Brokers have an increasingly important role as the digital insurance space heats up – and consumers demand greater choice, says a brokerage president.
“What most people forget is that the consumer demands choice in the online world, says Sherif Gemayel, president of Calgary-based Sharp Insurance. “That’s a reason why sites like Amazon thrive because they’re able to offer significant choice at a great price.”
You could say it’s in Gemayel’s nature to embrace such innovation. A born-and-bred sales guy, he broke into the insurance industry seven years ago after proving the traditional way isn’t always the best.
“One day I was with a friend of mine who was working in the insurance industry as a broker, and I asked him what they did to drive business. He said they kind of wait to the phone to ring,” he says. “As a sales guy, I couldn’t wrap my head around that. So we did a little experiment one day. I did a cold call and got him an appointment, and he ended up getting the account and it was his largest ever.”
The two partnered to launch Sharp shortly thereafter. The brokerage, which focuses mainly on personal lines, now has a staff of 55 and is among the fastest growing in Canada.
While initially frustrated by the industry’s slow acceptance of change, Gemayel says it has become a vibrant and innovative business in recent years, as competition heats up with digital solutions.
“For the first three to four years, it was definitely frustrating,” he says. “We were trying to move the yardstick… Fortunately we’ve been able to push past a lot of those roadblocks. We’ve now seen, in the last couple of years especially, a lot of innovation in the industry. The ship is starting to turn in how the industry approaches distribution and uses technology for it.”
He also thinks the move to online gives brokers a fighting chance due to their ability to be nimble and provide a new avenue of choice to consumers.
“I think we’re starting to see for the first time in a lot of years that brokers can believe they can win and not just fold to the direct writers,” he says.
“The consumer demands that kind of choice, so when you’ve got direct writers that only offer one product and are very limited in their offerings, brokers have a huge advantage - and they’re starting to realize that in an online world.”
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