Cautious optimism in our latest Broker Barometer research

Our latest Broker Barometer research shows that brokers are cautiously optimistic about their trading prospects as the UK reopens from Covid-19 restrictions.

The research highlighted that:

• 43% of brokers expect to see their business grow in H2 with fewer (28%) anticipating a decline.
• National and local brokers appear the most optimistic about future trading, over regional brokers.
• More than half of brokers (56%) want to balance working life between the home and office
• But 65% of brokers felt that prolonged homeworking had a negative impact on their wellbeing.  
• Difficulties in using communication channels and in administering policies were among the challenges brokers raised in long-term home working during the restrictions.

Nearly half (43%) of brokers expect to see growth in their business during the remainder of 2021, compared with (28%) who expect to see their business decline. Growth expectations were particularly strong among national and local brokers (50% and 48% respectively).

However, regional brokers showed less optimism - only 26% expected growth during the remainder of 2021 while 42% expected a decline in their business. 

 Home and office working – Is the balance is shifting?

The research found that prolonged periods outside the office environment had impacted the way brokers wanted to work going forward. When asked how they want to split their time between home and office in future, 56% reported that they wanted to spend half of their time or more working from home. This was particularly high in national brokers at 72% while 58% of regional brokers expressed the same preference.  Local brokers bucked the trend with just over half (52%) who preferred a return to the office most if not all of the time.  

Wellbeing impacted by prolonged remote working 

Whilst many brokers wanted to spend more time working at home, wellbeing has come into sharp focus as the impact of prolonged remote working was felt by brokers. Almost two-thirds of brokers (65%) agreed that the long period of homeworking had a negative impact on their wellbeing. This was particularly felt by regional brokers, 72% agreed that their well-being or mental health had been negatively impacted. 

There were a number of factors that contributed to the impact on wellbeing, with the most significant factor being “difficulties communicating via remote channels”, which was reported by 27% of brokers. This was particularly high in regional brokers with 36% saying that they struggled with it - their biggest issue. For local brokers the largest issue was difficulties in administering policies remotely (28%). National brokers reported struggles with isolation or removal from their colleagues as their biggest concern (40% ).

Gareth Hemming, Aviva’s Chief Distribution Officer

“As British businesses get back to more normal trading conditions it is good to see economic optimism building in the broker community. There is an understandable note of caution though as there will be a number of challenges to deal with while businesses adjust to new  and evolving risks. However, I am confident that by working closely with brokers  we can support British businesses as they look to benefit from the growth opportunities in the market.

The pandemic has impacted people in many ways and there have been challenges for brokers, as they have juggled remote working with supporting their customers’ needs. As the UK reopens from Covid-19 restrictions brokers will need time to adjust to this trading environment.

A key element for brokers in this new environment will be to continue to provide the high levels of service and risk advice that they have delivered throughout the pandemic. This will require dedicated time to plan so that they can still meet in person and build their relationships with customers, while perhaps reducing  travel for internal meetings.”

Wellbeing support

It’s clear that wellbeing is a topic that’s likely to remain at the of the people agenda throughout the remainder of 2021 and beyond.

We’ve recently built a wellbeing hub on Aviva Broker filled with resources to help support you at work and at home. You’ll find webinars, guides, news articles, learning modules and more to help you start and continue your wellbeing journey.

Visit the wellbeing hub today

The Broker Barometer uses data taken from a survey of 220 professional brokers across the UK, conducted by Censuswide Research in July 2021, on behalf of Aviva