Aggregators
Management - broking success: step forward to look back
Emmanuel Kenning meets Duncan Macbeth of Macbeth Scott & Co as he prepares for retirement after more than 30 years as a broker and casts his eye over the insurance industry.
Power hour - future of broking round table London: Talking heads
The biggest names in the industry come together to debate the key issues facing brokers at the moment, from regulation and rates to consolidation and distribution. Martin Friel reports.
Profile - Henry Engelhardt: Admiral of the fleet
Henry Engelhardt was at the bow when the Admiral ship first set sail and he led the company onto the stock exchange when it floated in 2004. Emmanuel Kenning talks to the CEO about claims, pricing and the source of great market envy - the provider's COR.
Reportage - SME: a blossoming romance
The SME love affair has been flourishing for a while, but what does the term actually mean? With nearly all UK enterprises falling into this category, Liz McMahon explores the sector's diverse needs.
New property aggregator promises to help brokers retain clients
Former KGM group development manager, Doug Phelan, has returned to the market with a new ‘broker friendly’ aggregator proposition.
Brightside building commercial aggregator
Brightside Group has confirmed that it will be using newly acquired technology company Quote Exchange to build a commercial insurance comparison site.
Brightside buys aggregator technology firm Quote Exchange
Brightside Group has agreed to buy Quote Exchange for £3.7m in cash and just under 1.4m ordinary shares in Brightside.
E-commerce: Simply Business reveals ambitious GWP growth plans
Simply Business, has unveiled a gross written premium target of £100m by the end of 2012, up from £41m last year.
Agenda: KIC 2010 results and 2011 outlook
Letter to president Petrov Arverbeyev Kazakhstan Insurance Company
Simply Business targets £100m GWP
Simply Business, the online broker for small to medium sized enterprise business, has unveiled a gross written premium target of £100m by the end of 2012, up from £41m last year.
Editor's comment - January 2011
Here we go again. Another year, another set of woes. The economy has only improved slightly, premium rates still show no sign of real hardening and insurers still seem hell bent on self-sacrifice in the name of growth. I feel for you brokers, I really do…
Towergate: SME provision deal 'just the beginning'
Towergate Insurance has claimed its deal with Comparethemarket.com to provide insurance to small to medium-sized enterprise (SME) customers is "just the beginning" of its online SME strategy.
Legal expenses: Referral fee free?
Martin Friel looks to the future and imagines a legal expenses market where referral fees no longer exist. What would this mean for brokers and how would the sector adapt to accommodate this change?
Agenda: Hopes for the New Year
Ten years have passed since the dawn of the new millennium. The predictions of economic meltdown because of the millennium bug were false but we have seen crises that have had enormous impact on the global economy: 9/11, the crash of the dot-com bubble…
Interview: In perfect focus
With sharp intelligence, good humour and unique perspective, industry consultant Clare Ryder shares her thoughts with Martin Friel about where the market has been and where it needs to go next.
Survey finds increasing loyalty to aggregator sites
A survey by consultants EMB has found that around a third of people buying car insurance now choose an aggregator site to visit based on one they have used before, up from 26% in February.
News review: November 2010
IAG UK-owned broker Barnett & Barnett almost doubled its size to £50m gross written premium, with a move for a controlling stake in Bromley-based commercial and personal lines specialist NBJ.
Entire Choicequote workforce in redundancy consultation
The entire staff and management team at Choicequote have entered a redundancy consultation period just two and a half years after the broker was bought by Groupama.
The PB Interview - Laurent Matras: Through the storm
Laurent Matras, managing director at Groupama Insurances, tells Andrew Tjaardstra about the state of the insurance market and how he is working closely with brokers to give his firm a competitive advantage.
SME Aggregators: Digital commercial futures
Edward Murray outlines the difficulties being encountered in establishing a successful aggregator template for small and medium-sized enterprise trade.
Deloitte says industry must address issue of brokers selling motor at a loss
Motor insurers need to increase their premiums while maintaining their customer base in order to return to profitability, according to Deloitte.
Viewpoint: Time to put things right
With poor motor results continuously dismissed as being due to external factors, David Vine asks why insurers choose to ignore the evidence that would enable accurate pricing and, in turn, profit.
Aggregators are criticised for their poor online security
Price comparison sites Confused.com and Comparethemarket.com have been accused of leaving the door open to criminals by sacrificing security in favour of ease of use.
LV Broker sets sights high on £1bn worth of business in first decade
LV Broker has revealed it is aiming to write £1bn worth of business by 2015, less than 10 years after its launch.