Buy Direct or Use a Middleman?

Are you contacted relentlessly by reinsurance brokers? We believe in marketing directly to our customers, rather than through a middleman. The advantages of direct marketing include:

  • Direct contact with you enables us to do our own risk analysis to best match excess coverage to a plan’s needs and objectives. This direct interaction is particularly important due to complex product structures and your evolving needs.
  • Field underwriting gives us a thorough understanding of the risk that you are assuming, rather than relying on a middleman for critical information.
  • Understanding your unique strategies and having direct contact with your management allows us to match other products and services to your plan’s needs.
  • Expense management is needed for long-term survival in a competitive managed care market. A typical broker commission adds 10 percent to premium costs.

Summit Re/GE Insurance Solutions is one of four major providers of HMO excess loss coverage, defined as carriers with over 10% market share each. Two of the four top reinsurers market directly. This means that if you use a broker and don'’t also access the direct markets like Summit Re independently of your broker, you will miss quotes from half of the major reinsurers. Certain brokers may even be unable to access some broker markets because they have no relationship with the carrier. This reduces the broker’'s reach even further.

If you do use a broker, nothing stops you from accessing the expertise of Summit Re, as well. If you give us a chance to help you, you won'’t be disappointed.