New Survey Reveals Broker-Carrier Expectation Gap. Here’s How to Close It.

By Yaron Ben-Zvi, General Manager, Tinubu Surety

The Surety market continues to grow and deliver strong profitability, but behind the positive headline numbers lies a wide gap between brokers and carriers. Surety Outlook 2025: Tech & Operations Benchmarks, conducted by research firm Everest Group on behalf of Tinubu Surety, found persistent misalignment in how the two sides work, communicate, and define “good service.”

What the Data Reveals

Across 40 Surety organizations surveyed in North America, both brokers and carriers share the same core goals—speed, accuracy, and clarity—but differ in how they pursue them.

Brokers rank responsiveness and turnaround time among their highest priorities after capacity. Many want same-day issuance for repeat business, and 60% of carriers struggle to meet that standard. Carriers, meanwhile, cite incomplete or inconsistent submissions as their top challenge, with 40% noting that data gaps slow their ability to respond.

These findings don’t suggest misalignment in intent, as both sides want to serve clients better. What the data reveals is that differing workflows and fragmented systems make collaboration harder than it needs to be.

The Roots of the Disconnect

Every broker and carrier operates differently, using their own formats and processes. That diversity creates complexity: brokers face pressure to deliver quickly, while carriers must translate, validate, and rekey information before taking action. Roughly a third of carriers still rely on manual emails or spreadsheets to manage submissions, which can slow cycle times.

In short, brokers expect speed. Carriers are constrained by structure. Both are right, and both are doing their best within the systems they have.

Bridging the Divide

Technology can play a meaningful role in closing this gap and not by forcing standardization, but by creating flexibility. Integration-first tools that can interpret and structure data regardless of format can remove much of the friction. AI-enabled ingestion, validation, and workflow automation are already helping carriers respond faster while maintaining the oversight and quality control the business demands.

The goal isn’t to replace relationships with technology, but to enable them: let human expertise shine by removing repetitive, manual work.

Looking Ahead

The Surety Outlook 2025 survey underscores that modernization isn’t just a technology challenge; it’s an alignment opportunity. Carriers investing in more connected systems will gain speed and consistency. Brokers will benefit from greater transparency and responsiveness.

Ultimately, closing the expectation gap requires shared progress, not separate paths. The future of Surety will be shaped not by who moves first, but by how effectively we move forward together.

Yaron Ben-Zvi joined Tinubu in June 2024, overseeing Tinubu’s global Surety activity as General Manager. His mission is to continuously provide innovative solutions to customers and deliver exceptional value. He has over 15 years of experience in building and scaling fintech and insurtech businesses, driving digital transformation and operational excellence. He can be reached at yaron.benzvi@tinubu.com.