What product and services do Insurance agents and brokers, whether retail or wholesale, provide to their clients? Many practitioners define this narrowly – the product is insurance, the service is advice, and sell accordingly. However, some organizations have taken a wider perspective, and try to add additional value. The classic example in the specialty lines business, for an insurer, has been Hartford Steam Boiler Insurance Company, a company which provides both insurance and the expertise to significantly reduce catastrophic losses.

Our own experience, first as Tennant Risk Services and more recently as part of Mercator Risk Services, indicates that differentiation is an important component of a distribution strategy. We have seen a number of retail agencies execute this extremely well. . Three examples (to remain nameless) come to mind, each of which rely on a specialization strategy to build the value component:

• An agency specializing in one segment of inland marine
• An agency providing highly technical risk management services in a segment of the recreation insurance business
• An agency underwriting a highly specialized class of real estate professional liability insurance

Each of these examples have succeeded in building significant market shares in the chosen specialty areas through specialization and the provision of value added service. You will be able to name many others.