If you’re an independent broker looking to grow your book of business, now is the time to lean into commercial lines. Although personal lines may be your foundation, commercial insurance — especially small commercial — is where some of the most significant growth opportunities now lie.
Canada’s commercial insurance sector presents a strong growth opportunity for brokers. The property and casualty (P&C) insurance market is expected to grow from $86.75 billion to $115.82 billion by 2029. Within that, general liability insurance is projected to record a compound annual growth rate of 9% over 2025-29, driven in part by rising demand for cyber insurance, more complex contractual requirements, and increasing social and regulatory pressures.
Small commercial businesses represent a significant portion of all businesses in Canada, and many remain underinsured or lack proper commercial coverage.
A December 2024 survey by the Canadian Federation of Business found only 36% of small businesses compared insurance providers or explored alternative coverage options in the past 12 months. This market gap means clients will benefit greatly from brokers who can offer expert advice and bespoke solutions, rather than just basic policies.
For brokers equipped with the right tools and workflows, this is an ideal time to capture market share and grow their commercial books.
Limited insurer access
One challenge for commercial lines has been limited market access, as evidenced by the growth of Managing General Agents (MGAs). With so many industries requiring specialized coverage, brokers need to reach insurers and MGAs that truly understand their sectors.
Without that access, brokers can find themselves boxed into narrow submission options, leading to suboptimal pricing and coverage gaps that can jeopardize client relationships.
When brokers can’t provide comprehensive options quickly, they lose credibility with clients who expect efficient service. In a highly competitive broker market, that can damage long-term growth potential.
More market connections, fewer steps
Modern brokerage management platforms tackle this challenge head-on, letting brokers access a network of commercial insurers across key industries through digital workflows that offer more visibility across the policy lifecycle.
For example, brokers can now quote multiple business operations in a single submission. Consider a corporate client that runs a combination of general contracting and retail storefront operations. Instead of creating separate submissions for each line of business, a broker can now include both in one streamlined workflow.
The next big opportunity for brokers lies in Canada’s fast-growing Lower Middle Market — and Chubb is helping them seize it.
Multi-location quoting is a great feature within a commercial lines practice. If you’re working with clients that have multiple business locations, like property managers or retail chains, inputting all those addresses at once streamlines your quoting process. It cuts down on manual entry and reduces the chances of errors in more complex submissions. The access and efficiency make it easier to offer clients better coverage quickly, turning a point of friction into a competitive edge.
Hidden time sink
Another commercial lines pain point is repetitive, manual data entry processes. Brokers often find themselves re-entering the same information across multiple insurer portals, forms and internal systems. It pulls brokers away from higher-value client engagement and, over time, this inefficiency can lead to burnout among brokers who are forced to spend their days on low-impact administrative tasks instead of focusing on strategic advisory work.
Repetitive data entry is an even bigger problem for brokers working with numerous small commercial clients.
Within this commercial market segment, quoting windows can be tight and client expectations for responsiveness are high and growing. When brokers are stuck toggling between systems, details can get missed, customer expectations aren’t met, and opportunities can be lost.
Automation eliminates duplication
Integrated rating engines help brokers eliminate manual quoting bottlenecks. These tools let brokers input client risk information once; then, they can automatically send data to multiple insurers and receive real-time quotes. There’s no need to navigate separate portals or track individual submissions.
Let’s say a broker is quoting a policy for a new local café. Instead of copying details into three different insurer platforms, they can enter everything into one system and receive comparative quotes within seconds. That’s not just faster, it’s more accurate and less frustrating.
Technologies are available to help brokers overcome traditional submission challenges, making it easier to receive quotes, connect with more insurers, and serve clients’ needs more thoroughly.
Such tools let brokerages improve the customer experience, close business quickly, and unlock more sustainable paths to growth. Commercial lines aren’t just an opportunity, they’re a competitive advantage ready to be realized.
Steve Whitelaw is senior vice president and general manager at Applied Systems Canada. This article is excerpted from one that appeared in the October-November, 2025 print edition of Canadian Underwriter.
