Authors: Lenin Lopez Priya Cherian Huskins
Selecting an insurance broker — for Directors and Officers (D&O) liability or otherwise — is often viewed as a pricing exercise. While premium competitiveness matters, companies that focus too narrowly on price frequently overlook the broader role a broker plays in risk management, claims outcomes and long-term organizational resilience. That's a miss.
Seasoned directors and officers recognize the value of a well-designed insurance broker request for proposal (RFP). It can do far more than generate quotes. It can clarify expectations, align internal stakeholders and help management identify a long-term advisory partner — one capable of applying experience, judgment and insight across a company's insurance program.
A poorly structured process can strain insurer relationships, misalign decision-makers and leave companies exposed at precisely the wrong time.
This article discusses how companies can get more value from their insurance broker RFP by focusing on process design, coverage-specific evaluation, stakeholder involvement and outcomes that extend well beyond placement.
When it makes sense to consider an insurance broker RFP
Broker RFPs aren't inherently necessary on a fixed schedule. In fact, running them too frequently can disrupt continuity, weaken insurer relationships and shift attention away from long-term risk strategy. That said, certain developments often justify reassessing the broker relationship, like:
- Significant growth, restructuring or mergers and acquisitions
- Entry into new industries, geographies or regulatory environments
- A major claim that exposed coverage gaps or service shortcomings
- Persistent dissatisfaction with broker responsiveness
Leadership changes in finance, legal or risk management often also spark a desire for an insurance brokerage RFP. For management teams and boards, these inflection points often coincide with heightened scrutiny of enterprise risk, balance sheet protection and governance. A thoughtfully timed broker RFP can support all three, especially if the process is designed well.
How to design an insurance broker RFP focused on long-term value
If the end result of your broker RFP is just a spreadsheet comparing prices after a bunch of marketing presentations, you've short-changed the organization. Companies that consistently get more value from the process tend to approach it differently.
Start with clear objectives for the broker relationship
Before issuing an RFP, companies will ideally align internally on what they are trying to achieve. Is the priority to strengthen claims advocacy? Improve access to certain insurers? Gain deeper industry expertise? Enhance board-level risk reporting? Save money because the company is in cost-cutting mode? Being clear about the objective — and transparent with the RFP participants — will yield better results.
Notably, companies should recognize that an insurance program isn't monolithic. Different coverages, like D&O Liability, Cyber, Employment Practices, Casualty or Property, present distinct risk, claims and governance considerations. An effective broker RFP allows for these differences and evaluates how brokers approach each line of coverage, rather than assuming a one-size-fits-all solution.
Be deliberate about scope and broker participation
Inviting a large number of brokers may seem prudent, but it often results in superficial engagement and proposal fatigue. A smaller, well-considered group typically produces deeper insight, more tailored responses and a more efficient process for all involved, including insurers. Consider including the incumbent broker and just one to three more. The effort of boiling the ocean isn't worthwhile.
Align evaluation criteria with desired outcomes
Transparency benefits everyone. Communicating to the RFP participants how proposals will be evaluated — including service model, claims philosophy, coverage expertise, data-driven insight and market strategy — encourages substance over polish and helps ensure that analytics and expertise are applied in ways that support long-term outcomes. The contrasting method — keeping each participant in the dark about their fellow competitors as well as the criteria for evaluation — is inefficient and will likely lead to less-than-optimal results.
Who should be involved in the insurance broker RFP process
While leadership may vary, risk management, finance, legal and procurement are typically best viewed as the core RFP team. Each brings a distinct perspective that's essential to evaluating broker capabilities beyond price and presentation quality.
- Risk Management/Finance — These functions often own the insurance program and the ongoing broker relationship. Depending on the company, they may be best positioned to assess how brokers approach program design, coverage structure, limits, retentions, insurer selection and long-term risk financing strategy.
- Legal — Legal involvement is critical to evaluating policy language, claims strategy and how brokers navigate coverage disputes, regulatory inquiries and litigation-driven losses. Legal teams often have direct experience with how insurance performs under pressure, making their perspective especially valuable when assessing claims advocacy and advisory judgment.
- Procurement — Procurement can contribute process discipline, consistency and commercial rigor. When integrated thoughtfully, procurement helps ensure transparency and fairness without reducing the RFP to a lowest-price exercise.
Together, this core group can help to ensure the RFP evaluates how a broker will perform over the life of the relationship, not just at placement. It also reduces the risk of misalignment, like selecting a broker optimized for pricing efficiency but ill equipped to support complex claims or governance needs.
Coverage-driven stakeholders: Who else should be consulted and why
Beyond the core team, additional stakeholders should be consulted or kept informed based on the specific coverages included in the RFP. Insurance decisions often affect functions well beyond finance and risk, particularly when losses involve operational disruption, data or people.
What follows are specific lines of insurance and the functions that often provide critical insight:
- Cyber insurance — IT, information security and privacy teams can provide valuable expertise and evaluate whether a broker understands incident response, insurer breach-response ecosystems and how cyber coverage responds during real-world events.
- D&O and Employment Practices Liability — These coverages frequently involve litigation, regulatory scrutiny and reputational risk. Legal and human resources leaders can offer perspective on past claims experience, settlement dynamics and the practical implications of policy terms.
- Property and Casualty programs — Operations, facilities or supply-chain teams may be relevant where losses could disrupt manufacturing, logistics or critical infrastructure. Their perspective can inform the evaluation of business interruption methodologies, valuations and claims preparedness.
- Product Liability or Professional Liability — Product, engineering, compliance or client-facing teams may be important where insurance intersects with contractual obligations, warranties, regulatory standards or professional duties.
Engaging these stakeholders doesn't require expanding the RFP into an unwieldy process. Rather, it helps to ensure broker evaluation reflects how losses arise and are managed within the company and whether the broker has the experience and judgment to support those realities.
There's no need to drag these stakeholders through the RFP process per se. Instead, consider letting them know about the RFP and soliciting their input before the RFP process begins. This step will also help identify if there are specific parts of the RFP these stakeholders should review.
Understanding the broker's role beyond insurance placement
A recurring misconception in broker RFPs is that the broker's primary value lies in negotiating premiums. While pricing is important, it's rarely the area where brokers create the most meaningful long-term impact.
Effective broker relationships are usually defined by:
- Thoughtful coverage structuring and negotiation
- Strong, credible insurer relationships
- Coverage-specific insight informed by data and experience
- Effective advocacy during complex or disputed claims
Claims handling is where differences between brokers become most visible. When coverage questions arise or insurers push back, a broker's ability to apply judgment, experience and insight across different lines of coverage can materially influence outcomes.
Questions to ask during an insurance broker RFP
A well-constructed RFP includes questions that help distinguish between marketing polish and real advisory capability.
There are two ways to approach the actual selection of questions. For companies that want to move as quickly as possible, consider skipping the written portion of the RFP process and going straight to orals.
The second path is a more formal one. What follows are several sample questions, organized by theme, which should help companies focus on issues that matter most to management and boards.
