Insurance news

It is worth reminding ourselves why this is such a vital process for the market, and more importantly for its business partners and clients. Today, the London insurance market produces almost all its contracts as documents – often in Word. While this has meant that underwriters and brokers have the flexibility to create bespoke contracts, that comes at a price. These manual processes mean delays and errors and our clients are paying the cost of transacting business in this analogue fashion. And they are not alone. Brokers and underwriters are undertaking labour intensive processes to extract data, as well as not being able to take advantage of automation including portfolio analytics.

By allowing business to take place on the basis of a digital exchange of data, the electronic binding of the risks and a fully digital contact lifecycle, everyone in the insurance value chain will benefit from:

• Capturing a minimum amount of structured data at the point of bind will reduce re-keying.
• Reducing errors and queries by having clean and accurate structured data.
• Extracting data will be fast.
• Claims handling will be improved by access to structured customer and risk data.

Ultimately, we want the market to move to a fully computable contract, a contract which can be read and understood not only be humans, but also by machines. The first stage was defining what data was required and the market has agreed the CDR. Next is identifying who puts in what data and when, so that data can flow to everyone involved in the contract. Then it is how to structure that data in contract and that is the iMRC.  All of this will ensure that accurate, ACORD standardised data will flow through the entire insurance transaction lifecycle with minimal human intervention.  It will be fundamental to the success of our transformation for open market placement.

The first step on the iMRC journey is updated MRC guidance. This will specify all the data that is needed downstream, so everyone knows what is required. The second part of the iMRC is being far more specific as to how certain data elements should be represented.

What we are not proposing is that all contracts conform to any one specific format – that is for the firms themselves to decide. But it will mean they are required to include the essential data and that it is in a prescribed fashion. While the consultation is underway, the Data Council will be conducting a full review of the amendments that are being proposed to ensure they do not compromise any legal and regulatory requirements.

The launch of the iMRC does not mean there will be a move to fully digital contracts immediately, however, it is an exciting first step on the journey. But this is the market’s contract, so we want the market to tell us what it thinks.

Please get involved and visit the LMG website – Market Standards – London Market Group (lmg.london).

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As a result, Sedgwick’s latest Recall Index reached the market at a critical juncture, providing an essential reference for manufacturers and retailers seeking an objective and timely perspective on past, present and future recall data and product safety trends. The European ‘State of the Nation 2022’ brand protection report offered readers a year-in-review look at recall data and trends from 2021 and early 2022.

Discussing the report in a recent webinar, Chris Occleshaw, product recall consultant, international at Sedgwick Brand Protection highlighted that its findings are sourced from safety regulators, government resources, and research and interviews conducted with the firm’s strategic partners – which include insurers, law firms and communication companies.

“There is value in analysing recall detail from the previous quarter,” he said. “However, a core purpose of the Recall Index is to go a little bit further and help you plan for changes that may impact your business or firm, or potentially present risks to you as a brand. As part of our index, we get insights from our partners who are normally from legal or regulatory backgrounds, and we leverage their expertise to try and predict what’s around the corner, what’s looming on the horizon, what can learn and what steps can companies take to actively mitigate some of these risks.”

The report highlighted that Brexit and COVID-19 were the two most notable disruptions which impacted the UK and EU markets in 2021. Significant supply chain challenges have resulted from both of these, with businesses forced to adjust what would have been normal operations two years ago – and the supply chain has yet to recover from this immense disruption.

“Recalls were up in every industry in 2021, with the exception of toys, which saw a 28% decline in events compared to 2020,” Sedgwick’s report found. “The toy industry did however see the expected spike in the fourth quarter, which accounted for 38% of all recalls for the year. The pharmaceutical industry saw the biggest jump with 372 recalls, a 48% increase over 2020. Electronics experienced a 45% year-over-year increase in product recalls. While clothing saw a 25% increase, children’s sweatshirts alone experienced a 200% increase from the year previous.”

As outlined in Sedgwick’s cross-market survey, there are sweeping changes ahead for all industries. In many cases, regulators are working to update laws written 20 years ago, before the widespread adoption of online marketplaces and connected devices. The report revealed that while the goal of these changes is to protect consumers, and sometimes the environment, these updates can cause challenges for businesses that may need to make significant adjustments to their business processes to comply with new regulations.

Read more: Sedgwick unveils European product recall index for Q2 2021

In terms of where the product recall landscape goes next, Sedgwick highlighted that the ongoing global health crisis that is COVID-19 means continued uncertainty in terms of supply chains, normal business operations and regulatory oversight.

