Global Investment Bank Saves $216K (With Better Service) By Re-Bidding Business Insurance

One of the leading names in global investment banking had grown over the past two decades to a trusted name in M&A and debt advisory services, with 20+ offices in 15 global markets.

Spurred by new service offerings and M&A over the past few years, the team credits their success to deep industry relationships, unique insights, focused execution, and a team personally invested in their client’s success. As a result, client relationships can often last for decades.

That relationship focus extends into their vendor suite, where they look for partners who mirror their hands-on approach to account management: willing to take on their client’s challenges like they’re their own, with a flexible approach, and forward-looking insight and information-sharing.

When it came time to review and re-launch their RFP for their business insurance suite (including Errors and Omissions (E&O), Directors and Officers (D&O), Workers Comp, Property & Casualty, and more), the client knew it was time (after three years) to find a more proactive partner to cover its 800 employees.  

As vendor negotiation isn’t the firm’s core specialty, they didn’t want to waste valuable time or resources looking for an insurance broker. Instead, they sought a true expert partner with deep industry background to commit to finding them an insurance broker aligned with their service needs – and, of course, at the best possible price.

Coinciding with an internal move to house risk management oversight in Finance after eight years sitting in the office of the General Counsel, their international platform growth required a different perspective and analysis.

A relatively short timetable to source and procure a new insurance broker, procure, and renew existing insurance programs after a major claim, and a desire for more alignment with the firm's total risk appetite also demanded a unique strategy and skills to execute.

The Decision to Find a New Insurance Vendor

Revisiting your insurance vendor suite isn’t unusual. In fact, many asset managers organize a business insurance broker RFP (Request for Proposal) every three to four years to ensure they are keeping up with the latest pricing, product offering and vendor changes.

Still, deciding to change your insurance broker after several years can be unsettling, especially when making a move due to service-level and overall risk tolerance mismatches.

Further complicating their vendor search: they needed their insurance procurement function to support an international audience – with all the various complications that go along with global support and contract negotiations.

Ultimately, they decided to work with Concertiv as their commitment to integrity, high-quality client service, and deep domain expertise best aligned with the client’s own relationship management strategies. Additionally, they noted that:

• Concertiv showcased true category expertise specific to investment banking business insurance, rather than simply generalized procurement experience.
• The holistic approach and team skillset Concertiv displayed eliminated any anxiety they had about making a vendor change with less than ninety (90) days prior to their insurance programs expiration.
• They were looking for a partner with deep market knowledge and relationships that meant the team could step into any insurance procurement or claims situation as either an advisor or as an insurance broker, with license to address any issues that might come up.

Launching into the partnership, Concertiv began by identifying and interviewing key stakeholders to determine the firm'’s project needs and strategic priorities to ensure the broker selection process was as seamless and accurate as possible. This included generating a full picture of the team’s risk data to share with potential brokers.

Concertiv utilized its in-house repository to quickly analyze and collate the client's confidential insurance risk data ensuring they could 1) effectively manage and secure all data access, and 2) quickly provide a useful data format to the selected broker, ultimately streamlining selection timelines and data distribution to insurers.

From there, the Concertiv team developed a comprehensive RFP, incorporating detailed coverage specifications, key brokerage performance indicators, coverage procurement requirements, and insurance brokerage service agreement guarantees.

Leveraging their strong reputation and understanding of the best-in-class providers, Concertiv accepted submissions from 11 insurance brokers, all of whom specialized with serving investment banks. Potential insurance brokers were then vetted against company history, expertise, staffing availability, service approach and methodology, ability to execute the renewal, and price – with negotiations back and forth among all vendors to ensure the client team could choose from the best possible options.

Their RFP communication plan enabled the functional RFP participants (the CFO, General Counsel, Controller, and Compliance Officer) to quickly inform all stakeholders of the selection without distracting from the administration of the existing insurance programs.

Amid intense competition, the Concertiv team shortlisted two insurance brokers best aligned with the company’s strategy, service, and pricing goals. Working with the executive teams along the way, the client ultimately found a winning choice and moved forward with a guaranteed insurance premium and optimized service fee and commitments – all with minimal team distraction and zero disruption to their total insurance coverage.

Hundreds of Thousands Saved – Plus Better Service, Fewer Operational Headaches and Decreased Risk

The clients realized $68k in brokerage fee savings and $148k savings in annual insurance premiums; this was in line with Concertiv’s average client savings of 10-20%.

Their frictionless RFP process enabled the client to focus on its business, prevent business insurance costs expanding beyond budgets, and reduced their client’s overall total cost of risk by implementing Concertiv’s tried and true insurance brokerage RFP processes. The Concertiv process enabled a seamless transition from one insurance broker to another, facilitating the implementation.

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