A letter to our clients from Dean Clark, Partner at Selectpath Benefits & Financial

When I started in the financial services industry over 20 years ago, I was just like most advisors: a generalist straddling both the individual and the group sides of the business. The problem with this approach is that, although the list of products and services generalists can sell is extensive, our industry is rapidly scaling and evolving, becoming more complex, and outgrowing the capabilities a generalist can offer.

To truly support clients in a way that ensures they get the maximum benefit from our services, choosing a specialty, perpetually improving, and always being willing to collaborate makes the most sense for any advisor. This separates us from generalists and ensures that we’re top of mind for clients seeking professional, competent guidance when, and where, they need it.

The genesis of many insurance conversations is commonly price. It is important, but given the competitive nature of our business, low price is always available. Any broker can achieve it. It’s part of an advisor’s job to understand how rate setting works, how to determine what’s fair, and how to project downstream budget impacts if quoted rates are too low.

What some may not realize is that an advisor doesn’t just get quotes, install a plan, and resurface at the next renewal. We advise and guide on a host of relevant issues that aren’t related to plan design and rates, such as:

• Plan administration best practices
• Contract compliance
• Governance
• Simpler communication
• Critical reporting
• Prevention
• Troubleshooting
• Aligning coverage with corporate values

…and more.

An advisor knows what they know, and what they don’t. When faced with situations that fall outside their expertise, wouldn’t collaborating with other competent professionals make sense? This is even more relevant when working within the Navacord family of companies where we can access thoughtful, well-sourced opinions from specialized colleagues across Canada.

Don’t know anything about commercial P&C insurance? We can engage with a Navacord Broker Partner that does.

Don’t have expertise with temporary foreign worker coverage to ensure companies that employ TFWs are compliant? Other Navacord Broker Partners certainly do.

Need help with an opportunity on the other side of the country? Consult with another Navacord Broker Partner for assistance in that location.

Most advisors are well-meaning, but generalizing is distracting and can expose clients to unnecessary risks. By leveraging a network of professionals with more specialized skillsets, clients will be better off for it. Accountants know this. Lawyers know this. Most other professionals know this, so it only makes sense that we elevate our profession by maintaining a similar standard.

As our respective disciplines of the financial services and insurance industry become more intricate, nuanced, and sometimes hostile, businesses of all sizes need capable advisors who are willing to work with other capable advisors. Specialization and collaboration are no longer optional, but rather essential strategies that will facilitate the best results and outcomes for clients. Sometimes they don’t take the advice we give, but that shouldn’t, and doesn’t, stop us from giving it.

If you take away one thing from this, it’s that the advisor you choose really is the most critical factor in your overall risk management plan, regardless of which piece you’re working on. Choose an advisor partner who can be the difference between propelling your business to a secure future vs. exposing your business to unforeseen risks.