Open GI says two-fifths of brokers believe that in-person and telephone distribution will be more important in the years ahead, although 60% point to digital distribution as the main channel of growth for the market. The findings were published in a white paper based on distribution and placement research conducted in association with SparkMinds.

Open GI said the belief that telephone and in-person distribution would increase in significance perhaps reflected some brokers using this as a strategy to distinguish themselves.

In relation to future growth, the data found that 55% of brokers currently sold home insurance and that 44% of this number expected to complete more business in this area in the next decade. A similar number of brokers (52%) offered commercial property insurance, with 94% of them expecting to increase their activity in this sector over the same period.

The research also highlighted marine and aviation, wholesale and MGA and sports and entertainment as areas in which brokers were targeting growth.

Simon Badley, CEO at Open GI, said: “As aggregators and direct players continue to challenge the market brokers will focus on niche lines and specialisms and differentiate on trust, transparency and user experience.

“This is where technology partners really come into their own, to support brokers with greater personalisation, increased efficiency and better data understanding to drive fair pricing and support better customer outcomes.”