Softening rates, well-established expectations for positive underwriting results, and that other thing… growth. The conundrum facing many of our clients today: how to create growth in the trough of a soft market? We all saw it coming, but now what to do?

Do you find your company simply reacting to today's market—or do you have a game plan? Here at Nolan, we've helped many of our clients better position themselves to address today's market challenges of falling rates and slow growth. Although the problems are varied and complex, our experience has identified five key lessons that apply consistently to those of you rethinking your growth strategies.

Key #1: Don't relax the underwriting discipline that has taken years to establish. The first key has nothing to do with growth. It's holding the line on what you already have. I can't think of a single Nolan client who has not figured out the underwriting discipline needed to write a profitable business. Sure, there are some who have more sophisticated underwriting engines, some more automated than others, some more expensive than others, but all are at the top of their game when it comes to risk selection and underwriting. Yet the temptation to relax underwriting discipline in order to bring more volume on the book is strong. Resist the temptation. It has taken years of training, design, and investment to get where you are today. You'll be glad you did next year and beyond.

Key #2: Don't give up on established markets and don't become too exuberant about new ones. Growth, or the lack thereof, keeps many a senior executive awake at night. As such, it keeps us awake, too. In helping clients search out and think through growth options, we've often found there's no better place to look than in your own back yard. Even so, some will be tempted to look in adjoining markets, new products, breakthrough delivery technologies, and so on. Sure, take a few risks, but don't overlook your established markets and channels. The grass may look greener in that other market, but part of the reason might be that you don't know a great deal about it. Delving into new markets requires extremely careful consideration, especially given today's conditions.

Key #3: Work today's channel and existing relationships over and over. Whether you are the insurer who sells through your career agency, independent agency, MGA, wholesaler, or direct, you wouldn't be where you are today without the channel partners, brand, and relationships that have taken years, often decades, to establish. Assuming you sell through human beings, find out what's on your channel partners' minds as far as where the business is going and how more business can be captured (or less of it lost). Yes, understanding the end consumer is critical. Yet one important thing we've done over the past few years is to clear up the debate for many on who is the primary customer. Most often, it is your channel partner. And for many of our clients, it's their #1 customer. Regardless, define who is your customer and find out what you need to do for them to get your fair share of the market while keeping them enthusiastic and committed to selling (or buying), and then do it.

Key #4: Beware of technologists who make big promises especially around creating growth. Those who have been around know that major technology investments take years to create a sizable impact. Before making a major technology investment, particularly for growth's sake, recall the last technology project that came in on time, on budget, and delivered the benefits promised. Technology as an enabler remains a critical component of long-term business strategy. Betting that technology will solve your growth problem, especially in the short term, is risky. Very risky.

Key #5: Take a few (very few) calculated and measured risks. We know sticking to your knitting and focusing exclusively on current capabilities is not an optimal approach to growth. An acquisition or merger may be in your future. A break-out channel partnership perhaps. Or maybe even an innovative expansion of product features or service delivery. That said, resource constraints and lead times need to be considered. All of these opportunities take time to create growth. Don't underestimate the total time, effort, and focus needed to deliver on these strategies, then realize the corresponding growth. Choose a few and do them very well rather than fragment your resources and try to do too much.

Whether your plan is to hold or grow in these challenging times, we wish you the best of luck and hope these lessons of experience prove to be of some value. We look forward to helping our clients achieve improved service, good fortune, and growth today and well into the future.

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