Top ten brokers - Ten triumphs

As Professional Broking celebrates its landmark 10th birthday, the world for brokers appears a different one from when the title was launched.

The greatest challenge for many smaller firms in particular is regulation.

But, it would be wrong to claim that a decade ago brokers were free of pressure.

Direct writers meant personal lines brokers felt the strain. Agency culling was commonplace as insurers cut costs. National brokers realised the value in provincial business and extended tentacles into the regions. However, the traditional high-street broker remains. Despite the closure by Norwich Union of its Hill House Hammond chain, this distribution channel is still in demand.

And, while it seems there have never been so many firms looking to sell, this is nothing new. Broker today are more switched on in terms of succession planning and most are confident they will be ready for Financial Services Authority regulation. It is also clear that many firms are looking forward to the future.

Many of the names that were around 10 years ago have disappeared, but many underlying principles remain unchanged as the current top 10 - supplied by consultants IMAS - shows.

As its all-encompassing name suggests, Aon - Gaelic for 'oneness' - currently tops the IMAS poll. The company, which acquired firms such as Bain Hogg and Alexander & Alexander, has also scored success through organic growth.

Its latest figures show a business firing on all cylinders while disposing of non-core activities, including selling off its occupational health division to Capita earlier this year. In the UK, Aon employs 7500 staff in 80 offices. Chairman and chief executive officer Dennis Mahoney comments: "Bringing together the many different cultures from the various acquired businesses has proved a challenge that took slightly longer than anticipated but, with the process now largely complete, Aon is poised to achieve its aim of becoming the most responsive, client-focused broking and consulting services company in the world."

In 1998, Willis was taken private following its acquisition by KKR and its name changed from Willis Corroon. But, the big shake-up occurred in 2000 when Joe Plumeri took over as chairman and chief executive - his management style has brought a breath of fresh air into the business.

In June 2001, the company returned to public ownership with a listing on the New York Stock Exchange. Since then, the share price has more than doubled and over 70% of the group's employees are now shareholders. The firm's focus on growing sales, service and eliminating waste has resulted in 17 consecutive quarters of record earnings growth.

Ask any provincial broker what they think of Marsh and the chances are there will be a grudging appreciation of the company's people. Marsh has 6350 staff in over 30 office locations and has made notable acquisitions including Sedgwick. John Nicolson, managing director of UK regional operations for Marsh's corporate client practice, says: "Over the last 10 years, the insurance industry has begun to realise it must do more to attract and retain talent. Marsh has a graduate development programme, which, along with integrated leadership programmes, enables colleagues to exercise their skills for the maximum benefit of the firm and clients. We receive 100 applications for every graduate place."

Jardine Lloyd Thompson is described by IMAS as 'sharp and focused', as its latest results show. With an increase in turnover from £388.6m to £429m for the year ended 31 December 2003, trading profit was also up 16%, from £79.6m to £92.1m. The firm is bullish about its prospects and as Richard Edgar, managing director, southern region, says: "Over the past 10 years we have made a number of acquisitions, not least the original merger between Jardine Insurance Brokers and Lloyd Thompson, as well as significantly developing our employee benefits side. Our ambition remains to be the best, not the biggest."

In fifth place, Heath Lambert describes itself as Europe's largest independent insurance and reinsurance broker. In November 2003, it completed a financial restructuring and gained a new management team. Ian Martin, executive chairman, comments: "The completion of the restructuring will allow us to maintain our independence as one of the world's largest insurance brokers."

Benfield is the star of the reinsurance market and its latest results show the group's trading result increased by 29.8% to £88.5m (2002: £68.2m) and its trading margin increased to 28.8% from 23.4%. Chief executive Grahame Chilton says: "In 1994, Benfield was a relatively small broking business. The company employed 60 people in London and had just opened its first overseas contact office in Hamburg. Today, Benfield has a revenue of over £300m, 35 offices worldwide and 1600 staff. Integrity, teamwork and creativity are as core to the business now as they were 10 years ago."

South-African-owned Alexander Forbes has been a fast mover in the UK insurance market and has made a number of key acquisitions. Marketing director Richard Brown says: "The group first entered the UK insurance market with the acquisition of Nelson Hurst in 1997, followed by the retail insurance broking operations of Bradstock in 2000, giving access to a national network of UK offices. Acquisition of the Blackmore Group in 2001 completed the company's structure in the UK. Today we have a thriving London-based global broking business. Our retail business is ideally placed to advise the UK mid-corporate market."

The high-profile AA has succeeded in bringing the benefits of broking to the masses. Neale Phillips, director of AA Insurance Services, says: "Ten years is a long time for the AA and the industry. Back in 1994, the AA was a mutual organisation. We sold insurance through our shops and by telephone. Today, we are part of Centrica, the 25th largest company in the UK, with 1.7m customers. The growth of the internet has changed the landscape and played a key role in opening up the market to new competition. We now sell more insurance online than we did through over 140 shops."

With its massive global parent, HSBC Insurance Brokers has the right backing to succeed. That said, it is widely known as a sleeping giant and, as yet, not fully leveraging its parent group connections. Even so, the company has more than 2000 staff and ranks among the 12 largest brokers in the world, handling premiums in excess of £1.25bn each year.

Swinton is the largest UK high-street broker, with over 329 branches nationwide and 1.3m policyholders. Marketing director Andrew Jackson says: "With a substantial increase in policyholders and record pre-tax profits of £15.1m - up by 200% from 2002 - Swinton has shown that branch-based customer service and the newer distribution channels have an important role to play. Reliable service, local knowledge and value for money will remain important for many consumers."