Things Brokers do that Drive Risk Managers Crazy

Your broker can be a lifesaver, but sometimes they may not always be doing what the risk management team needs.

1) Relentlessly pushing ancillary services

In full disclosure, I am happy as punch with my broker.With that said, my gripe with the industry generally speaking is their, at times, relentless marketing of potential candidates. If they find you are happy with your broker, that is not enough; you then get inundated with a myriad of outreach calls related to ancillary services they provide. You add that to the W/C service trolls, LMS, data, ERM etc. folks and it is literally like guarding a modest hen-house from a pack of wolves.

— Zachary Gifford, director, system-wide risk management, The California State University

2) Not offering their best advice

I’m very happy with my broker team now. That is because I made the changes to the team quickly when I wasn’t satisfied with a particular team member.

Not offering their best advice and standing by while a client makes a poor decision that they (the broker) know is a bad idea. I consider our broker to be integral to our risk management mission and we will succeed or fail as a team.

When a broker tells me after a mistake has been made that they would have made a different decision but “… that’s what you said you wanted to do,” that is really frustrating. If a broker knows the decision the risk manager is making is a bad one, then they need to have the courage to speak up.

— Jim Cunningham, vice president, enterprise risk management, Pinnacle Entertainment

3) Not looping in the risk manager 

A second frustration stems from brokers who have long-standing personal relationships with our executive management team and will communicate with those executives without including the risk manager.

Professional courtesy dictates that the broker should be including the risk manager in all discussions associated with business operations. Clearly there is value in reliable long-standing relationships between the business and the broker. *This concern was echoed by an award-winning higher education risk manager who wished to remain anonymous, who listed “Brokers overlook my requests thinking I am not that important within my organization,” as one of this top issues with brokers.

Back-channel conversations can create issues — such as who is calling the plays — that are not necessary. The risk manager must be part of every conversation that relates to the business.

— Jim Cunningham, vice president, enterprise risk management, Pinnacle Entertainment“When a broker tells me after a mistake has been made that they would have made a different decision but, ‘… that’s what you said you wanted to do,’ that is really frustrating.” — Jim Cunningham

 4) Poor knowledge of the risk manager’s industry

While I understand and respect the impetus of making a sale, one of the frustrating things from the buyer side that most brokers are not cognizant of, is that most brokers are so intent on selling whatever line(s) they are in charge of that they do not spend the time necessary to listen and understand what the risk manager’s top-of-mind concerns are.