandemic. These ranged from extending renewal dates (43% of respondents) and offering premium holidays (33%), to offering either free cover or free extended cover (28%). Other measures taken to help included waiving policy exclusions (15%) and cancellation fees (13%).

As we all get used to the new normal, and with social distancing likely to be a fact of life for at least another year, then mastering online engagement tools to share this activity, your businesses knowledge and insights – and to maintain ongoing dialogue – is critical.

Take webinars for example. When these are done well, they can have real benefits, enabling relevant and timely engagement with your broker partners, suppliers, capacity providers and own staff. The medium also has many inherent strengths from enabling complex and technical subjects to be brought alive through to the highlighting of areas of expertise, knowledge and, crucially, understanding of what matters to your target audience. It can also help shape and reinforce your business’s personality – and, quite literally, show the human side of your operation.

However, these are not always done well, and content is not always clear and concise, meaningful, relevant or of use to the audience. The format may be increasingly less formal, but the need to take into consideration, why you are doing it, what you want to communicate, and to whom remain, as with all communication strategies, paramount.

As a supplier member of the MGAA, Full Circle offers full members access to free advice and discounted services on a broad range of communication tools and strategies that will help MGAs to continue to demonstrate the value of their experience and underwriting expertise to their capacity providers, brokers and clients. As we all look to embrace the new normal and keep our businesses thriving and our customers and partners informed and onboard our journey, give us a call on 020 7265 7887 or email the team at mgaa@fullcirclecomms.co.uk to find out how we can help.

To find out more visit our website www.fullcirclecomms.co.uk

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  • Author : MGAA
  • 29th July 2020