Viewthisarticleonline:http://www.insurancejournal.com/news/international/2013/03/25/285839.

htm

UKOnlineAggregatorsNowHave40%ofPersonal
P/C,butnotCommercial
OnlineaggregatorshaverevolutionizedthedistributionofpersonallinesinsuranceintheUK,concludesa
studyfromFinaccord,amarketresearch,publishingandconsultingcompanyspecializinginfinancialservices.

However,thestudyalsofoundthattheyhavenotrepeatedthisachievementforcommercialnonlifeinsurance.
Asaresulttheaggregatorsrelyonspecialistbrokersforsellingcommercialliability,propertyandprofessional
indemnityinsurance.

Finaccordsnewreport,AffinityandPartnershipMarketinginUKCommercialNonLifeInsurance,analysesthe
distributionofcommerciallinesthroughawidevarietyofactualandpotentialaffinitydistributionpartners.

Itsannouncementsaid:Theseincludeprofessionalandtradeassociationsplusothertypesoforganizations,
suchasautomotiveassociations,banks,buildingsocieties,onlineaggregatorsandbrokers,sportsorganizations
andtradeunions.

Intotal,Finaccordinvestigated1,320organizationsandfoundthat535ofthemofferatleastonetypeof
commercialinsurancepolicy,or40.5percent.Thisrateexceeds50percentforthreecategoriesofdistributor,
namelysportsorganizations(84.2percent),onlineaggregatorsandbrokers(70.0percent)andprofessional
associations(53.2percent).

However,thereportpointsoutthatsportsorganizationsandprofessionalassociationstendtoofferalimited
rangeofpoliciestotheirmembers,concentratingoncommercialliabilityandprofessionalindemnityinsurance,
respectively.

Incontrast,onlineaggregatorsandbrokerstypicallyoffermultipletypesofcover,includingcommercial
liability,motor,property,andprofessionalindemnityinsurance.Acrossallthesecategoriesofdistributor,only
tradeassociationsofferedafullerrangeofpolicies,onaverage.

Nevertheless,thereisamajordifferenceinapproachbetweenmoretraditionalinsurancebrokerssuchas
Endsleigh,HastingsDirectandSwinton,andonlineaggregators.Whilebrokersusuallyofferpoliciesthatthey
intermediatethemselvesinthenormalmanner,themajoronlineaggregatorshaveusuallyformedpartnerships
withotherbrokerstoactontheirbehalf,withtheexceptionofcommercialmotorinsurance.

FinaccordsingledoutTowergateUnderwritingsYOURInsurancebrandworks,whichworkswithboth
Comparethemarket.comandConfused.com(forcommercialliabilityandpropertyrisks),whileSimplyBusiness
isusedbyGocompare.com,Moneysupermarket.comandTescoCompare(forcommercialliability,propertyand
professionalindemnityinsurance).

Byitsnature,commercialinsurancerequiresmorespecialistunderwritingthanpersonallinesandthereare
fewerunderwritersactiveinsomeofthesefields,soitmakessenseforaggregatorstoworkwithbrokersfor
thesepolicies,saidDavidParry,ManagingConsultantatFinaccord.

Commercialmotorinsuranceisanexceptionwheretheaggregationmodelworkswellinfact,affinityand
partnershipmarketingschemesrunbymosttypesofdistributorrarelyincludecommercialmotorinsurance,
becauseaggregatorsandspecialistmotorinsurancebrokershandleitbest,headded.

AcrossallofthedistributorsexaminedbyFinaccord,brokerswerefoundtobethemostimportanttypeof
partnerusedforcommercialaffinityschemes.Thestudyidentifiedatotalof1,345oftheseinitiatives,counting
apartnershipfor,say,commercialliabilityandmotorinsuranceastwoseparateinitiatives,sincedifferent
underwriterscanbeinvolvedforthedifferentrisks.Intotal,morethan80percentofthesecommercialaffinity
schemesareorganizedthroughabroker,sometimeswithonespecificinsurerusedtounderwritetherisks.

Finaccordsresearchalsoascertainedthataverylargenumberofbrokersareactiveinthecommercialaffinity
market,sinceitinvolvesawidevarietyofdistributorsacrossarangeofindustries,eachwithdifferentinsurance
needs.Finaccordidentifiedatotalof228brokersinvolvedinatleastoneoftheseschemes,runningacombined
totalof1,264initiativesbetweenthem.

Inthishighlyfragmentedmarket,onlyfourbrokersheldashareof3percentormoreofthistotal,ledby
Towergate,whichistheclearleadermeasuredbynumberofpartnershipsat8.9percent.ItisfollowedbyRK
Harrison(4.0percent),Bluefin(3.3percent)andGilesInsuranceBrokers(3.0percent).Inadditiontotheonline
aggregatorsmentionedabove,TowergatealsoworkswiththeRACandseveraltradeassociations,notablythe
FederationofSmallBusinesses.

Parrynotedthataffinityandpartnershipmarketingcanrequiredetailedknowledgeofanindustrysector,and
RKHarrisonworkswithseveraltradeassociationswhereithasthisexpertise.Theotherapproachistohandlea
highvolumeofsmallbusinesses,whichisthestrengthofSimplyBusiness.Towergateisexceptionalbecauseit
combinesbothoftheseapproaches,forexampleactingasbrokerformembersoftheUnitedKingdomHome
CareAssociationandforcustomersofConfused.com.

Source:Finaccord

MorefromInsuranceJournal

Today'sInsuranceHeadlines|MostPopular|InternationalNews