Customer service
Management - business development: service as selling
Peter Belsey explains how selling is not the preserve of the sales team but should link through and underpin the organisation.
Opinion – public perception: insurance to the rescue
Could the industry do more to encourage more positive media coverage and improve public perception, asks Alistair Steward.
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.
Social media: A squeaky clean image
As the potential grows for customers to express their opinion across numerous platforms, so too does the importance of preserving your reputation online. Jon Ralph reports on broker use of social media.
Power hour: A flood defence drought
The coalition has already announced that flood defence spending is to be cut. With the Statement of Principles due to run out in 2013 this month's discussion focuses on the possible impact for insurance. Emmanuel Kenning reports from Manchester.
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…
Broking success – Wilby: To Halifax and beyond
Emmanuel Kenning meets a passionately independent broker twinning strong local service with national niche products to grow the business.
Technology Viewpoint - Document Processing: Urban myths: the paperless office
Anthony Macciola explodes the notion of the paperless office and lays out what steps insurance brokers can take to handle the ever-increasing amount of paper cluttering their organisations.
News Analysis - PB Management Event: Planning for the recovery
Emmanuel Kenning reports on the key management information on offer to attendees at PB's annual conference.
Product launch: Axa Art pledges speedy service
High-net-worth insurer Axa Art Insurance has committed itself to providing a maximum 24-hour turnaround time when it comes to quoting on new broker business, upon receiving all the necessary information.
Poor insurer service feeds existence of MGAs
Consistently poor insurer service levels have allowed managing general agents (MGAs) to cement their place in the market, according to one of the latest entrants to the sector.
Product launch: RSA-Volvo union renewed
RSA has renewed its affinity partnership with Volvo Car UK.
Agenda: Commission disclosure
The European Union (EU) is now putting together its consultation paper on a revised Insurance Mediation Directive and this will include their views on commission disclosure.
Viewpoint: Loyalty rides on every claim
Jonathan Hughes gives his views on claims
Broker claims debate - roundtable: A case of too many cooks?
The friction between brokers, insurers and accident management companies is well documented, but what has come under less scrutiny is the underlying reason for this tension. Martin Friel reports on this special roundtable debate.
Broker claims debate: Giving credit where it's due
Credit-hire organisations step in to provide replacement vehicles to not at fault drivers when insurers fail to serve their needs. Unsurprisingly, the relationship between the two industries has always been tense. Edward Murray asks where brokers fit in…
Technology - Cloud computing: Reach for the skies
Emmanuel Kenning looks at developments in cloud computing and the possible impact on brokers.
Viewpoint: The pros and cons of commission disclosure
Evolution Underwriting CEO Paul Upton evaluates the pros and cons of commission disclosure for large and small brokers as the transparency of the current model comes under scrutiny by professionals in the US and the UK as well as by the European…
News review: August
Axa Insurance customer experience director, Paul Meehan, expressed interest in filling the senior management vacancy in the company's commercial division.
Interview: The almost great and the good
Martin Friel talks to Theo Duchen and David McDonald about how Acturis is over-delivering in professionalism and efficiency in a bid to achieve greatness
Your letters: Open letter to the ABI, FSA and FOS
We have it all: human rights, data protection, statutory obligations, regulatory regimes, codes of conduct, corporate governance, rules of engagement, terms of reference, standards for this, standards for that and, ah yes, let's not forget, 'complaints…
All quiet on the North-western front?
The healthy competition between its two dominant cities, Manchester and Leeds, makes the North-west insurance market anything but quiet. Martin Friel profiles some of the region's key players
Reportage - specialist products: How practical is it to sell specialist cover on the web?
Making commercial insurance products available online can create efficiencies for customers, brokers and insurers and has proved particularly successful in the standard SME market. Ian Wainwright asks if it is practical to sell specialist cover over the…
Reportage: Transactional websites - what are the benefits for brokers?
By automating personal lines underwriting and providing clients with more than just a place to go window shopping, Kevin Child explains how brokers can benefit from creating fully transactional websites.