How REG Network Helps
Fix Broker Onboarding Delays

Replace slow, manual broker onboarding with automated due diligence, document exchange and continuous monitoring, so new brokers can start trading in days, not months.

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For many insurers, MGAs and brokers, bringing a new broker into the network still takes weeks of back and forth. Onboarding requests sit in inboxes, due diligence checks get repeated across teams, and signed documentation is chased manually before a single policy can be placed.

As broker networks grow, this only gets harder. Compliance and operations teams end up managing dozens of onboarding requests in parallel across spreadsheets, email threads and shared drives, with no consistent view of where each broker has actually reached in the process. Delays at this stage cost revenue as much as they cost time.

REG Network helps insurance organisations replace slow, manual broker onboarding with a connected workflow for due diligence, document exchange and oversight. By surfacing existing counterparty intelligence and automating the checks that would otherwise be repeated manually, firms can bring new brokers live faster while maintaining stronger oversight from day one.

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Why Broker Onboarding Delays Create Risk

Why Broker Onboarding Delays Create Risk

Broker onboarding delays are rarely just a speed problem. When onboarding takes too long, it creates commercial pressure to skip steps, and that introduces governance risk at exactly the point a relationship is least understood.

Many firms still rely on:

  • Spreadsheet-based onboarding trackers
  • Manual FCA and credit checks
  • Email chains for document requests
  • Paper-based TOBA issuance
  • Duplicated due diligence across teams
  • Disconnected onboarding processes
  • Inconsistent escalation when a broker stalls partway through

These workflows tend to hold up fine with a handful of brokers. They become unmanageable once a network grows past a few dozen active relationships.

What Causes KYB Onboarding Delays for Brokers?

Most broker onboarding delays are really KYB onboarding delays. Before a broker can place business, an insurer or MGA has to confirm who the firm is and who is behind it: its Companies House record, FCA permissions and appointed representative status, its directors and beneficial owners, and whether any of them appear on sanctions, PEP or adverse media lists. Each check is simple on its own. The delay comes from doing them by hand, one broker at a time.

The usual causes are the same across insurers, MGAs and brokers:
Checks repeated by different teams, because underwriting, compliance and operations each keep their own records.
Documents chased by email, so a missing declaration or unsigned TOBA can hold up an otherwise complete file.
No shared view of progress, which means no one can see whether a broker is waiting on KYB checks, KYC checks on its directors, or an internal approval.

Automating KYB onboarding removes most of this waiting time without removing the checks themselves. REG Network runs the company, regulatory and screening checks in one workflow, reuses network intelligence where a broker is already known, and shows every onboarding request against a clear status.

Onboarding a new MGA trading partner in the REG platform

The result is usually a combination of:

  • New brokers waiting weeks to start trading
  • Inconsistent due diligence depth across brokers
  • Lost visibility of where each onboarding request has stalled
  • Pressure to onboard before checks are fully complete
  • Audit gaps in early-stage broker records
  • Lost revenue while brokers wait to go live

For compliance and operations teams, the real issue isn’t the number of brokers being onboarded. It’s the lack of a single, consistent process for getting from first contact to a fully onboarded, monitored counterparty.

Why Broker Onboarding Stalls Across Insurance, MGA and Broker Teams

Onboarding delays build up gradually. A process built for a handful of brokers becomes harder to manage at every stage as the network grows, and the breakdown tends to happen in the same places.

Repeated Due Diligence

Teams across underwriting, compliance and operations often run the same checks on the same broker without realising it, slowing the process down for no added benefit.

Manual Document Chasing

TOBAs, declarations and compliance documentation get requested by email, then chased again and again before they’re returned and filed.

No Single View of Progress

Without a central record, no one can see at a glance which brokers are mid-onboarding, which are stalled, and which are ready to go live.

Inconsistent Risk Assessment

Without a standard process, the depth of due diligence applied to a new broker can vary significantly depending on who is handling it.

Disconnected Systems

Onboarding data lives across spreadsheets, inboxes and shared drives, making it difficult to hand a broker relationship between teams without losing context.

Onboarding That Doesn’t Scale

What works for ten brokers breaks down at fifty. Growing distribution networks expose every weak point in a manual onboarding process.

How REG Network Helps Speed Up Broker Onboarding

REG Network helps insurers, MGAs and brokers replace manual onboarding with a single, automated workflow for due diligence, document exchange and ongoing oversight.

Instead of starting from scratch with every new broker, organisations can draw on existing network intelligence, automate the checks that would otherwise be repeated manually, and track every onboarding request from a single dashboard.

  • Automated Broker Due Diligence

    REG Network automates the KYB checks, screening and verification work that typically slows broker onboarding down.

    Organisations can:

    • Search for a broker directly within the platform
    • Surface existing network intelligence where available
    • Run AML, sanctions, PEP and credit checks automatically
    • Verify regulatory permissions and FCA status
    • Track outstanding checks against a clear status

    This reduces the manual checking that causes most onboarding delays, often returning results within minutes rather than days.

