FocalPoint Webinars

In today’s competitive market, it’s important for agencies to take advantage of data and insights that can help improve performance – and their bottom line. But what data should your agency be measuring and how do you use it to drive best practices and innovation?

Join Keith Captain, President, FirstChoice, and Gabby Iacona, Data Science Manager, MarshBerry, as they discuss the importance of using data and analytics to make informed business decisions. In addition, they will highlight how to make holistic, data driven decisions, the benefits of collecting and analyzing data for your agency, and how to use powerful tools like MarshBerry’s Financial Snapshot to gain valuable insights on areas for improvement, and success, for your business.

The world is changing – and so must you. The hardening market is in full swing with rates increasing rapidly and capacity shrinking as carriers have limited ability to spread and retain risk. Firms must adapt to control their growth through things like increased sales velocity and retention, and not rely solely on outside forces to amplify organic growth targets.

In order for your firm to thrive – how will you adapt to the changing environment? Join Brooke Lugonjic, Senior Vice President – Growth Advisory, and Shelley Turk, Program Manager – Growth Advisory, as they show how firms can utilize five key benchmarking pillars to embrace change and how these, combined with an executive peer exchange, can help you gain a competitive advantage.

A dramatic spike in weather and disaster events, coupled with inflation, reinsurance constraints and supply chain issues, have created a storm of uncertainty. Carriers and agents alike are looking for the best path to best address market fluctuations while developing lasting partnerships.

Join Keith Captain and Jason Juarez as they provide key insights on how agencies can grow and retain customers through today’s market and best practices on how to develop carrier partnerships that can weather any storm.

For firms who are looking to carve their own path — there are more options than just buying or selling your firm. During this session, MarshBerry leads an exploration of the paths available to firms in today’s marketplace and provides guidance on how you can stay competitive. 

Key Takeaways:  

• Understand the six paths currently available to firm owners looking at the future of their firm.  
• Learn about key market dynamics that are driving firm value. 
• Discuss keys to strategic planning for 2023 to see if your firm is set to grow organically. 

The fight for specialty distributors to stay on top of trends and remain relevant in an ever changing, dynamic marketplace is a constant struggle – especially for independently owned firms that lack robust infrastructure/systems, market clout and capital. The market experienced a massive roll-up of wholesale brokers over the last decade – to the point where few independent sizable brokers remain. Independents tend to find it challenging to attract and retain talent while growing operations at a rate that keeps pace with larger competitors. Is the historical consolidation of wholesale brokers reflective of the current consolidation environment being experienced by independent delegated authority firms?

During this session, George Bucur, Managing Director & Specialty Practice Co-head explores the dynamic changes impacting specialty firms and explains how these changes are impacting merger & acquisition transaction activity and resulting valuations.

Has your company made a commitment to focusing on talent in 2023? Join MarshBerry’s Growth Advisory team as they take a deep dive into the insurance industry’s top- and bottom-ranked cultural characteristics important in attracting and retaining talent. The team also showcases best practices and modern ideas around recruitment, interview strategy, onboarding, and talent management that you can use to enhance your talent plan.

Where will the current class of insurtechs land in the race for funding, growth and relevance given the strength and resilience of the independent insurance brokerage market? This session will discuss how insurtech firms will position themselves for success in today’s dynamic insurance brokerage market.

Relatively speaking, 2022 has been a year of challenging headwinds for merger & acquisition (M&A) activity. It didn’t help that 2021 broke records in many categories. But despite the hurdles, 2022 has the opportunity to end strong. Join Phil Trem, President – Financial Advisory, where he’ll showcase 2022 M&A year-end results, trends in valuations, an update from the capital markets, and the outlook for insurance agencies and brokerages in 2023.

As an insurance agency or brokerage owner – you’re inundated with how the insurance landscape is constantly changing. However, what are you supposed to do with all of this information? During this 30-minute FocalPoint webinar, Gerard Vecchio, Managing Director, will highlight key economic indicators you should watch, upcoming insurance renewals and potential rate changes, Carrier Surplus Allocations, and adjustments in the debt and equity market you should follow as you start your strategic planning for 2023.

The wholesale broker segment has undergone massive consolidation to the point where very few independent pure play Property & Casualty brokers remain. In addition, it’s likely that the market is at the front end of a consolidation wave that is hitting delegated authority firms with nearly 8% of specialty entities consolidating in 2021. As history demonstrates, massive value is unlocked when insurance distributors and markets are aggregated. Delegated authority is not an exception to this premise.

With firms spending just under 70% of their revenue on compensation costs, the key is to have reliable and current data to make decisions in a rapidly evolving landscape. With unprecedented competition for talent, employers must take measures to ensure their firms stand out from competitors if they want to attract and retain the best talent. Today, this goes beyond just the paycheck — employees are increasingly looking at the company culture, benefits, flexibility, upskilling, and work–life balance when deciding whether to accept or stay in a position.

Join MarshBerry Director Tommy McDonald as he provides key insights from our 2022 Agency & Brokerage Compensation Study and action items to consider as you look to make impactful changes to your firm’s compensation strategy.