NAPSLO is set to spend nearly half-a-million dollarscommunicating the value of wholesale brokers to their customers,but the process has to start in individual wholesalers' offices,with actions as simple as picking up the phone.

Responsiveness--or lack thereof--as demonstrated by follow-upphone calls, is one of the qualities separating good wholesalersfrom bad, according to retail agents who completed a surveydistributed by the National Association of Professional SurplusLines Offices last month.

According to NAPSLO, 1,601 retailers responded to an e-mailedsurvey about wholesale brokers, giving the distribution system highmarks overall.

During a conference call for NAPSLO members, Gary Kimball, anassociate for McKnight, Kurland Baccelli--a Chicago-based marketingfirm that completed the research--revealed that 82 percent ofrespondents rated specialty insurance wholesalers highly, givingthem a score of "7" or higher on a 1-to-10 scale on which a "10"represents an extremely positive view.

"The result is far better than expected," he reported, notingthat only 3 percent had strong negative views of wholesalers.

In addition, 86 percent of retail broker respondents were "verylikely" to work with wholesalers in 2008, while 96 percent were atleast "somewhat likely."

Going on to discuss answers to two specific questions about whatqualities would prompt the wholesaler to use or not use awholesaler to place specialty business, Mr. Kimball highlighted onefactor that appeared on both lists--responsiveness. He explainedthat the appearance of this factor as both a potential positive andnegative in rating retailer experiences indicates this is acritical differentiator.

Another factor turning up on both lists was professionalism,Letha Heaton, a member of NAPSLO's board, told NU during aninterview at the NAPSLO midyear conference last month inScottsdale, Ariz.

"It's almost the juxtaposition of responsiveness," she said. "Ifsomebody is not responding to you, and you're compensating them ina way that you think is not fair" or is extreme, "then you're goingto say, 'They're not operating with professionalism becauseprofessionals give me value for my dollar.'"

Like Mr. Kimball, Ms. Heaton--who is also co-chair of theCommunications and Technology Committee of NAPSLO, which developedthe 17-question survey--noted that the overall satisfaction scoreswere much better than NAPSLO wholesale broker members thought theywould be.

"I think sometimes we misinterpret the market cycle with ourreputation," she said, noting that with the market softening, somemembers linked cycle impact on their businesses withdissatisfaction.

What's probably the most important takeaway "is that now is thetime to differentiate yourself" if you're a wholesaler, she said,referring to the conclusions about responsiveness andprofessionalism. "We know what it takes to be effective, andthere's less opportunity [for business] out there. Let's get thatdone."

However, Ms. Heaton--a senior vice president of marketing forDeerfield, Ill.-based Shand Morahan and Company Inc., a unit ofMarkel Corp.--admitted to being surprised by statistical evidenceand written comments on the surveys focused on the two areas forwholesaler improvement.

"As an insurance company and as an association, our perspectiveis that we deal with the best of the best, and these were theirdatabases," she said, referring to the fact that the names ofretailers to contact for survey purposes were supplied by largewholesale broker members of NAPSLO.

If customers "don't see responsiveness on the part of thewholesaler, they don't see responsiveness on the part of Markelbecause that's how they know us," she said. "It's critical to us.We want that channel to be highly effective."

Written comments explaining retailers' views were very basic,she said.

"All I want is a phone call back," one comment said, accordingto Mr. Kimball.

"It wasn't responsiveness in terms of 'you don't give me thelowest price or the best coverage,'" Ms. Heaton noted. "It was, 'Idon't know where you are at in the process as my advocate. I don'tknow when you're going to get back to me'--very basic customerservice."

During an interview at the NAPSLO conference, Alan Kaufman, CEOof Burns and Wilcox--a Farmington Hills, Mich.-based wholesaler andMGA--told NU his firm has done its own independent research thatalso reveals a retail focus on timeliness.

"The number-one reason they choose a business partner in ourworld is because of service," he said. "You have to be agile,quick" as a wholesaler, he said.

Mr. Kaufman said his firm continues to harness the power oftechnology, working to continuously improve in-house applicationsto quote and bind more efficiently.

"We feel in this market, however, we have to act even quicker,"he said, noting his firm is "very keen on increasing the magnitudeof [its] underwriting authority." Burns and Wilcox has authorityin-house on a lot of products, he noted. "We think that willdefinitely put us ahead."

Working with results from its survey, NAPSLO--which counts bothexcess and surplus lines carriers and wholesale brokers among itsmembers--is developing the next steps at the board level.

"We'd like to spend $480,000 on a positioning and advocacycampaign that gets people to act on the things the survey tells usour agents--your customers--want us to do," said Ms. Heaton, notingthat first members need to validate an action plan.

Initially, a letter will go out summarizing the results and thebudget, asking for feedback. It will ask: "Are we serious aboutthis as an organization? Will you support it? Will you do thethings we need to do to make sure that we can deliver what ourcustomers are asking us?" she said.

"The concept of adding value is the heart of what we need to getat," said Lisa Brenner, an MKB executive who led the research,explaining that marketing efforts need to stress the valuewholesalers bring beyond access. Speaking during the Februaryconference call, she said any campaign should demonstrate thatretailers' placements of specialty business would be "much morecomplex and not as qualitative if done without wholesalers'support."

Ms. Heaton noted that access involves more than simple contactwith insurers, but also wholesalers' understanding of what eachinsurance market can do, when and how, as well as an ability tocustomize solutions. "There seems to be a gap between the effortsand [an understanding] of the value that wholesalers bring," shesaid.

Ms. Heaton envisions a "very grassroots" campaign emerging. "Itwill be a campaign in the traditional sense, not just advertisingand promotion," she said, noting that NAPSLO will provide materialsthat members need to go out to talk about the value points to theirclients.

"Everybody needs to be behind it--to embrace it, act on it, walkit and talk it."

Also on the agenda is an effort to gauge the opinions of theultimate customers--risk managers--about wholesalers. While anattempt to get their views with an e-mail survey to a small list ofrisk managers was unsuccessful--only two responses emerged fromroughly 2,000 surveys sent out to what NAPSLO now believes was nota well-targeted list--the plan is to conduct direct interviews witha focus group, perhaps at the April meeting of the Risk andInsurance Management Society.