“Regulators in the UK and EU are looking at updates to old legislation across several industries to reflect risk to consumers from technologies that were not in use when the regulations were written,” the firm stated. “This includes threats from the technology itself – such as data being hacked from connected devices. It also means technology shifts in how goods are sourced and purchased thanks to online shopping.”

The team at Sedgwick emphasised that while it is impossible to know all the longer-term impacts of these regulatory changes, it is evident that firms need to plan for risks across a variety of areas, including:

• Business interruptions
• Supply chain challenges
• Regulatory and legislative changes
• Financial impacts
• Product updates, upgrades, and warranty work
• Product recalls and market withdrawals
• Data, privacy, and cybersecurity issues
• Innovation and advancements in technology
• Constantly shifting consumer demand
• Customer and partner apprehension

“While no one wants to admit that they will face a product recall,” Sedgwick said, “if plans to mitigate such instances are tested and updated – and become as routine as other business processes – then when the inevitable occurs, both your brand and bottom-line will remain protected.

“Working with an expert partner to leverage their experience and insights can help deliver significant saving in regulatory and litigation costs, as well as time and internal resources. In addition, their expertise will help you honour your commitments to customers, supply chain partners, industry groups, and regulators, while protecting your reputation among the stakeholders that matter most.”

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Aquila Taekwondo, Sidcup London, is one beneficiary. It will use the funds to pay for venue hire and equipment for the classes it runs for children with disabilities.

Thanet Wanderers Rugby Union Football Club, Broadstairs, will use its grant to better promote rugby among girls in the Thanet area of Kent.

Beacon Hill Football Club, Surrey (pictured above), bought special frames for children with cerebral palsy to play the game using its grant.

“With this donation, we look forward to building throughout the next season and beyond,” said Neill McWilliams, frame football coach for the club. “This incredible donation will have a real impact enabling children with cerebral palsy to enjoy football.”

As the worldwide insurance partner for the Olympic and Paralympic movements, Allianz Insurance head of brand and social responsibility Carolyn Rich said the company was “passionate about the power of sport”.

“This year we took the opportunity to support clubs who have, or would like to have, programmes which focus on diversity and inclusivity,” Rich said. “We know the important impact that sport has within a community and we’re very happy to support the amazing work local clubs are doing to ensure everyone can benefit.”

The next round of funding will provide support to clubs looking to implement new initiatives and improve coaching. Nominations open on Sept. 5.

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That fervent picking apart of what each figure means, where it came from and what its implications are for the future is a well-worn ritual, started in childhood and borne cheerlessly into adulthood. The problem with the autopsying of the way things are is the open invitation it offers to considering what might have been and what ought to have been – twin considerations that hold little water when dealing with absolutes.

There is, of course, value to be found in critiquing results but all too often it’s a time-consuming affair that yields fewer insights than might be expected for the time invested in its practice. And so, it was with an open mind to the suggestion of a substitute that I recently came across the suggestion of an alternative tradition – a managerial strategy known as a pre-mortem.

Seemingly coined by the research psychologist Gary Klein, a pre-mortem sees team members “assume that the project they are planning has just failed—as so many do—and then generate plausible reasons for its demise”. In doing so, those with misgivings are able to voice them at the outset of a project in a bid to future-proof its success.

I confess I was initially quite dubious about the wisdom of engaging in such an enterprise – it struck me not so much as putting the cart before the horse as resigning the horse to the pasture and the cart to firewood before you’ve actually looked at either. But the more you dig into the mechanics of the strategy, the more sense it makes, particularly with respect to the insurance profession.

By its very nature, insurance needs to be forward-looking. The ambition to future-proof businesses is embedded in the very DNA of risk management. In a recent interview, Marsh’s James Crask highlighted that without a focus on resilience measures, the ability to proactively mitigate effective business continuity measures is throttled.

Between Brexit, COVID, the cost-of-living crisis, rising energy bills and the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, there is no shortage of wolves at the door and it’s understandable that so many businesses are deploying the tried and tested recourse of worrying about tomorrow, tomorrow. But the reality is that most businesses have never faced such a maelstrom of combined economic, social and political factors hitting at the same time.

Tomorrow is being written by today, and today is looking increasingly uncertain. Insurance businesses are in the unenviable position of having to share that message and create the resilience structures that when put in place might mitigate its worst excesses. True resilience requires a Janus-esque approach to risk – where the eye fixed on the present and the eye fixed on the future are sharing what they’re seeing and finding those patterns that inextricably link that vision.

