In short:

• Soft market conditions amplify brokers’ negotiating power and ethical risk.
• The updated Insurance Brokers Code of Practice places renewed emphasis on transparency, conflicts management and trust.
• Ethical negotiation protects not just insurer relationships, but client outcomes and the profession’s long-term credibility.

Negotiating from strength and scrutiny

Since the beginning of 2025, the hard insurance market has continued to soften.

As premium prices fall across many classes, brokers increasingly hold the upper hand in negotiations for client benefits such as broader coverage terms, reduced premiums, relaxed exclusions or enhanced service commitments.

In this environment, insurers under margin pressure may compete aggressively on price or speed to retain market share.

Brokers may test multiple underwriters simultaneously, leveraging competition to secure the best possible outcomes for clients. But as negotiating power shifts, so too does responsibility.

The recent Independent Review of the 2022 Insurance Brokers Code of Practice found that heightened competition and commercial pressure increases the risk of conduct that, intentionally or otherwise, undermines trust in the broking profession.

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