January 7, 2025
Nick Novinger—President, Novinger Insurance
Mark H. Preston—Principal Broker, Preston Insurance Services
Ontario brokerages are large and small, rural and urban, general and specialized. The diversity is what we love most about our membership. Their experiences vary just as much as their businesses. Leaders of two Ontario brokerages share their takes on the past year, how they’ve adapted to the changes they’ve seen and what they’re doing to prepare for the challenges and opportunities 2025 brings.
What were the biggest challenges and opportunities your brokerage faced in 2024?
NN: Partnering with the Prolink Broker Network was the biggest opportunity for us. Through our partnership, we’re now in a position of growth, but it’s also been one of our biggest challenges. Scaling the right way, at a manageable pace is critical. To achieve this, we make sure we have a clear understanding of who new employees are and what they envision their career arc to look like for the next 5 years. Refining our vetting process and truly understanding candidates’ needs can lead to less turnover and longer tenures, which is the real building block for growth.
MP: Continued rate increases when many consumers can ill afford it. We continue to address this by reviewing with each customer their needs in detail and setting up policies they can afford with the coverages they need.
How have client expectations evolved over the past year, and what changes did you implement to meet their demands?
NN: Without a doubt, consumer mentality has shifted—the instant satisfaction mindset has taken over. Thankfully, with increasing Insurtech solutions available and more insurers adopting digital platforms, we’ve been able to stay in front of client expectations and maintain the level of service we’re known for.
MP: Consumers want the right coverage at the best rate, with more options to communicate. We’ve upgraded our BMS to allow effective communication through email, text or telephone to meet our clients’ evolving expectations.
Were there major industry developments in 2024 that had a significant impact on your operations or strategy?
NN: From a regulatory perspective following the OSFI guidelines, Canadian insurers now disclose climate related risks and integrate climate resilience into their strategies. OSFI also introduced an enhanced risk management model, expanding their ability to federally regulate insurers. But the biggest development of 2024 has been the introduction of AI. The applications are seemingly endless. We’re constantly looking for ways to enhance the client experience and AI will play a large part of this moving forward.
MP: We recently upgraded our Broker Management System—a very costly and time-consuming event. It’s something all brokerages need to be ready for, it’s a serious investment in time and money. Continued pressure from regulators, government and insurance companies to adapt to their new systems is also a struggle. Technology adoption and training takes much more time in the management of a brokerage than it did in the past.
“The recent announcement from the Provincial Government on Accident Benefits changes will have a significant impact on how automobile insurance is serviced in Ontario.”
What are your top priorities going into 2025?
NN: Our top priority will always be client service. I’ll never forget what my father said when I first joined the industry 20 years ago—never forget, we work for our clients. This has been our corporate mantra and will continue to be a core value. How we achieve this has always been our proactive approach to client service. With all the tools at our disposal, we’re better equipped today as service providers than ever before.
MP: Our top priority is to continue to grow the brokerage without compromising our vision of competent, well-educated, personal service to our clients. By the end of 2025, we hope to have grown without sacrificing our strong retention numbers and by focusing on serving our existing client base first. We’ll continue to invest in modern technology and tools that allow a small brokerage like ours to compete when it comes to communicating with and serving our clients.
How have you positioned your brokerage to stand out in an increasingly competitive market, and how will you maintain that edge?
NN: Without clients, we’re nothing. Our biggest asset is our approach to client service—we understand our clients’ needs and take them seriously. When it comes to commercial insurance, 90% of the time you’re dealing with business owners. Their time is valuable, so you need to make sure it’s not wasted. Prompt responses, clear and concise explanations and educating them on industry trends will take you from being just another broker to a trusted advisor. We’ve onboarded many service and automation tools, and with the uncapped potential of AI, there will be many more advancements in customer service this year.
MP: With the recent increase in M&A, smaller brokerages are becoming more rare. We strive to provide a high level of service with a personal touch. We know our clients very well, and strive to quickly and efficiently respond to their needs. Many of our newer clients have left recently acquired brokerages where they were missing the benefits of dealing with the same broker. We’ll continue our model of having each client deal with a specific CSR or Producer so strong relationships can help us stand out.
What trends or disruptions do you foresee in 2025, and how do you plan to stay ahead of the curve?
NN: AI has and will continue to be the biggest industry disruptor. We’ve only seen a fraction of its capabilities and are already witnessing its impact in the industry, whether from a client intake perspective or full policy quoting, AI’s application is a gamechanger and will continue to catapult the industry forward.
MP: Although this change isn’t scheduled until 2026, the recent announcement from the Provincial Government on Accident Benefits changes will have a significant impact on how automobile insurance is serviced in Ontario. As a smaller brokerage, we’re more flexible and can react to changes quickly. Continued rate increases will cause more clients to shop at a time when brokers are already over-worked. More effort will be spent on servicing existing books of business over writing new business due to changes to the OAP. We’ll endeavour to educate our clients to the best of our ability. Automobile insurance is already a complicated product and is only getting more complicated. Although this increases a broker’s workload, it’s the opportunity to prove our value.