A sure-fire thing

Founded in 1986, Coversure Insurance Services has since opened more than 80 offices at locations throughout the UK and controls a premium income of around £60m.

Coversure's chairman, Mark Coverdale, says the network provides franchisees with all the support required to be a successful broker. This includes an internal computer system, agency facilities, a claims line facility for motor clients plus centralised departments for accounts, commercial operations, compliance and marketing.

He says: "Franchising works well because the franchise holder has a real interest in making the business succeed. They have tools, products and a support network available to them that can normally only be found in a large organisation while, at the same time, they are owners of their own business and can reap the returns of their hard work in profits, thus enabling them to grow and develop their business.

"Without access to our own technology it would be far more difficult to have developed to our present state. We have a single sales process that encompasses every product line - from insuring a complex commercial risk to insuring a family pet. The majority of all business is electronic and we have unrivalled access to management information."

Coversure has received its scope-of-permission notice from the Financial Services Authority, with each of its franchisees directly authorised.

Coverdale says: "We have spent an enormous amount of time and effort on our preparation for FSA regulation. There are no quick fixes, however, we are able to do a huge amount of the regulatory work for our franchise-holders and provide them with compliant systems and procedures."

Its intranet site, Coversure.info, has a detailed compliance section that can be accessed by all Coversure staff.

With regard to the sales process and complaints handling, it has incorporated changes within its IT system that ensure compliant processes such as on-screen scripts and prompts.

Training is crucial to the network, according to Coverdale. The firm has an online, distance-based training programme called Coversure Academy in addition to insurer, Chartered Insurance Institute and British Insurance Brokers' Association training schemes.

Coversure is currently looking to attract new insurance brokers - ideally with at least three years of experience.

Coverdale continues: "There are a number of towns and cities throughout the UK in which we are under-represented. Our ideal franchise-holder is someone that has been working in the broking environment for a number of years, has reached management level and is looking at the challenge of developing a business for themselves rather than using their talents to develop business for an employer."

For new franchisees, Coversure charges a fee of £15,000 (plus VAT), which includes software licences, system costs and installation, training and stationery. According to Coverdale, the real cost is adequate capital provision to ensure that the business gets off to a good start and can fund its early months to break even. This is subject to the franchise-holder's scope, ambition and business plan and can be achieved for as little as £30,000.

He argues that brokers face some interesting challenges in the years ahead. "The cost of regulation will favour the larger broker and the networks over the small independent high-street intermediary. Most successful brokers have long since departed from the traditional composite model and are providing services tailored to their client's needs and requirements, and are engaged in more niche and specialised boutique services. The most challenged will be the organisations that are not as adaptive to market conditions, have an inflexible infrastructure and are overly dependent on single markets.

"We share the best elements of both; our franchise-holders are dynamic and responsive while, from the centre, we can serve them with the support and economies of scale only available to the largest organisations."

COVERSURE

Chairman: Mark Coverdale

Established: 1986

Number of offices: 83 franchises

Number of staff: 300

Lines of business: Motor, taxi, commercial vehicle, fleet, household, retail, public liability, property, combined liability, motor trade, commercial combined, goods-in-transit and caravan

Gross premium income: £60m.