Right now is the best time for businesses to be evaluating the likely success of the strategies, measures and procedures they’re putting in place to weather the storms they’re facing. The insurance profession needs to communicate that far more important than the question of ‘where are we now?’ is asking ‘where we will be in 12 months?’

And no pre-mortem investigation is going to be perfect, or even necessarily accurate, given how rapidly our PESTLE environment is shifting. It’s a sad indictment of the times that we’re all living through but there really is no time like the present to worry about the future. But a retrospective examination will simply come too late – and ‘too late’ is not a fair or fitting epigraph for the businesses that make up our communities and economy.

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Read more: Auto salvage agent Copart UK swoops for green parts specialist Hills

Discussing the deal which was announced last month and is subject to approval by the CMA, Pocock noted that the thought process behind the acquisition was based on the same question asked of all the business’s strategic decisions – what do our insurance customers and partners want from us?

“We are quite strong in this market segment,” she said. “And most of our customers were saying ‘we love what you do on the salvage side but – following Brexit, Ukraine, COVID and with the cost of everything going up and with so many environmental factors to consider – can you also do green parts for us?’

“They were also very much aware that there isn’t too much succession planning going on in the green parts industry… so they were questioning how to future-proof this part of the sector. And it’s not just about insurance repairs or bodywork repairs, it’s also about second life for engines and mechanical repairs.”

After assessing the market, Hills Motor was quickly identified as a strong fit, both culturally as the two firms share similar values and digitally-focused mentalities, but also geographically as the acquired firm’s location between two industrial hubs – Manchester and Liverpool – made for a great match. It’s a complementary addition, she said, and the news has resonated very well with Copart’s customers.

“Our ethos is ‘they ask, we deliver’,” Pocock said. “And that’s been the secret to our 40-year success so far – it’s our innovation. We’re incredibly innovative. We’re a listed company that is run like a family business. We make sure there are no politics, we just make instant decisions and deliver. And those dynamics are what excites me most about working here.”

Given the financial turmoil being experienced by so many across the UK right now and the increased spotlight that has been shone on ESG practices, it’s little surprise that green parts are having their moment in the sun. But Pocock highlighted how important it is that companies all across the auto value chain keep the green parts initiative in the spotlight and make sure it is built for the long haul.

“We will 100% be using our marketing machine to educate people more and more about the benefits of green parts,” she said. “Because some of the smaller businesses haven’t had that platform. We will absolutely be able to sell to our repairers and to mechanical repairers and a much wider audience. So, we’ll be doing our bit to promote reuse and recycling.

“And we’ve started to overcome that COVID blip of parts availability with manufacturers getting production back on track. But while some of that emergency piece is over, the education and changes that have come about post-COVID are here to stay. I think future generations are demanding more, because they do want to preserve the planet. So, I do think younger people will be more accepting of having used parts fitted to their vehicles as they are less materialistic in that way.”

The green parts initiative is an integral element of the wider ESG programme, she said. There’s the environmental aspect of saving carbon every time you reuse a part, and preventing more raw materials from being used. And also, repairing cars rather than disposing of them is a much more sustainable way of doing business. At Copart, 70% of its cars are repaired while 30% are recycled, so promoting the value of taking a sustainable approach to the auto sector is critical to Pocock’s ambitions as a leader in the space.

Once the acquisition of Hills Motor is fully signed and sealed, the next step will be integrating the business into Copart, she said, and she’s looking forward to working with the teams involved in that piece. Continued growth is high up on her strategic agenda for the year ahead, with Copart planning to expand its fleet of vehicles and move into electric vehicles.

“We’re looking at how we can constantly enhance our business and streamline what we do because we know the insurers are under huge price pressure with premiums and with claims costs,” Pocock said. “We work really hard to see what we can do to benefit them through our part of the process. And further M&A is definitely on the cards, as is organic growth and expansion.

“We’re also currently going through a process of looking at solar energy and planting trees. We’ve already got 120 acres of green space in our portfolio so we’re looking at how we can create more biodiversity in our own green space. And having completed it myself, we’re now putting all our staff through carbon literacy training as well… So really, everything is on the agenda. The one thing we don’t do is slow down.”

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“This has never been about the strategy… and we have not engaged the company on it. We think strategy is a matter for the executive and the board and not for shareholders. We were not consulted in the past on strategy changes, and we are not seeking any change to that. The company is seeking to characterise this vote as being about strategy while fully knowing from their dealings with us that this isn’t the case.”

The CIO said Phoenix does not want R&Q shareholders to be misled when they decide on their vote.

