Situation
In 2004, insurance brokers turned to Navigators Global as they became the latest industry to fall under the scrutiny of then-New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer. Spitzer was investigating the industry for price-fixing and rigging competitive bids for favored insurance providers. Spitzer’s investigation led to calls for sweeping regulatory reforms in several large states and was receiving scrutiny in Congress and front page coverage in the nation’s leading newspapers.
Strategy
To prevent a wedge from being driven between brokers and their customers, Navigators Global conducted a nationwide poll of brokers’ customers to discover what they wanted to see from the industry as a response to the Spitzer probe. With the results of the poll, Navigators Global created a strategic messaging and advertising campaign to put the industry on the side of enhanced transparency to solidify their bonds with their clients.
Outcome
Navigators Global’s ad campaign and strategic messaging helped mitigate the negative fallout from the Spitzer investigation and curtailed the efforts to impose costly new regulations governing the broker/client relationship.
