What is an Insurance Broker Business Plan?

An Insurance Broker Business Plan is a necessary paper comprising different aspects of an Insurance Broking business, including but not limited to, an executive summary of the company, description of the company, products and services on offer, market analysis, marketing and sales strategy, organizational structure, budgetary structure, financial structure and request seeking funding from investors etc. An Insurance Broker Business Plan acts as a roadmap for the employees, management and shareholders, delineating the timelines and milestones to be achieved by the organization. It is also meant to attract investments from potential investors.  

Need for an Insurance Broker Business Plan 

Before diving straight into the particulars of the Insurance Broker Business Plan, it is necessary to know why a business plan is required for an insurance brokerage business in the first place. Following are some of the reasons why an insurance brokerage business requires a carefully researched and well-reviewed business plan:

 A robust Insurance Broker Business Plan helps the company make sound decisions right from the beginning and as the business grows further. The insurance carriers will associate with an insurance brokerage business only after going through Business Plan. In future also, if the business wants to secure funding from the investors and banks, the business plan will come to the rescue.

From the business operations point of view, an Insurance Broker Business Plan helps in the following ways:

• Helps in setting realistic goals along with the timeline to achieve such goals;
• Helps in the allocation of resources;
• Helps in streamlining the workflow;
• Helps in communicating better with the stakeholders;
• Finally helps in growing one’s business.

Once the business has taken off, an Insurance Broker Business Plan helps in tracking the progress of the business in accordance with the timeline set in the business plan and also helps in periodic reviewing of the business goals. It further helps in making tweaks and changes in the operations to reach the goals.  

How to write an Insurance Broker Business Plan

Business plans vary depending on the kind of business they wish to carry, out giving the highlights of business too. The Business Plan must define the business strategy if they wish to seek financing from the investors. Essentially, the Business Plan must be useful to you and intrigue the investors to make investments in your broking business.

An ideal Insurance Broker Business Plan typically includes the following sections:

Services and Products on Offer

Before designing an Insurance Broker Business Plan, the promoters first need to decide on the kind of services and products they wish to offer their customers and their target audience. The insurance broker must be aware of the target audience and what are their problems, and how can solutions be offered to them. It should also contain the benefits of the insurance products, sales forecast and how your business plan to acquire and manage products.

Therefore, an Insurance Broker's Business Plan must always mention the population segment they wish to cater to in their Business Plan. 

Executive Summary

“Executive Summary” refers to the aims and objectives of the insurance brokerage business. The investors get an overview of the business facts related to the brokerage business. Therefore, the executive summary should be clear, precise, concise, fact-based and easily understandable.

To put it in a nutshell, the “executive summary” in a Business Plan is a snapshot of the insurance brokerage business and the activities carried out by it. For a brokerage business that has been in the business for a while, its executive summary reflects its mission statement and also details its past successes. On the other hand, for an insurance brokerage business that is going to start its venture, the executive summary highlights the previous experience of the promoters and the reason for starting an insurance brokerage business.

The executive summary can also include the financial information of the business, which can be indicative of the books of the business and the list of current investors.

Since the executive summary gives the first impression of the business to the prospective investors, it is suggested that a compelling vision is presented.

Drafting a basic Insurance Broker Business Plan

Here, the designer of the Business Plan must take into account the various kinds of business models of insurance brokerage present in the market and select the best possible model after making adjustments according to your needs. After deciding on the business model, a proper Insurance Broker Business Plan is prepared.

Description of the company

A company’s description explains in a little more detail what the business does on a day-to-day basis. It states the value that your brokerage business will provide to the customers and how your business sets you apart from the existing competition. It should clearly pinpoint what your business brings to the table for the customers, such as unparalleled expertise, unique products etc.

It should also mention the jurisdiction for which the business will be catering to. The benefit of this step is to provide an opportunity to the investors to make an informed decision about whether they wish to make the investment in your business or not.

