Insurance Business is proud to launch its first annual Top 10 Brokerages and in a sneak peak, we allow our readers a glimpse at the Ottawa-based brokerage who took home the tenth spot – Carr & Company Insurance Brokers. IB spoke with Matthew Carr, president and COO.
What’s your reaction being named one of the Insurance Business Top 10 Brokerages?
It’s a great honour. After all the hard work put in by our team over the last two years to get started again, getting back to our core values as a brokerage has really meant a lot. I’m proud to be able to carry on the legacy my father created, and hope to build on the foundation he laid.
What’s the most important thing a broker can do to develop their business?
Stay true to themselves and their clients. Customer service and taking a vested interest in our clients far outranks any sort of marketing, or sales strategy. The demands on our clients’ time push what we do and how we do it to the forefront. They need to know that we as brokers are there for them, especially in the worst of situations.
What’s the biggest challenge facing the industry?
Company acquisitions, large-scale mergers and the constant pressures from outside forces. All of these combine to have a large effect on what family owned, or small- to medium-sized brokers can do and howthey can compete. Million-dollar marketing campaigns, acquisitions at ridiculous multiples and arbitrary market pressures, all affect how the smaller offices can do business in today’s marketplace.
How would you change the industry to help brokerages flourish?
This list would be ever changing. In an ideal world it would be to level the playing field for brokers with direct writers, group programs, and banks that have near unlimited support from their parent companies. Remain competitive in the marketplace with price naturally, but levelling the playing field would allow for the conversation to revolve around the value proposition of using a broker and not price.
What sets your firm apart?
That’s a hard question as every brokerage has its strengths and weaknesses. I think what sets us apart currently is our ability to see the challenges on today’s consumer first hand and service them appropriately. With our experienced, diverse, bilingual staff, we are able to connect with the client and make sure they understand what they are paying for and how they can benefit from it.
What’s next?
Hopefully, continuing the momentum. Our family is growing; we have ambitious goals, but will not compromise what we have started to get to them. We are laying the foundation for this, ensuring we can maintain the high levels of service and customer satisfaction, all the while dealing with what the market has to throw at us.
