|
Should more brokers piggy-back on big brands to increase customer reach? Author: Ida Axling Contact: idaaxling@gmail.com Deadline: 12th February
In October Everywhen, formerly Ardonagh Advisory, announced it had partnered with Asda Money to launch the supermarket’s first business insurance service.
Everywhen is not the only broker this year to seek a partnership that could extend its reach away from its organic customer base. In May Superscript teamed up with Toolstation, one of the UK’s largest suppliers of tools, accessories and building supplies, to deliver the retailer’s customers access to a new insurance offering. And it is not just in the SME space that brokers are looking to piggy back on the success of more well-known brands to grow their footprint. In February, prior to selling a majority stake to Santévet Group, the pet insurance broker Tedaisy acquired dog health and activity app Perro, a firm that has retail partnerships, including Airbnb, John Lewis and Sainsbury’s. Meanwhile in Q3 2024 top 100 broker Uinsure recruited 60 new team members after securing several major partnership deals including bank, building society and other affinity partnerships. With these announcements in mind, Insurance Age is exploring why brokers and brands are looking to work with each other? Which product lines and types of brands might be best suited for brand-insurance related partnerships involving brokers? How might these work best to the mutual advantage of both? The article will delve into how brokers can win this affinity business, retain it and win new customers without compromising service standards. Finally, it will look at recent developments such as Sky Protect moving away from a solus insurance agreement with Zurich to a panel arrangement and ask whether this highlights the growing value brokers can bring to blue chip clients seeking to serve a broad church of customers? Will NCDs for mini fleets catch on, or continue to be the preserve of a minority of commercial motor insurers? Author: Saxon East Contact: sax@saxoneastmedia.com Deadline: 12th February Under the change businesses with individual NCD rated policies, which have accumulated a no claims discount, will be able to convert these into a commercial fleet policy with one premium and one confirmed claims experience (CCE). According to the insurer, the shift would increase the volume of small businesses it can support with its small fleet insurance which is designed for fleets with two to 20 vehicles. Zurich added the move was a response to broker demand. Gerry Ross, head of commercial motor at Allianz, confirmed that NCD conversion – available since 2017 – was never pulled from its QuoteSME extranet but had been paused on Acturis while the insurer revamped its IT and pricing process after an imarket update, the latter being the gateway to the product. The hiatus for the element ran from October 2024 to the start of November 2025. In light of these moves Insurance Age intends to explore the benefits as to why brokers might favour NCDs being available for mini fleets; whilst also investigating why since Allianz introduced it in 2017 so few rivals – including MGAs – appear to have followed suit. The piece will also ask if technology connectivity is a hindrance? The article will assess whether the NCD offering opens up books to better or worse risks, and how insurers and MGAs might manage the threat of the latter, whilst seeking to encourage more of the former to grow profitably. Finally, we will ask fleet insurers and brokers what might be next innovations in the market; and what solutions both underwriter and intermediaries are introducing to support small fleets. |
