■ Brokers are increasingly targeting customers from outside their local area.
■ Technology is often used as the driver for this change. It would appear that Victoria is leading the pack in terms of chasing, and winning work outside of their geographical location.
■ While it is not new to have interstate referrals and business, online insurance schemes are proving to be a very effective way to operate cross-border books, enabling penetration into other areas around Australia.
■ IT systems can be considered complex and difficult for those without any prior experience. Are there parts of your business you could automate? Are you holding back from transacting online because of a fear of cost and complexity? While developing online systems might come with an upfront investment, their ongoing costs are relatively low for the bottom-line growth they facilitate.
■ Most major broking platforms now have an off-the-shelf offering which could be a way of putting your toe in the water without having to build your own systems from scratch.