Channon also revealed that Slater Investments – which earlier this week expressed its intention not to support Phoenix during the upcoming vote – is similarly not happy with the current leadership at R&Q.

By way of background, he noted: “In April we were contacted by another significant shareholder, Slater Investments, who were very unhappy with the management of R&Q and in particular the deal agreed by management to sell the company to Brickell for 175 pence a share. We exchanged views and although like Slater we were not happy with the terms of the proposed sale, we said we’re not prepared to get involved unless there was a management change and Ken Randall came back.

“Slater asked us to approach Ken Randall and ask him if he would consider coming back which I did. Following a series of meetings with Ken, who cares passionately about R&Q, he agreed to do that for a short period to help stabilise the business. I believe Slater and others also wrote to him and were pleased that he was willing to return. Upon the takeover failing, Brickell also agreed to work with other shareholders to recapitalise the business and work with the board to make the necessary changes to management.”

Randall, who co-founded R&Q with Alan Quilter more than three decades ago, retired in 2021 and was succeeded by William Spiegel as per the company’s succession plan.

Spiegel, in Channon’s strong personal and Phoenix’s professional view, is “not the right person to be running R&Q,” with the CIO going on to assert that the executive chair is actually doing damage to its intrinsic value. Phoenix is calling for Spiegel’s removal as an R&Q director over supposed shortcomings in terms of competence, alignment, and integrity. Channon detailed all these categories in his letter to R&Q shareholders to illustrate Phoenix’s position that Spiegel isn’t the man for the job.  

Meanwhile, the investment chief also clarified that there is no agreement of any kind between the fund management company and Brickell or Randall in relation to the ongoing issue.

“William and the board have attempted to portray this as William Spiegel vs Ken Randall saga,” wrote Channon. “That could not be further from the truth. The exigency is in removing an executive that is impairing the business and not acting faithfully and in shareholders’ best interests. Ken Randall was simply engaged as he is a trusted and highly knowledgeable former custodian of the business and in our view the perfect interim steward.”

He added that Phoenix did not seek the role of activist and that they were in fact looking to exit but got involved in the present situation because they were asked and they do care. 

“My 15 years of involvement in R&Q made me believe it was worth trying to help,” declared Channon. “I have attempted to share with you the background to what has been going on so that you can understand our motivations. It’s a failure of governance that has led us to this point, but now at least all shareholders have an opportunity to do something to save the company they own.”

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Book your tickets now: Women in Insurance UK

“The reality is, most businesses make 100s of decisions a day and it would be too arduous and too time-consuming for every decision to be held up to a problem-solving [lens],” she said. “So, we need to understand the difference between problem-solving and decision-making. There are deicisions that can be made pretty quickly and effectively, but a problem isn’t a decision that needs to be made.

“What is a problem? A problem is when a decision can’t be made because you don’t know how to make the necessary decision. And that’s where problem-solving comes in.”

What especially caught Brown’s interest about the upcoming panel and the topics it will be covering is that problem-solving is something that everybody has to do on a day-to-day basis – and so it’s a subject that resonates across every level of an organisation. Everybody has their own way of managing and solving problems, she said, but often don’t recognise these as specific tactics. It is by recognising them for what they are that these techniques can be categorised and shared.

Read more: Harbour Underwriting MD reveals the twin traits required to succeed in business

For Brown, what lies at the very core of effective problem-solving is recognising the need not to have a preconceived notion of what the right answer is when looking for solutions. When people approach a problem armed with the belief that they already know the right way to resolve it, she said, they close themselves off to other possibilities. And they lose sight of one of the most powerful weapons in any leader’s armoury – the diversity of thought and experience of their team.

Taking an inclusive approach to understanding the range of skills and perspectives required to solve a problem is essential, Brown said, and she cited how the thought leader Dr Edward de Bono’s ‘Six Hats’ approach to problem-solving has shaped her own thinking about this critical skill. His theory breaks down the six ‘hats’ that members of a team can ‘wear’ to learn to separate thinking into six clear functions and roles.

As represented by de Bonos, the white hat is for identifying important information, the yellow hat for optimism, the black hat for spotting risks and difficulties, the red hat for feelings and intuition, the green hat for creativity and the blue hat to manage the thinking process. His idea, she said, is that if you have everybody looking at a problem from the same angle, they will all come up with a similar solution. But by mentally switching ‘hats’, you have the opportunity to find new strengths and achieve a new outlook. 

“It’s a problem-solving solution that goes back to diversity,” Brown said. “Because when you ask [people] to consider things from another perspective, they might not be comfortable at first but you’ll be amazed at the insights they can come out with. And they’d never have put themselves in that position otherwise.

