The panel, which took place on the first day of the conference, was hosted by Howden Head of M&A Peter Blanc to help brokers better understand the options available to them in the hunt for scale.
Laura Hancock, managing director at Yutree Insurance, argued that retaining independence enables brokers to define their own culture and strategy.
“Well, for us, independence is really important,” she said. “I think the main benefit for us is being able to grow a culture that we believe in, make decisions that we want to for good of our customers and our people.”
She also stressed that this focus on the customer and profitability are not mutually exclusive.
“You can absolutely be financially successful [and focus on the customer],” she said. “I think everyone here knows that insurance brokering business can be hugely profitable.
“And as long as you make good decisions, you focus on your profit, you focus on your customer, do things the way you want to do it, you can have the best of both worlds.”
For those not looking to go it alone, Hedron Network chief executive Chris Haggart said that networks can offer scale without giving up control.
“[Networks] expand access,” he said. “They give brokers a seat at a table that otherwise they wouldn’t be able to get access to. So that gives them a number of advantages, be that new partnerships, new insurers, distribution opportunities, exclusive products – it allows them to compete at a level that would otherwise be out of reach.”
Haggart added that networks can also help ease the back-office burden brokers face.
“They compress time for partner brokers, so lots of the non-client stuff – regulatory support, technology adoption, stuff that really gets in the way of being super client-focused and super growth,” he said. “Networks can systemise that via a ready-made operating platform that allows businesses to really focus on what matters, be brilliant for the people and be brilliant for the customers.”
Another strategy discussed on the panel was that of employee ownership, as outlined by Gareth Cotty, chief commercial officer at Thomas Carroll Group.
“Effectively, every employee user is an owner of the business,” he said. “Our founders resisted the temptation to sell the business, we wanted it to hand over the next generation and protect it for a long while. The business is 53 years old, and we’d like it to be around for another 53, so we’re finding a mechanism that protected that.
“It’s also helped us to recruit more people than we would have maybe done beforehand.”
Meanwhile, Goldman Sachs partner Michele Titi-Cappelli said private equity has evolved in response to changing market conditions, and now offers a range of different benefits to brokers, particularly those with international ambitions.
“Capital is still obviously necessary, but it is no longer sufficient,” he said. “I think it is in volatile times like the ones we’re currently living in, that locals look for a true partner in their private equity background. And I think private equity can help, in my opinion, across two or three dimensions.”
He said these include helping with value creation and international expansion, as well as providing access to capital market support.
But whatever route a broker chooses the message from the panel was clear: there is no single path to success. But with careful planning and a clear sense of purpose, brokers can find the model that works best for them — and thrive in the process.