  • Centralised Onboarding Tracking

    Manual onboarding tends to break down because no one has a single view of progress. REG Network centralises:

    • Onboarding status for every broker
    • Outstanding documentation and approvals
    • Due diligence results
    • TOBA issuance and signature status
    • Audit history from first contact onward

    This gives compliance and operations teams a clear, shared view of exactly where every broker onboarding request stands, without chasing updates across teams.

    Instead of relying on multiple disconnected systems, firms can manage onboarding, monitoring and oversight activity from a single platform.

  • Digital Document Exchange and E-Signature

    Paper-based and email-driven TOBA handling is one of the most common causes of onboarding delay. REG Network lets organisations issue, track and sign documentation digitally, with automatic reminders for outstanding requests.

    Brokers receive free access to REG Exchanges to review, sign and return documentation directly, removing a major source of back and forth delay.

    Once a broker is onboarded, Continuous Monitoring begins automatically, so oversight doesn’t stop the moment a broker goes live.

Find out more about REG Network

Key Platform Capabilities

Risk-Based Onboarding Triage

Apply lighter-touch checks to lower-risk brokers and concentrate review time where it matters.

Digital TOBA Issuance and Tracking

Issue, sign and track TOBAs digitally, with full audit history from day one.

Centralised Broker Records

Store due diligence results, documentation and onboarding history in a single operational record.

Continuous Monitoring from Day One

Move straight from onboarding into ongoing oversight, with no manual handover required.

Counterparty Due Diligence Support

Strengthen onboarding decisions with integrated screening and verification.

 

Learn more about Counterparty Due Diligence and MGA Compliance Operations.

Operational and Compliance Benefits

Faster broker onboarding isn’t only an efficiency gain. It affects how quickly new revenue starts flowing and how consistent oversight is from the very first day of a relationship.

  • Brokers Trading Faster

    Automated due diligence can return results in approximately five minutes for brokers already known within the network, rather than the days or weeks a manual process typically takes.

  • Reduced Manual Workload

    Automating repeat checks and document chasing frees up compliance and operations time for the brokers that genuinely need closer attention.

    In one REG Network customer example, automated triage reduced active broker review workload from more than 200 brokers to around 30 requiring manual attention.

  • Consistent Due Diligence

    Standardised workflows mean every broker goes through the same checks, regardless of which team or individual is handling onboarding.

  • Stronger Early-Stage Oversight

    Continuous monitoring starts the moment onboarding completes, removing the gap between go-live and the first scheduled review.

  • Audit-Ready from Day One

    Centralised records mean every onboarding decision, document and check is in place and ready to evidence, without reconstructing the process after the fact.

Frequently Asked Questions

What causes KYB onboarding delays?

KYB onboarding delays usually come from checks being run by hand: looking up Companies House and FCA records, confirming directors and beneficial owners, running sanctions and PEP screening and chasing documents by email. When several teams repeat the same checks, or no one can see which step a broker is waiting on, a few days of work turns into weeks.

What is the difference between KYB and KYC when onboarding a broker?

KYB checks verify the broker as a business: its registration, FCA permissions, ownership structure and financial standing. KYC checks verify the individuals behind it, such as directors, controllers and beneficial owners, through identity, sanctions, PEP and adverse media screening. Most broker onboarding needs both, which is why delays in either one hold up the whole relationship.

How can insurers and MGAs reduce KYB and KYC onboarding delays?

Standardise the checks first, so every broker goes through the same KYB and KYC steps whatever team handles them. Then automate the repetitive lookups and screening, exchange TOBAs and declarations digitally rather than by email, and track every request in one place. That speeds things up without skipping steps, and gives you an audit trail from the first contact.

Does automating KYB onboarding remove the need for compliance review?

No. Automation removes the manual lookups, re-keying and document chasing that cause most KYB onboarding delays, but it does not make the decision for you. Compliance teams still review the results, investigate anything flagged, such as a sanctions match or unclear ownership, and approve the broker. The difference is that they spend their time on judgement rather than admin.

What causes broker onboarding delays in insurance?

Broker onboarding delays are usually caused by manual due diligence, repeated checks across teams, email-based document chasing and a lack of centralised visibility over where each broker has reached in the process.

How can insurers and MGAs speed up broker onboarding?

Insurers and MGAs can speed up broker onboarding by automating due diligence and screening, issuing and tracking documentation digitally, and centralising onboarding status across the team rather than across separate spreadsheets and inboxes.

How long does broker onboarding take with REG Network?

Where a broker is already known within the REG Network, due diligence results can be returned in approximately five minutes. Overall onboarding timelines still depend on document turnaround and internal approval steps.

Does REG Network replace manual due diligence completely?

REG Network automates the repetitive screening and verification work that usually slows onboarding down. Compliance teams remain responsible for reviewing results and making final onboarding decisions.

Can brokers access REG Network during onboarding?

Yes. Brokers receive free access to REG Exchanges to review their own data, supply additional information and sign documentation directly, which helps remove a common source of onboarding delay.

Bring Brokers Onboard Without the Delay

REG Network helps insurers, MGAs and brokers replace slow, manual broker onboarding with automated due diligence, digital document exchange and continuous monitoring from day one. Whether onboarding is held up by repeated checks, document chasing or a lack of visibility across the team, REG Network provides a faster, more consistent way to bring new brokers live.

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