What you should expect from your broker in 2025 and beyond

What you should expect from your broker in 2025 and beyond

In today’s rapidly evolving world, the pace of change is unprecedented - driven by technological innovation, cyber security threats, shifting geopolitical dynamics, climate volatility, and societal transformation. As these forces converge, they are reshaping the landscape for businesses, individuals and insurers in complex and unpredictable ways. 

Navigating the current environment with a traditional transactional approach is most likely no longer sufficient. Brokers should understand your business risks and strategic plans, so they can provide proactive advice, personalised service and deliver strong insurance outcomes.

More than just a middleman - your broker should be a strategic partner 

Gone are the days of a one-dimensional, transactional relationship between client and broker, where the focus was solely on price and policy procurement. Client engagement across the industry generally tended to be pretty limited outside of renewal periods. 

A lot has changed…

Today your broker should act as a risk advisor, helping you comprehensively understand your exposure and dynamically build long-term resilience.

As a client, you should be asking, is your broker…

• Providing you with tailored risk advice based on your industry, business risks and strategic growth plans?
• Regularly checking in, not just meeting the bare minimum at renewal time?
• Helping you navigate the ever-changing risk landscape that includes cyber threats, people risk and climate demands?
• Exploring alternative risk transfer solutions - such as discretionary trusts, mutuals, or parametric insurance, to assess whether they may offer more effective and efficient outcomes for you?

Climate risk isn’t optional - it’s essential!

Climate change is no longer a secondary consideration; it is a dominant risk factor. It’s greatly affecting premiums, coverage availability and property values. Regulators such as ASIC and APRA are continuing to tighten regulations and increase oversight to ensure ethical and sustainable practices. Mandatory ESG disclosures began in 2025 under the Treasury Laws Amendment (Financial Market Infrastructure and Other Measures) Bill 2024. This requires entities to report on climate-related financial risks and opportunities, disclose their Scope 1 and 2 greenhouse gas emissions (with Scope 3 becoming mandatory from 2026), and provide information on their governance, strategy, and risk management practices related to sustainability.

Is your broker helping you weather the storm? They should strive to:

• Support and facilitate sustainability goals and ESG-aligned policies.
• Provide detailed insights into how climate change could impact your coverage - insurers are increasingly using ESG data to assess risk. If your ESG performance is poor you may experience higher premiums and reduced coverage.
• Advise you on the most climate-resilient insurance products - strong ESG practices can unlock access to specialised insurance products such as parametric insurance.

Digital convenience without forgetting the value of human interaction 

With all the significant digital strides that have been made in the industry, like the proliferation of the use of AI. Your broker should make it easy and accessible to access your policy documents and details from anywhere at any time.

You need to consider whether your broker is:

• Providing easy-to-use digital tools (portals and online claim forms)
• Responding promptly and maintaining open communication 
• Still happy to pick up the phone when you feel you need to speak to someone 

Transparency and trust are non-negotiables 

Do you know exactly where your money is going and why? There shouldn’t be any ambiguity about that.

Your broker should be following the regulations in place that require them to be upfront about fees, policy details and commission. They should make sure you fully understand your policy terms and exclusions. Being confident that your broker has fully disclosed any conflicts of interest is also very important. Lastly, they should be providing you with genuine advice in which your interests are represented and protected.

Proactive. Not reactive.

Finally, your broker should always be one step ahead in helping you anticipate risks.

Simply responding to them isn’t going to cut it.

Your broker should be utilising up-to-date data, industry insights and innovative scenario testing to keep you ahead of the game. 

This means:

• Carrying out risk assessments tailored to your unique business risks and plans
• Regular updates and information on emerging threats (like corporate risks or regulatory changes)
• Strategic planning support - not just an insurance placement 

The bottom line

In 2025, your broker should be more than just a policy provider - they should be a trusted advisor and risk strategist. 

If you don’t feel confident that they’re doing all of the above, it’s time to explore other options.