Case study: Ryan Insurance

Tim Ryan, managing director at Ipswich-based Ryan Insurance, invested heavily two years ago in a full-cycle electronic data interchange system with Acturis, focusing on capabilities rather than price. He has liaised with underwriters such as Allianz, Axa and RSA for a year in order to get bespoke SME products and prices for his brokerage. His aim is to transact around 50% of its SME book this way within two years and feels the investment has been worthwhile despite the tough business environment.

Ryan says that there has been an unforeseen benefit because the quotation system is useful for his larger corporate risk team, which uses it to gain access to pricing for smaller parts of the risks. Ryan adds it has improved the margins of the business by bringing in more premium for each person. He says it is hard to develop the system for very small products but that he is looking at off-the-shelf technology for one of his new niche lines: beach huts (see full interview on p.20-23).