Why insurance relationships need nurturing
Would you do business with someone you didn’t trust? Most of us could quickly answer that question: No. Trust is a necessary element in any meaningful relationship – personal or professional. Insurance is traditionally a relationship-based business, and all relationships need nurturing.
Strong relationships are based on trust, and trust is earned by demonstrating integrity and commitment. In the context of insurance, all parties in the ecosystem of trust – agents, brokers, MGAs, insurers and policyholders – derive benefits that make doing business with each other worthwhile.
Trust is not simply earned through in-person conversations any longer. Providing a clarity of information that people can rely on and use to add value to business relationships is vital. With the wealth of data available to all parties, trust and credibility is often best achieved through the actionable insights that are shared.
Insurance buyers trust agents and brokers to provide risk advice and procure coverage, and as policyholders they trust insurers to pay claims. That trust extends to intermediaries and insurers, who are partners in providing risk solutions to their clients. All parties benefit: policyholders gain risk mitigation help and peace of mind from having coverage in place; agents and brokers are compensated for their service; and insurers receive premiums to fund their operations and pay claims.
Business gaining trust
Anecdotally, trust today seems lower than in the past for many institutions. That perception is not entirely inaccurate, according to the Edelman 2025 Trust Barometer, a global survey of more than 33,000 individuals in 28 countries on their level of trust in institutions. Trust is lowest for government and media, but it’s higher for nongovernmental organizations and business. Indeed, the report found business is viewed as the most competent and ethical of those four types of institutions, and those factors have improved 19 points since 2020, Edelman found.
On another positive note, most industries are trusted. Where does insurance rank? Edelman did not break out insurance specifically, but found the financial services sector has a trust rating of 64, up two points from 2024. That level, however, is lower than 14 other industry sectors, including technology, education, food and beverage, healthcare, manufacturing and entertainment. Social media is distrusted, with a rating of 48 that is down from the prior year.
It's worth noting that the more trusted sectors mainly deal in commodities, which are delivered in transactions. Insurance is a people business, involving professional service based on knowledge and supported by capital. Insurance therefore should not be considered a commodity.
When a consumer buys a commodity, such as food or everyday clothing, trust isn’t necessary in the transaction. If the product meets the buyer’s requirements, whoever sells the product is less important. That is not the case for services such as insurance, which is best delivered in a trusted relationship.
The J.D. Power 2025 U.S. Property Claims Satisfaction Study correlates policyholder satisfaction with an element that underpins good relationships: communication. J.D. Power found overall satisfaction scores double, to 777 on a 1,000-point scale, when clients say it is easy to communicate with their insurer. When clients find it very or somewhat difficult to communicate and receive delayed responses, their satisfaction with their insurer is around 337.
This data is useful to agents and brokers in nurturing their relationships with insurers and clients. Cultivating strong relationships is fundamental to achieving profitable growth in insurance, making the nurturing process essential.
Lessons for agents and brokers
Agents and brokers can learn a lot from seeing their insurer relationships more clearly. Lessons that come with such clarity include: which carriers are the best candidates for growing your book of business, and how to shift resources to more growth-oriented and profitable relationships.
Technologies such as the Broker Insights USA VISION platform enable agents and brokers to gain clarity on all their insurance company interactions. This platform lets them explore and simulate placement opportunities to optimize growth and profitability, act on strategic plans, and monitor the financial performance of insurer partnerships. Put another way, VISION is a great tool for nurturing insurance relationships, building trust and maximizing growth opportunities.
To learn more about Broker Insights’ solutions for U.S. agents and brokers, please visit www.US.brokerinsights.com.