A sense of community

The insurance industry has always been a people business. From the early days of coffee houses to the underwriting floor of Lloyd’s; it’s an industry built around people and community. Whilst technology has started to remove the need for face-to-face business, it’s an element that we’d still argue should never be replaced altogether.

Although the recent weeks of working remotely may have proven that even traditional business models need to pivot and change. Adapting to new challenges that none of us could have predicted. I think we’d all agree that we still all want to be trading in person, and not solely via a Zoom call or email.

A brief look at anthropology teaches us that, as human beings, we need interaction with others, and thrive when belonging to a community. Whilst technology may help to streamline certain elements of business, it’s not conducive to building lasting relationships. Bringing together people with a common interest, values and beliefs, then face to face interaction really cannot be replaced. In fact, lockdown may have highlighted just how important human interaction can be.

Strength in loyalty

Good relationships develop loyalty which, in turn, helps to form a strong community. As underwriters, it’s part of our job to form connections with brokers, to share knowledge and create a community of our own.

At Probitas, we believe our disciplined approach to underwriting and being open to discuss, debate and listen has enabled us to build and nurture robust relationships. Part of this is staying true to our principals and company ethos to deliver a reliable service and product which, in turn, breeds trust and loyalty.

Our relationships have certainly been put to the test during this pandemic, with our underwriting teams dispersed across the country and Mexico! However, feedback from our broker partners has been very positive. We’ve been praised for our responsive reaction to working remotely, for there being no lag time between closing our offices and working from our homes.

We built our business from day one to be fully cloud-based, so we have always been able to work from any location. And, it’s a strength that our community has certainly benefited from during such a difficult time. We’ve been able to continue as business as usual which has paid dividends to our teams, our brokers and the insured.

The sign of friendship

Another, equally important factor in community building is forming friendships through conversation and our own personalities. We know from experience, that friendships thrive on trust and loyalty. And, without doubt, the insurance market is awash with friendships that have flourished simply from working together day in and out. These relationships are more than just the business that is being written.

Again, we’ve seen the fruits of these friendships during these unprecedented times. Being able to reach out and have conversations with another human outside of your home, to enjoy ‘normal’ daily conversations and to encourage each other through what could be, for some, tough times.

Weekly calls with the entire company, daily team catch-ups, individual exchanges via phone, email or video calls, the technology that we don’t want to erode our face-to-face industry has enabled us all to feel close together, to feel part of a community.

Covid-19 may have tested our community, but it has ultimately proven the power of a relationship built on loyalty and trust. A comradery that proves its value.

We relish our place in the insurance community, be that the market we know of pre-pandemic or even the new landscape that lies ahead. We don’t just feel like another underwriting syndicate, because we know we are contributing and fostering connections we believe in; ones that have and will continue to form lasting relationships and build a great community.