How CFC plans to address the small business insurance gap

Small businesses continue to face hurdles in accessing some commercial insurance products, a senior company leader at CFC said on how MGA hopes to leverage technology to address this issue. said while sharing

“We knew the barriers to entry were high for so many clients. [to specialty commercial insurance]CFC USA CEO Shannon Glover told Insurance Business at the CFC Summit 2023 in Chicago.

According to Glover, clients find it difficult to complete detailed application forms, and brokers are sometimes “very intimidated how to talk about so many different products and solutions. The natural tendency was to just walk in silence.” Either walk away from the conversation or not pursue it. “

Event attendees heard during the session that the CFC uses technology to scan cyber-insured digital risks, track IP addresses and the IP addresses they communicate with, and scan for vulnerabilities. The idea behind the latest update is to expand it and collect additional available data points, from permits and registrations to new products and partnerships, attendees said.

“[We realized] As we expand our range, we will be able to start collecting additional information. It’s kind of a risk for technology companies and small professional service providers in the US,” Glover said in his presentation.

As a result, brokers are now able to get more quotes in front of 33 million small businesses in the US without requiring such detailed information, Glover told Insurance Business. This task has so far proven to be a daunting chore for the insured and has been a hindrance to transactions that ultimately lead customers to opt out of insurance.

“Often, you might have a few employees and one business owner, and the application asks a lot of questions that aren’t always answered or that aren’t relevant to your business,” he says. Mr. Glover said about the target companies. . “So we thought that if we could supplement that information, instead of asking the broker to bring us the information, we would be able to get valuable information and give the broker more quotes for our customers. to assist the broker in making that sale.We will provide more information.”

“Now brokers can handle multiple product lines at the same time. We have technology and different professional responsibilities that we can quote and present together at the same time,” said Glover. Stated. “These products are products that have been assumed in his 20 years of talking about cyber that some of that risk spills over into his E&O.

“It makes sense to bundle these coverages under the same carrier, alleviating concerns about which insurance will cover them.”

Further platform enhancements are planned, including the addition of a full suite of CFC stewardship products.

“[We want to focus] For those small businesses, sole proprietorships, or businesses with only a few employees, we don’t really talk about D&O, but rather talk about your specific concerns. [directors & officers] For large publicly traded companies, the products available don’t necessarily create the value because they don’t reflect those risks,” Glover said.

CFC is structuring additional policies at D&O, effectively replicating what it has done in the cyber space, Glover said, but with a particular focus on events aimed at senior executives. Stated.

“They can have personal protection and if they are specifically harmed from a reputation standpoint, or if there is incorrect information on the website, we want them to have that information removed and their reputation repaired. and help us get back to pre-cyber levels,” Glover said. “And if they experience any personal financial loss as a result of that cyber event, we will compensate for that as well.”

How do you serve your high-burden small business customers? Let us know in the comments.