market talk
Andrew Newman
Retain commercial business by going online, says Ecclesiastical
IIB CEO gets stranded in Shanghai
Online vital, say Ecclesiastical
T
hey say there’s no such thing as a free lunch, and in the same way there’s no such thing as a published opinion survey that doesn’t actually help the cause of the commercial interests that back it.
Nothing wrong in that of course, but it was no surprise therefore when Ecclesiastical Insurance launched its new online platform for care and charity risks, that the accompanying survey should be favourable, especially when other online platforms have struggled in this particular sector. The survey provides the answer to that particular question - nearly a third of the brokers who were asked felt that previous platforms had been too complex. But then just under a quarter believed those predecessors had not been able to cope with the highly bespoke nature of care and charity risks.
Over half of British insurance brokers believe that using an online platform to trade with carriers will help them retain
commercial insurance business that would otherwise go direct. According to the survey, 38% of brokers believe that commercial platforms will help retain commercial business, while a further 19% said the platforms will be of “great assistance” in retention.
Smaller brokers placed significantly greater value on platforms as a retention tool. Almost a quarter of provincial brokers said online platforms would help retain business compared with 12% of super regionals and 14% of Top 50 firms. The survey also found that over half of brokers want to increase the amount of business they transact online.
Broker sales director Ian
Wainwright says Ecclesiastical wanted to learn from the lessons of other attempts, to make sure they developed an online platform well-suited to their brokers’ needs. “That’s why we created the platform so it’s quick, simple to use, but flexible enough to handle
Barbara Bradshaw shanghaied! I
t’s a known fact that the Institute of Insurance Brokers’ chief executive officer Barbara Bradshaw is an avid follower of Formula One motor racing. Her close friends might argue that the word’ avid’ understates the position, but whenever the opportunity arises she will often be found not far from the paddock in some far-flung foreign clime.
The journey home from a recent trip to New Zealand gave
4 insurancepeople JUNE 2010
the perfect opportunity to stop off in Shanghai to take in the Chinese Grand Prix. That worked out according to the itinerary, but along with thousands of other travellers at that time the homeward plans were thrown into disarray when a volcano on the other side of the world in Iceland decided the Earth’s crust could do with a sprinkling of newly minted volcanic ash. So, she was stranded in Shanghai, not I understand an
entirely pleasurable experience away from the Formula One circus. The worst part - apart from the usual one of being a stranger in a strange land - appeared to me to be the hour or more spent
daily on the telephone waiting for the overwhelmed Virgin Airlines helpdesk to confirm they had a seat. I bet those telephone queues made her feel really at home!
a wide range of risks within the diverse care and charity market. Speed is one of the key elements we’ve built into this platform. Brokers will be able to go from query to quote in less than seven minutes.” Mr Wainwright confirms Ecclesiastical will be looking at other commercial lines to add to the online trading offering. “As our research shows, platforms are vital for the future of commercial broking, but we don’t want ours to replace the very personal relationship we have with our brokers.
“This isn’t going to mean a reduction in personal contact between our team and our brokers. If anything, it should free up more time for contact when and where it really matters - on more complex and bespoke business. We also believe that platforms like ours need to be backed up by strong customer service, and the ability to pick up a phone and speak to someone, which is why we’ve created a
Ian Wainright
support team and a referral process so that more complex risks aren’t squeezed into boxes they don’t really fit.”
Access to the new platform is via Ecclesiastical’s existing broker extranet, Ezone. Brokers log onto
www.ecclesiastical.com/ezone to request access, or they can contact their development underwriter. Brokers wishing to work with Ecclesiastical for the first time can also do so through the Ezone site.
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