As we count down to Broker Expo in October, we caught up with Matt Hicks, co-founder of Recorder, who gives a preview of its product clinic at the event, and asserts the shift away from broad, catch-all generic products is a gift for intermediaries – but only if they lean into it.
You’re taking part in the 2025 Broker Expo. What can delegates expect from your session?
Recorder’s product clinic at Broker Expo will help brokers understand how they can use modern software to launch a digital scheme within one week.
We will be demonstrating to brokers how we can convert their existing scheme proposal form documents into digital forms which can automatically feed data into the ratings engine for instant quote and bind.
We play with the latest AI models, and try to convert that raw computing power into useful applications for insurance brokers and underwriters.
Matt Hicks, Recorder
We will also be sharing how Recorder brokers are leveraging artificial intelligence not to automate the role of humans, but to significantly increase the quality and quantity of work they are doing.
To give you some real-world examples of this: we have enabled one client to double the number of renewals each broker can handle on a monthly basis using our ‘Smart Renewals’ capability, which ingests data from the previous year’s proposal form and surfaces this data in a pre-filled online renewal journey for the insured. The feedback we have received on this from both brokers and end-customers has been really positive.
On the quality side of things, we launched a policy-wording comparison capability, which embeds a large language model in the Recorder quoting platform to compare the quote documents and policy wordings received from insurers. This helps brokers to elevate their client presentation and recommendations to clients beyond basic coverage and premium.
There has been considerable discussion about 2025 being a softer yet more competitive marketplace. What advice do you give colleagues to gain an advantage when closing deals?
In this environment, winning deals isn’t about being the cheapest – it’s about being the most efficient and the most knowledgeable. My advice to clients is to focus on two core pillars:
- Speed and service. In a soft market, clients have more options and less patience. Our platform is designed to give you a massive speed advantage. By using our Quote & Bind application programming interfaces, you can get quotes from your panel of insurers up to five times faster without having to re-key to insurer portals, reducing the time from enquiry to policy in a way that your competitors simply can’t match. This not only helps you close deals quicker, but also delivers a modern, frictionless experience that builds client loyalty.
- Data-driven expertise. The best brokers are consultants. Our technology provides the tools to enrich data automatically and maintain a single source of truth for your client information. This clean, accurate data combined with AI-powered insights empowers you to provide better risk advice, identify potential underinsurance and present your clients with a tailored, professional-grade market presentation. This shifts the conversation from price to value, which is the ultimate advantage.
Is AI all hype, the future of insurance or something in between?
There is a crazy amount of hype in AI in insurance at the moment, and it can be difficult to cut through the noise and keep up with what matters.
Recorder tries to take on the role of being a filter for its clients. We play with the latest AI models, and try to convert that raw computing power into useful applications for insurance brokers and underwriters.
The features that have made it into production so far have been getting fantastic feedback and usage from brokers, so we will continue with this approach, which saves our clients a lot of time because they don’t need to worry about keeping up to speed with all the changes and progression. And when new AI tools are released on Recorder, they know they have been validated and battle-tested.
Outside of AI, what do you see as the biggest factor that will sustain a successful UK broking market over the next five years?
We are seeing growing demand for vertical insurance solutions. Business owners don’t want generic cover any more. They want something that feels like it was made for them – ideally, built with the backing of their trade body or association, the people who truly understand the risks in their sector. They want a policy that says: “We understand your world.”
That’s where commercial lines are heading. The shift is away from broad, catch-all generic products and towards tightly focused multi-line facilities. A software-as-a-service start-up, a dairy farm, a media agency, a law firm – none of them want to stitch together half-a-dozen separate policies and hope the pieces fit.
They want an insurance experience built around their reality: one entry point; documents that make sense for their work; service that speaks their language. A package, not a patchwork.
For brokers, that shift is a gift, but only if you lean into it. When you go deep into a vertical, you stop being just another option and start becoming the obvious choice.
You’re the one who knows the risks, who can design a facility with the right insurer, who can spot problems before they happen and advise on how to avoid them. You get to build a reputation, create repeatable products and keep clients for the long haul. The problem is plenty of schemes exist today, but very few are delivered well.
Too many still rely on generic forms, manual onboarding, disconnected systems and clunky customer experiences.
That’s where the opportunity lies. With the right tools, you can automate quoting and referrals, tailor every step of the journey – from the first question asked to the way endorsements are handled – and give clients live updates as their policy moves through its lifecycle. Do that, and you stop being just a broker for a niche. You become the go-to insurance platform for it.
Commercial lines aren’t going fully direct like personal lines did. It’s going deeply tailored, and that plays straight into the hands of brokers and MGAs who commit to a vertical, design the experience end to end, and work with insurers and tech partners to build a complete package. That’s not a far-off vision. It’s already happening.
Broker Expo turns 20 this year. What were you doing when you were 20?
When the Broker Expo was just getting started, I was in my second year of studying computer science and business management at the University of Leeds. It was a time of deep immersion in the application of technology in business and the fundamentals of software engineering and systems architecture.
While I wasn’t in the insurance industry at the time, the core principles I learned about building efficient, scalable systems are exactly what drive our work at Recorder today. It’s fascinating to reflect on how those early lessons now help us empower brokers to build more successful and resilient businesses today.
What are your expectations for the UK broker market in 2026? And how are you planning to position your business for success?
With regard to the UK broker market in 2026:
- Continued softening and pressure on premiums. This will make it even more critical for brokers to operate with maximum efficiency to maintain profitability.
- The rise of the tech-enabled broker. The gap between brokers who have invested in technology and those who haven’t will widen significantly. Insurtechs will not be seen as a fringe part of the market, but rather as essential partners for brokers who want to stay competitive. The focus will be on seamless data transfer, automated processes and enhanced client-facing tools.
- Consolidation and specialisation. We expect to see continued mergers and acquisitions activity among larger broking firms. At the same time, smaller, independent brokers will thrive by becoming deeply specialised in niche sectors, offering bespoke advice and schemes that larger, more generalised firms cannot. This dual trend will be a defining feature of the market.
In terms of positioning Recorder for success, our strategy for 2026 is built on the belief that the future of broking is a powerful partnership between human expertise and cutting-edge technology. Our plans are focused on empowering brokers to meet these challenges head on:
- Doubling down on our ‘human-first’ philosophy. Our core mission is to empower brokers, not replace them. In 2026, we will continue to develop our platform to automate the administrative burden from data entry to policy issuance, so brokers can spend more time on high-value activities like client consultation and business development.
- Expanding our ecosystem of insurer integrations. The key to true efficiency is a frictionless connection between brokers and insurers. We will be prioritising the expansion of our API integrations with a wider panel of insurers, particularly in the commercial lines space. This will allow our users to instantly retrieve quotes, bind policies and manage renewals without ever leaving our platform, giving them a significant speed advantage.
- Building tools for specialisation and schemes. Recognising the importance of niche expertise, we are investing in tools that make it easier for brokers to digitise and manage their own schemes. We’ll be helping brokers go from a fragmented, manual process to a single, scalable digital platform that they can use to attract and serve a specific client group.
- Investing in client education and support. As the market evolves, so do the needs of our clients. We will be expanding our educational resources, including webinars, product clinics and personalised training sessions, to ensure that our broker partners are not just using our software, but are also mastering the strategic shifts needed to succeed in the 2026 market.
By focusing on these areas, we aim to be an indispensable technology partner for the UK’s commercial brokers, helping them to navigate the competitive landscape and position their businesses for long-term growth and success.
Recorder is presenting at the Broker Expo at the Birmingham NEC on 9 October. It is free for brokers to attend, so sign up now by clicking here.
