Inaugural sentiment survey results

Norwich Union topped a recent poll - conducted by Professional Broking - for service to brokers in the first in a series of quarterly sentiment surveys.

The result, which may be unsurprising to some, was significant as NU received almost double the amount of votes of second-placed Zurich.

Phil Hitchcox, director of southern regional business said: "We are delighted that, during a time of great upheaval in the industry, we have been singled out for praise. Howevr, we recognise that our efforts must be redoubled if we are to retain such a position."

The majority of brokers surveyed also expected rates to soften in both personal and commercial lines in the next quarter. Commenting on the results, Ruediger Schaefer, general manager of personal lines at Alliance Cornhill, said: "I am not surprised by the broker view that there will be softening in personal lines as there is a tendency to talk premiums down. However, I cannot see it happening in household as insurers are currently negotiating with reinsurers and we do not know what will be agreed so we won't see rates decrease in the coming months."

He added: "In motor, we have passed the peak in rates but there has not been any significant movement. Insurers are more cautious with regard to cycle management and how they deploy capital, so there is likely to be slight softening, but fierce competition between insurers is unlikely."

Commenting on other survey results, Steve White, regulation and compliance manager of the British Insurance Brokers' Association, said: "Brokers are taking regulation seriously and it is no surprise that it is ranked as very important. This is evidenced by the huge number of visitors to the BIBA regulatory checklist facility on our website. There is a big appetite for both support and knowledge and this is borne out in the results of the PB survey."

With regard to broker concern over the speed and accuracy of issuing policy documentation, Groupama managing director, Francois Xavier Boisseau said this is why imarket is important and should be supported. "It will speed up the placement of risk and cut out a lot of administration and mistakes. Service is a two-way action between the broker and the insurer.

We want to developm strong relationships with our key partners. Not all brokers want the same thing and we try to meet their needs by segmenting our offering."

- See page 25 for a full round-up of the survey results.