How multilingual brokers can grow your business

Insurance sales require the right mix of skill and service, which means Canada’s property and casualty insurance brokers need to meet clients where they are. For some brokerage owners, that increasingly means offering services in languages beyond French and English.

“For me this started off as a spin on a digital play,” says Sean Graham, president of Begin Insurance in Markham, Ont., which offers client services in English, Cantonese, Mandarin, Korean and Spanish.

“When we advertise online, we bid on English search terms such as ‘Insurance’ or ‘Best Auto Insurance.’ This is very expensive in Canada. The same terms in Chinese and Spanish are much cheaper to bid on because of less competition on Google. It was a digital cost of acquisition advantage.”

That led to a revelation – many clients and prospects were less interested in the ease of online insurance coverage searches than they were on building relationships with brokers they found relatable. And, for many, ‘relatability’ meant fluency in a language other than English.

“The whole venture turned into something else entirely. It was a massive word-of-mouth, community-based success,” he tells CU. “We found [what] many of our multilingual or non-English-speaking clients wanted [was] high touch, slow down the experience, build a relationship, and actually become friends in addition to [being] trusted advisors.

“This type of broker-client relationship develops higher retention, more referrals, lower claim frequency, higher comfort and…lower anxiety.”

Related: Why brokers say the personal touch beats advertising

Roughly 40% of the brokerage’s total business is multilingual, and that business segment is driven by around 30% of the team, says Graham. “Our multilingual business outperforms our English-only business in terms of retention, referrals and claims experience.”

He notes all brokers at his firm are generalists, and that many clients who are newcomers to Canada first need tenant or condo insurance, followed by car, and then home and business insurance. “It’s very common to sell property insurance first, followed by all other products,” he says.

The team’s wide-ranging language skills also helps those who can be put off by the complexity of insurance terms, notes Graham. Plus, Canadian insurance products can be dissimilar from those sold in other countries. “Our ability to translate the meanings of the policy coverage and the purpose behind it helps build understanding, trust and confidence,” he tells CU.

Cultural comfort

Tango Lu, a Mandarin speaking broker at Begin, says there’s a higher retention rate with Chinese-speaking clients than English-speaking clients.

“My [Chinese-speaking] clients…rely on the language for policies, changes, even claims support [rather] than prices. Even some clients [who] are good at English still prefer staying with Chinese brokers as a culture reason,” tells CU.

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Adds Martin Ho, a Cantonese-speaking broker, “Clients feel more comfortable and understand when we discuss or explain insurance matters in our mother tongue.”

Thirty-year brokerage veteran Thomas Yip, who speaks both Cantonese and Mandarin, says “speaking with clients in their own language provides clients with [a] higher level of understanding of the policy specifics. It also builds trust a lot quicker and easier. These relations also improve retention! Most loyal clients developed into friends.”

At times, these language connections are made spontaneously.

“As a broker servicing our English-speaking client queue, when I get a client that speaks Korean and they realize I do as well, they become excited,” says Begin Insurance broker Jin Paeng.

“They are so used to doing business in English that it’s a great surprise they can speak naturally in Korean. They always ask for me after that.”

Aquí se habla español

Responding to Ontario’s growing Latin American community, Begin Insurance opened a specialized branch called Garitas Insurance last year. It has a 95% Spanish-speaking clientele, Graham says.

“My clients really appreciate being able to speak in their own language, because it just makes things easier and less stressful. Insurance can be confusing, and when it’s explained in Spanish, they feel more comfortable asking questions and making the right decisions,” says Horacio Moros, a Garitas Insurance broker.

“For clients, it’s all about trust and clarity. They know what they’re buying and what to expect. For our business, it means better relationships, smoother communication and more referrals from clients who feel understood and supported.”

That’s important because referrals are key to business building and client retention. 

“Most of our clients come through referrals from other Spanish-speaking clients, which gives us a strong advantage in competitive markets where bilingual service is highly valued,” says Patricia Valbuena, a Garitas broker.

“This is largely because clients feel truly understood and can express their concerns naturally, with fewer misunderstandings especially when discussing technical topics. Communication flows more smoothly, allowing for greater efficiency and clarity. Additionally, understanding cultural expectations and communication styles fosters stronger collaboration and long-term loyalty.”

Phil Porado

Phil, an award-winning journalist with over 30 years of experience in financial topics, has been managing editor of Canadian Underwriter for more than three years.