Mieke Verstraeten is a Managing Director at induver, the sixth-largest independent broker on the Belgian insurance market. She, along with her husband Sjarel De Bondt, is also a second-generation shareholder in the company.
induver’s vision for insurance is straightforward: individuals or companies should only take insurance for risks they are unable or unwilling to bear themselves, aside from the legally obligated ones.
To assess the risks clients face and determine their ability and willingness to manage those risks, induver collaborates closely with its clients. This approach aligns with their belief that brokers should not only provide procurement services, i.e. securing the best product at the lowest premium, but also evolve into trusted risk advisors for both companies and individuals.
In terms of innovation in insurance brokerage, many (even large) brokers are small businesses, which makes substantial investment in innovative solutions challenging. However, there is a significant consolidation wave occurring in the brokerage market. When brokers grow larger, they can invest in superior IT and data systems and attract or train highly specialized advisors.
These pose the biggest challenges for the near future:
- Unlocking Company Data: Brokers collect vast amounts of company data. The challenge is to effectively utilize this data to provide valuable insights to clients.
- Attracting Top Advisors: Making the insurance brokerage profession more appealing to the best advisors is crucial. This likely involves offering opportunities for growth and specialization within the industry.
Mieke’s favorite quotes, ‘stop competing, start connecting,’ and ‘alone you go fast, together you go far,’ underscore her belief in the power of collaboration. She always seeks connections and aims to create situations where the combined effort is greater than the sum of individual contributions.
