Alakazam!

Joe Peck on why businesses must take back control of the illusion.

The renewal appears, seemingly out of nowhere: premium up 10%, same coverage, same insurers, same explanation about “market conditions.” The presentation is polished, the logic sounds plausible, and the deadline is approaching fast. And then the broker vanishes again until next year.

You’re left holding the result trying to figure out how to absorb an unexpected cost increase. Somewhere in the organisation, a project will quietly lose funding to make room for the insurance line. Budgets will be juggled and wands waved to balance the books like a circus performed spinning plates on a unicycle. It’s hard not to feel like you’ve just witnessed a carefully performed illusion.

And yet, insurance remains one of the largest fixed business costs for most companies. A bizarre situation where people don’t want to buy it and certainly don’t want to use it. How did it come to pass that a purchase of such significance is surrounded by such misdirection and obfuscation? When did smoke and mirrors become the norm?

Companies often slip into a reactive way of dealing with insurance. The renewal gets parked until the last minute, and by the time attention turns to it the goal has shifted from strategy to just getting it done. Conversations happen in a hurry, information moves quickly, and much of the real work takes place behind the curtain betweenbrokers and insurers. Brokers have fallen into a rhythm that works for them rather than challenging the thinking of their clients and asking challenging and insightful questions about the future of the business. Urgency is a barrier to success.

The complexity of insurance policies doesn’t help here. Insurance underwriters and brokers are used the idiosyncrasies of schedules and wordings. We can find specific details and key clauses in next to no time, because we live it every day. Often that complexity is underestimated and the onus of understanding is pushed on to a client through renewal reports spanning 100’s of pages. All missing the critical question that matters more than any other: “What do I need to do so that the policy does what I need from it?”

And finally, the big finish from the broker! The disappearing act concludes the renewal cycle act every year. Not to be seen or heard from until the same time next year, with the inevitable repetition of all the smoke and mirrors that led you here in the first place.

But knowing the issue isn’t even half the battle, what can you do to win a world you don’t understand?

A fundamental shift of mindset is key. If you were selling your house, would you appoint two estate agents to market it

at the same time?

In theory it might feel as though you are increasing competition and have a wider market reach. In practice it usually creates confusion: duplicate listings, mixed messages to potential buyers, and uncertainty about who holds the ability to make the big decisions. The property market tends to work best when one agent represents the seller with a clear brief and a clear strategy.

Insurance placement operates in a similar way. A single broker, selected through a transparent process and given a defined mandate, can present a coherent submission to the market and maintain control of the message. It is not about reducing choice; it is about creating clarity, so the market responds in a structured and competitive way. But choosing a single broker is only the first step. The real transformation comes from turning the whole renewal cycle on its head.

Start Early.

Decide Intentionally.

Act Strategically.

When businesses bring insurance into strategic conversations months before renewal, everything changes. Time stops being the enemy. The “urgent scramble” is replaced with a measured discussion about future, investment decisions, operational changes, and risk appetite. Suddenly, your insurance programme becomes something designed with your business rather than merely reacting to it.

Demand Simplicity, Not More Paper

Hundreds of pages don’t equal competence; it usually signals the opposite. A good broker should translate complexity, not hide behind it. You should know exactly:

• what your policy does,

• what it doesn’t do, and

• what actions you need to take so it responds when you need it.

That’s it. If your broker can’t explain your programme with clarity and confidence, they don’t understand it well enough.

Take Back Control of the Illusion

Insurance doesn’t need to feel like sleight of hand. When you take a strategic approach, select the right partner, and set the tempo early, the smoke clears. The mirrors disappear. What’s left is a clear, structured, transparent process where you understand the value, influence the outcome, and make decisions confidently. Insurance is too important to be treated as a mysterious annual ritual.

With the right mindset and the right broker, the magic trick ends.

Insist on Visibility After Renewal

The disappearance act is optional. You should expect ongoing support throughout the year. Not performing once every twelve months. Regular check-ins, claims reviews, market updates, discussions about future changes in your business. These shouldn’t be extras; they are core to the job. When your broker shows up often, the renewal becomes a simple continuation of a year-long conversation, not an annual firefight.

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Author: Joe Peck

Business: Attis Insurance Brokers

Email: lincoln@attisinsurancebrokers.com

Photography: Headshot Toby