Fleet insurance can be arranged directly too – so when is it worth bringing in a broker? The answer isn't a matter of principle, it's a matter of the situation: there are fleets where a broker's work adds a lot of value, and simple set-ups where it adds less. This article shows the difference honestly – and what you can expect from me if we work together.
- A broker acts for the client: putting several insurers' quotes to competition, acting on the client's instructions – the insurer pays the broker's commission.
- It typically adds the most value: when first moving to fleet insurance, with a worsening claims record, with a mixed, complex fleet, or when the fleet manager is short on time.
- A broker isn't a miracle cure: they don't speed up a routine claim or “conjure up” a lower premium – they build a system, and help, wherever they can.
- The test of a good working relationship is transparency: a table you can understand, clearly stated limits, and a decision that's yours.
What does a broker do – and what don't they do?
A broker acts on the client's instructions: assessing the need, requesting quotes from several insurers and arranging them into a comparable table, helping prepare the decision, then handling the administration – adding/removing vehicles, changes – and, if told before the renewal date, preparing the comparison, and helping the client find their way in stuck or disputed cases, where it can. What a broker doesn't do: decide on the client's behalf, promise a specific premium or discount in advance, or speed up a routine claim – that runs through the insurer's channel. The commission is transparent: the client doesn't pay for the advice, the insurer pays the broker's commission.
Situations where it adds a lot of value
In my experience, a broker's work is worth the most where there's complexity or change: when first moving to fleet insurance (aligning renewal dates, structuring the policy – the territory of the binding-and-switching article); with a worsening claims record (diagnosis and recovery – details here); with a mixed, complex fleet (machinery, superstructures, international routes); and wherever the fleet manager's time is tight – because fleet administration is exactly the kind of work that hands off well.
And where does it add less?
Honestly: for simple set-ups, the added value is smaller. Two or three identical cars, stable usage, claims-free years – here the market is simpler too, and less system-building is needed. An audit can still be worthwhile in this case (a gap is still a gap), but the weight of ongoing broker involvement is smaller. If that's the situation, I say so – as the small-fleet article also puts it: moving to fleet insurance and bringing in a broker are tools, not goals in themselves.
How should you choose a broker?
A few good questions to ask any broker – me included: Can their authorisation be verified? (In the MNB's public register – mine is here.) What does their comparison table look like – content rows, or just premiums? What do they say about claims – do they promise things they can't keep? And: do they say so when something isn't worth it? A good broker relationship is a long-term matter – it's worth choosing someone for whom system and honesty are the foundation, not a one-off price promise.
The first conversation: what should you expect?
If you've reached the end of the article still wondering what a first conversation with me is like: twenty minutes, by phone or video call, with no obligation and no charge. At the start I ask questions – the fleet, usage, pain points – and at the end I give you an honest picture: where I can help, what can be sorted out in-house, and where I'm not the right person to ask. If there's a case for continuing, the next step is the audit; if there isn't, I'll say that too. The vehicle list is enough to prepare with – and if you don't even have that, it's not a problem either: putting one together will simply be the first task. You can book a time here.
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