Insurance brokers across Canada are coming to terms with the so-called ‘new normal’ of working from home, servicing customers digitally, and juggling sales calls with 24/7 childcare and home schooling. For many, the COVID-19 pandemic has been a rollercoaster learning curve in how to conduct virtual business, and, for those in customer-facing roles, how to stay relevant and supportive via digital channels.
Amid all the uncertainties brought about by the coronavirus, one thing is certain for insurance brokers - the need to stay on top of their game. They need to have the tools and knowledge at their fingertips to best service Canadians in their time of need, while also ensuring they’re as up-to-date and relevant as possible. To help brokers with this, RSA Canada offers timely and relevant digital training and education initiatives to its distribution network.
In 2016, the property & casualty insurer launched Wise Up, one of the first digital continuing education platforms for insurance brokers in Canada. Through the Wise Up platform, registered RSA brokers can access self-guided courses and webinars covering a wide range of timely information, from current market issues like privacy compliance or spotting insurance fraud, to technical skills and career development. All of the 30+ fully accredited courses on the platform come with supplementary materials, webinars and quizzes to help brokers take their professional skills to the next level. All brokers need in order to access Wise Up is an internet connection and a BRAVO ID.
“We’ve really dug deep and elicited the help of subject matter experts to develop the best content possible for RSA’s Wise Up platform,” said Sue Jackman, Director of Broker Marketing & Communications at RSA Canada. “We cover a range of topics from how to sell effectively, broker ethics, how to sell to a millennial, and then more technical courses on things like how to prevent flooding.
“We try to provide timely education and to tailor our content based on the feedback we’re getting from our broker partners. For example, we recently ran courses on ethics for the insurance industry and how to thrive in the hard market, both of which were very well received. Based on broker demand, we also have a webinar coming up on Wednesday, April 29, on how to navigate the grey areas of the condo insurance market. In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, we’re planning to run some courses and share content to help brokers stay productive and drive business while working remotely.”
As a fully digital education platform, registered RSA brokers can access Wise Up anywhere, at any time, and from any device. If they can’t make a live webinar, brokers can tune into a recorded session and still get certification. They also gain access to a customizable learning metric page, which keeps track of their progress and offers tips for improving technical knowledge and leadership skills.
“We’ve had really great feedback from our broker partners,” Jackman told Insurance Business. “The majority of broker requests that we get into the inbox are related to education. Learning and development really is top of brokers’ minds, and through the Wise Up platform and RSA’s other education initiatives, we’re able to support our broker partners with that.
“By launching in 2016, we’re ahead of the game when it comes to digital learning, and we’re in a really strong position to help our broker partners through COVID-19. We talk about how the coronavirus is going to change things fundamentally across many different avenues. It goes without saying that digital learning is going to be massively impacted because people will realize through this pandemic that they can benefit digitally. Education doesn’t always have to be face-to-face or in the classroom, and I think, in the future, people are going to be more comfortable leveraging technology and participating in digital learning. As such, we will continue to develop our offerings so that we can hold our position as a market leader in digital broker education.”
While only registered RSA brokers can access the Wise Up continuing education platform, the insurer also offers a wide range of public-facing tip sheets and advice via www.rsabroker.ca and the RSA Canada LinkedIn page. The insurer is actively sharing timely and relevant material via these channels to help brokers stay productive during the coronavirus pandemic and drive business while working remotely.
This article originally appeared on RSA’s exclusive Expert Advice page on Insurance Business Canada.
