The selection and appointment of a broker is the first, and one of the most important, steps in arranging your insurance. The broker must not only have the right level of expertise but must also be the right size for you as the Insured.

We can assist the Insured in the selection and instruction of their brokers by helping to:

•  produce the "brief",
  
• select the appropriate brokers to approach for a presentation,
  
• assess the presentations,
  
• consider alternative solutions as appropriate.
  

Producing the brief

We can assist in producing the brief for insurers. It is important to understand that brief still has to be produced by the Insured as they know the state of their business. We can, however, assist in how the brief is put together and identifying any areas of concern that the Insured may have. We would also look at the existing insurance arrangements and suggest areas were cover might be improved, if appropriate.

Selection of Brokers

The selection of the appropriate broker is important. This would take into account a combination of factors including:

• The specialist knowledge of the broker.
  
• The size of the broker. The Insured needs to select a broker that is big enough to service his business but not so big that the Insured is unimportant to him.
  

• The brokers may produce solutions that are radically different, or they may provide quotations based on different contract wordings. We would assist the Insured in assessing the relative merits of the terms put up by the brokers. 

• On occasion it may be of value to consider alternatives to traditional risk-transfer. This may involve elements of co-insurance, captive solutions or forms of Alternative Risk Transfer. Some of these solutions may be of particular value if the Insured has a robust risk management regime and the insurance market is not recognising this in the terms they are quoting.