Brokers - stop doing this

[00:00]

[00:13] Paul Lucas: Hello everybody, welcome to Insurance Business TV. We are here at Insurance Fest 2026 for our peer-to-peer interviews and I am sat alongside Rochelle Lewis. She's director of risk management at Red Bull. Rochelle, I am delighted that you are here today. I'd love to know from where you sit. What's the biggest change right now in how insurance is perhaps bought, sold, or valued?

[00:36] Rochelle Lewis: Yeah, so insurance is all the same across the board, right? Everybody has the same access to the different type of policies from property, general liability, workers comp, auto, are the common types of insurance that people buy. You would think that because we do these crazy events, we're buying some crazy insurance.

[01:00] We're not just buying insurance, we're telling a story of how we do events. But when you look back at it, it's really just making sure that there's some controls in place, such as having a contract in place, making sure that the people you're partnering with or hiring to do a job for you have the appropriate insurance, understand that they are the buffer between you and the third parties that may want to sue us for whatever reason.

[01:26] And then also waivers. We make everybody sign a waiver understanding that what you're about to do is dangerous. Of course, there are some caveats to that. We do have a risk tolerance for how much one person can accept a risk, but in general, they are signing a waiver knowing that there is a possibility you could get hurt, right?

[01:46] Paul Lucas: And I'd love to know as well from the buyer's side, if you want, what do the brokers and carriers typically get wrong when they're trying to approach a company like yours?

[01:56] Rochelle Lewis: Yeah, so when they approach us, and I did mention this in my talk earlier, they don't study exactly what Red Bull does, right? They just see the beverage, which yes, we are a beverage company first and foremost. We are sales and marketing of a beverage.

[02:13] And then in that, we also do have different portfolios such as we have a soccer team in New York, which a lot of people don't know. And then of course, everyone knows we have an F1 team. But what our brokers don't realize is they kind of feel like when they do sell those products, they think it's one size fits all and it really isn't.

[02:34] You really got to understand, is this product going to make sense for my client? Having them do the research and understanding and knowing what we're actually exposed for is what I want to hear from them. I don't usually get that all the time on certain things they try to sell me. So it's like, "Well, wait a minute. Do I really need it? Or are you just trying to sell me something, right? Do you want to understand what you're trying to sell me?"

[02:57] Paul Lucas: Yeah, and of course, we've seen a lot of consolidation as well, haven't we, in the brokerage area. So what do you think has been the driving reason behind that?

[03:06] Rochelle Lewis: It's interesting because I did mention earlier that I did come from a broker background. And so, like I mentioned, all brokers have to compete against is just service, right?

[03:18] I think there comes a point when you're at a company, they just all move around. My brokers, I've seen brokers that I worked with years ago come to work for the one that I'm dealing with now. And I hear from them it's because of the way they were actually treated by the company.

[03:35] I think that it makes a difference. And then the smaller companies are getting bought out by the bigger ones. So it's almost like for us, like Red Bull. Coca-Cola does that. They have that same model, right? They're buying all these different companies, including our competitors, and the only reason is because they have a bigger distribution network.

[03:59] So that's exactly why I see the consolidation with these brokers buying up all these smaller companies because they want access to their bigger clients.

[04:09] Paul Lucas: Yeah. And of course, you're at a company that has a pretty amazing public image. You talk about all the sports teams that you have. Of course, your marketing slogan that gives you wings is known all around the world, right? Just tell me what insurance needs to do to change its public image and specifically to attract new, fresh talent to the industry.

[04:28] Rochelle Lewis: I think it is make, for brokers or for just in general?

[04:33] Paul Lucas: Carriers?

[04:35] Rochelle Lewis: Yeah. I'm seeing a lot with this younger generation. I've been in the business now for over 25 years. I don't want to date myself. But what I'm seeing is there's a lot of young talent and they have fresh ideas.

[04:50] And I do like the younger generation to a point where they know how to work smarter, not harder. So, I'm trying to learn from them, but of course, without taking shortcuts because in insurance you can't. Because if you do, then there's risk, right? So.