Headquarters: Surrey, BC
Website: schillinsurance.com
What’s your brokerage’s competitive advantage?
I think most businesses would say it’s their people – it’s no different for us. Hire great people then get out of their way and trust them to make great decisions. We believe an engaged and empowered team will outperform the competition every time.
What made 2020 a banner year for your brokerage?
We just closed our most successful year ever because of our response to the pandemic. Five days before the lockdown in March, we had one-third of our team together working on employee engagement. A week later, we sent a video to the team, telling them of the fight we were in for and asking them to stand up and be counted. They did, in spades, and we never doubted they would.
What did you do differently last year?
We ventured into a couple new niches that had previously been difficult, underpriced and poorly performing. However, we changed our thinking and approach, which has resulted in amazing growth and a much better experience for the client. Also, dealing with the pandemic meant elevating our game with client-facing and internal technology.
What’s the biggest challenge facing brokers in 2021?
The hardening market and shrinking capacity will be challenging for sure. The soft market was here so long that many in our industry have never experienced a hardening. This is going to get interesting. Here in British Columbia, we’re also dealing with significant changes to the Insurance Corporation of British Columbia’s product and pricing.
What can your wholesale or insurer partners do to help you write more business?
We have great respect for our partners, but getting them out of their box is very challenging. Nothing is simple anymore, so we need them to be willing to look at things through a creative lens.