Some brokerage businesses also undertake a SWOT analysis talking about the details of your business’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. Therefore, it can be concluded that the company description is the key to success for your business.

Business Structure of the Company

The business structure of the brokerage business should also be mentioned while preparing an Insurance Broker Business Plan which can be either a company or LLP or a Trust or another organization recognized under the IRDA Act, 1999.

Market analysis  

Your market analysis is a reflection of your understanding of the insurance market in general and where your intended brokerage business fits in. if your business is targeted towards a particular niche in the market, it should describe the target audience and the prevailing competition.

Prospective investors would also expect you to show them specific market goals, such as the total market share and the pathway as to how your business strategy will help in achieving it.

Sales and Marketing strategy

The brokerage business must outline its strategy to reach out to customers in order to grow and become successful. It includes how the broker will market its business and attract new customers and keep the existing customers intact.

The marketing strategy must clearly outline the use of both traditional channels and modern marketing channels such as digital marketing channels. The plan should also delineate sales strategies it will employ to buy new customers.

Organisation and Management team

The section of the Business Plan talks about the executive and management teams of the organsiation and also provides a brief summary of their unique qualifications.

Providing a summary of the management’s qualifications and relevant experience in insurance broking industry helps in establishing credibility of the insurance broking business. Further, it also helps in building trust in the business and leadership team.

An essential part of this section is the organizational chart which breaks down the business infrastructure and business operations of the organization. It provides the information about the roles and responsibilities of the shareholders, the Directors of the company and the governance mechanism.

Budgetary Estimate

Before beginning with the Insurance Broking business, the promoters should prepare a budgetary estimate for meeting day-to-day requirements of the business which will further become a reference point for long-term planning for the business. Therefore, it is advised that a portion of the funds of the business should be kept aside for obtaining various registrations and licenses required for the business.

Funding Request   

An Insurance Broker Business Plan is also meant for the purpose of attracting funding from the investors for your insurance broking business. Ideally, such a funding request should include the amount of funding you wish to secure for your business, an estimate of future funding requirements, the areas where the funding will be invested and the overall strategy of your business in dealing with developments like a buyout.

Financial Structure of the Insurance Broking business

An Insurance Broker Business Plan should also mention about the financial structure of the Insurance Broking Business explaining the expenses and spending requirements which the business will incur in its operations.

Ideally, while starting with the insurance broking business, the promoters need to identify the startup costs that will be incurred along with the five years of prospective financial data which typically includes the balance sheets, cash-flow statements, income statements, capital expenditure statements, net profit etc. Additionally, the Business Plan should also include the break-even analysis specifying the profitability of the products. A financial analysis of the most important profitability trends can also be included in the Business Plan.

Validity of the Insurance Broker Business Plan

An ideal and well articulated Insurance Broker Business Plan is prepared in compliance with the prevailing legislative and regulatory framework governing the Insurance Brokering business. As the laws and regulations change, the Insurance Brokerage business plan also changes to comply with the changes introduced. Therefore, it can be concluded that Insurance Broker Business Plan does not have indefinite validity.

How to present an Insurance Broker Business Plan?

Presentation

An Insurance Broker Business Plan should be presented in a professional manner with an easy-to-read font having charts, graphs and diagrams for quick and better understanding. It should be presented to the potential investors in both digital copy and hard copy. If it is possible, try to hand over the plan in person to the investors.

Be prepared to answer objections/doubts

Even if the Business Plan is laden with details, you should be thoroughly prepared to answer any objections, doubts or questions that the investors may ask you to explain.

A professionally drafted Insurance Broker Business Plan can lay strong foundations for your business organization and if enough efforts are made in creating one, it could pay huge dividends in the future.

Enterslice can give you overall advisory and assistance in designing a well articulated, regulatory compliant Insurance Broker Business Plan along with the overall, end-to-end Insurance Broker registration and compliance services as we are a team of highly skilled & dedicated professionals. We specialize in providing legal consultancy services.