We have positioned Encompass in an area of the market where having people involved in the broking of a risk brings benefit.  There are many risks that can be considered non-complex and dealt with via electronic online methods with little involvement of insurance placement specialists and insurers provide an abundance of products that meet these requirements.  Whilst we do operate an entirely paperless office and obtain efficiencies through electronic data transfer, Encompass do not provide products that are of an online nature regarding the decision making.  We negotiate each and every placement directly with underwriters.   

 

We would prefer to work on a net premium and fee basis as this provides benefits to you and your clients; no conflict of interest where we earn more if the premium should increase, reduced taxes for the Insured and you fee for your services separately.  However, we do recognise that some of our clients prefer our remuneration to be incorporated into the premium as a split of brokerage so please let us know if this is the case and we can accommodate.

 

We always offer complete transparency when declaring / negotiating our earnings and we will do so on each case at the quotation stage.   As at January 2020, we do not receive any contingent commissions or profit shares etc. from any of our Insurer partners, neither do we intend to.  We are not undertaking any Underwriting functions for / on behalf of our insurer partners and, to avoid any conflict of interest, we intend to keep it that way. However, we may undertake an administrative function on behalf of insurers in the future, e.g. preparation and issuance of documentation, for which we will be recompensed by the Insurer.  We will declare any activities together with any remuneration received for this activity, at the time of quotation. However, please do be assured that it is, in our view, of paramount importance to us that we never create any doubt over our combined mutual interest which is to offer you and your clients the best policy at the best premium that is available to us.  The only area where we act in our best interest is when negotiating our fees with you.  Please see the the 'MGA' tab for further information about how Encompass interacts with its associated company, MGA Encompass. 

 

Marketing and re-marketing:  When you ask us to market a risk on your behalf, if required, we will work with you to present a more detailed, informative analysis and understanding of client exposure to risk and subsequent management of those exposures.  We will then ensure that client exposure is appraised against insurer product and appetite prior to marketing to minimise inefficiency and confirm the insurers we intend to approach keeping you advised during the broking process.  We take an approach of selecting the most appropriate insurers for the risk available to us and never saturate the Market with presentations.  

 

We work most effectively with Brokers who take pride in preparing good presentations that illustrate that some time has gone into understanding your prospect’s / client’s exposures and provide enough information for all parties to be able to assess risk accurately.  We are happy, of course, to help source advice from our contacts in situations where you have clients with unusual requirements, indeed, this is one of the many areas where we can assist. 

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We value longer term partnerships between Brokers and Underwriters who really understand their clients’ business and offer understanding and flexibility to provide valued, risk mitigation and indemnity solutions. This promotes a genuine feeling of partnership with clients, a partnership that strengthens over time. We work best with Brokers, their clients  and Underwriters who recognise that pro-active risk management can reduce the number of claims, their quantum and their likelihood which, in turn, reduces premium - arguably one of the most effective retention tools.

 

Encompass operate a simple and efficient structure.  Our overheads are low and we have no debt to service. Therefore, we have no need to pursue a strategy of aggregating premium in order to maximise earnings to help pay for high value property leases, expensive management structures, acquisitions and generous shareholder returns etc. choosing to offer choice to our Broker clients over maximising profits seems like a good long-term strategy to us. 

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Finally, call us old-fashioned, but we think that policy premiums should be paid to Insurers promptly.  We operate a strict credit control term with effect from inception - not invoicing  (see our TOBA) that enables premiums to be paid promptly and always within Insurers terms of credit.   In some instances, we are able to offer premium and fee discounts if the premiums are paid to Insurers prior to inception.  

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For more information about how we can work together, please contact us to discuss your requirements. 

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