In a previous post I explained why it’s important for Insurance Brokers to specialise and create niches. But how do you find and create niches that you can compete in? Well, there are more ways than you might think. 

Before we look at ways to find them though, let’s consider what makes something a good insurance niche that you’d want to actively market to.

What makes for a good insurance niche?

For a niche to be successful, it needs to comply with most – or probably all – of the following criteria:

• They must have risks or characteristics that mark them out as different so you can tailor your product or service to them
• There must be enough of them to warrant the extra effort of targeted marketing to that sector
• There must be sufficient income from each sale, or a means of scaling up to a high-volume scheme over time
• There must be a way of identifying and targeting members of the niche for marketing purposes
• Preferably there will be few brokers (if any) already competing for them
• You must have an agency with an insurer that is willing to underwrite them

So that’s how you benchmark different niche ideas to decide which are winners. Now let’s look at how you find them in the first place.

Insurer Meetings

I’ll start with what may sound like an obvious one. Insurers like to have regular meetings with key brokers to ensure that their book of business remains healthy. Are you using these meetings strategically though? An insurer may have once shared their target trade list with you, but don’t take for granted that you can remember them all. Many insurers will issue a Red/Amber/Green list of trades that they will or won’t accept.

Check these lists regularly as you may be surprised when a new niche trade appears on the list. If you find any, keep a note of them to check against. Always be sure to ask whether they are aware of any fast-growing trades or other niche areas. You may find that some of the larger, composite insurers play it safe when it comes to new and emerging risks, so it’s important to keep in dialogue with the more specialist fringe insurers, which leads me neatly to my next point…

Insurance Industry events

The likes of the BIBA Conference and Broker Expo are great for meeting up with your existing insurance contacts and for getting some activity on your CPD log. Don’t forget though that they’re also a great opportunity to meet with some of the more niche insurers face to face. Insurers will be dealing with brokers all over the country, so they will be quicker than a broker to spot the emergence of new niche markets. So, make sure you speak to some of the smaller insurers at industry events – it can be a real eye-opener and you’ll still have plenty of time to get to the bar afterwards!

Databases

If you subscribe to any online databases you can search for businesses local to your brokerage, to see the types of business you have nearby. If you find the right niche, you can operate nationally, but it helps to start with local businesses and scale up from there. Local businesses are great because it’s easier to meet them in person and discuss the risks and challenges that they face, so you can tailor your offering to suit those needs.

On your database, you may also be able to set up alerts when a new business is formed. By looking at new businesses as they form, you can spot trends as they emerge.  Mint is certainly one database service that allows you to set up such alerts and is popular with brokers.

Press and Research reports

A simple Google search can often reveal what the fastest-growing sectors are in the UK. These articles often include predictions of which niches will grow rapidly the following year as well, and give insights to what is fuelling the growth. This post from NIG is a great example.

BIBA Helpline

BIBA has a remit to make it easier for members of the public to find a broker – even if they have struggled to find the right cover so far. As part of this remit, they offer their ‘Find a Broker’ service. Brokers that decline to quote are obliged to point people towards this service, to help them find a suitable broker. BIBA then allows brokers to sign up to receive calls from them when a client has had trouble finding suitable insurance. This operates on a ‘pay per call’ basis, and you do get details of the risk before you have to commit to the cost of the call.

If you have strong market knowledge and good insurer relations, this service can work really well. Better still, the clients you pick up are less likely to shop around at renewal, having already struggled to find cover at inception. So, this could be a way to spot emerging trends and provide cover for them.

What will your niche ideas be for the rest of 2018?

So now it’s time for you to start gathering niche insurance ideas – maybe for the rest of this year, or maybe you start planning now in good time for 2019. Finding a niche now can help you be one of the first brokers to build a reputation for serving it well. If a niche grows, you can be sure that other insurers and brokers will enter the market, so why not act now to claim your share of the market?

Contact me if I can help you to assess your market niches or find ways to target them through Digital Marketing