“[…] When you’re building a very diverse team, as I have, you’re bringing together people who come from all walks of life and who bring very different things to the table, sometimes it can almost bring too much information. So, by putting on these ‘hats’, you restrict the thinking to what’s required while opening it up to those who don’t usually think about things in that way. It’s a really nice, logical approach to problem-solving and solution finding.”

Read more: Mental wellbeing at work – the four key structures

The advantages and opportunities that result from effective problem-solving are not just an internal consideration for insurance businesses but also can impact customer outcomes. When you’re in the insurance market, Brown said, it’s really all about finding solutions that match the problems that clients face.

But insurance solutions providers need to make sure their services are actually matching clients’ demands and not just some pre-judged idea of what those are. Insurance needs to work backwards to find the right solutions by speaking to all the relevant parties, she said, and that includes the customers, the brokers and the consumer associations.

Personal lines is starting to really grasp this she said, but commercial lines is lagging somewhat behind in this area. What providers need to recognise is that when you really start listening to your customers and trying to understand their concerns, they love you for it.

“You need to take people with you through every step of solving a problem,” she said. “Taking people on that journey is really important, as is showing every one of your steps along the way. They can’t be left wondering how you got from A-Z when you came to a solution. People need to know why you made certain choices and how you came to your conclusions. And it can sound like an obvious thing but the truth is that a lot of people just don’t do that.”

You need to communicate all those little tidbits that signpost where you are and where you’re going, she said. Because big decisions need collaboration and they need all those little decisions to come together. All of those things enable solution finding and they enable everybody to buy into that solution and buy into it being the right thing to do.

“And then if it ends up not being the right thing to do,” she said, “the good news is that you fail fast. And you can say ‘right, the decision we came to wasn’t right, so let’s go back to the drawing board and start again.’ And when you do that, you bring everybody along with you and you make them part of that journey.”

Booking is now open: Women in Insurance UK

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In a Press release, the group revealed that Witney, Oxfordshire-based Mosaic Health has been an appointed representative of PCH since 2015 and that its founder Anne Cullinan is due to retire after completion. Meanwhile, PNMCO Limited was owned by Paul Mills, a healthcare consultant trading under the PCH brand since 2005. Mills will also be stepping away from his role following deal completion.

Both portfolios of clients consist of consumer PMI and SME health policies.

Commenting on the news, Darren Perkins, PCH sales director highlighted that the deals will bolster PCH’s customer reach and bring both portfolios under direct control. PCH has worked well with Cullinan and Mills, he said, and it’s great that the business has been able to help create value from their work. He added that PCH wishes them both well for the future.

Going forward, Perkins said, both portfolios will be integrated into PCH and Equity Health Solutions (EHS), the specialist consumer division of PCH.

“Moving forward Paul and Anne’s clients will be looked after by PCH and EHS consultants,” he said, “and they can expect the same high standards of service as they received previously.”

Both deals follow on from PCH’s previous acquisitions of Equity Health Solutions in November 2021, and Amba Care & Wellbeing in February 2022.

Stephen Hough, PCH managing director, said: “We intend to continue to grow inorganically alongside our organic growth, and remain keen to talk to businesses and individuals looking to retire or wishing to partner with us to further grow their businesses.

“It is fantastic to be able to provide a vehicle for entrepreneurs to grow their own business, under the guidance of PCH, and have a simple exit strategy with financial rewards.”

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Read more: New MGA incubator platform rolled out for insurance entrepreneurs

“We’ve got $650 million of gross written premium currently under management based on their forecasted projections for 2022,” he said. “We’ve got 29 classes of business, representing a good blend of insurance, reinsurance, insurtechs, traditional quality underwriting MGAs and a few consumer propositions. So, we’ve got a nice blend in terms of our client matrix, which has been quite healthy.

“And what’s underpinning a lot of that is the continued rollout of our multi-territorial strategy [in line] with our desire to have a number of strategically placed MGA incubation models scattered around the globe. So, that’s Europe, the UK, the US and we’re just about to launch in Asia with a partner and our first MGA, and we’re also looking at LATAM as well. That’s in addition to spreading out a bit more in Europe – with a move into Southern Europe as well.”

Working across so many different classes of business and locations has given Maleary a keen insight into the challenges pressing on the MGA market and he noted that top of the agenda for MGAs remains the question of securing risk capital. Finding the right risk capital partner is the biggest challenge across all classes and territories right now, he said – and several factors go into determining the right partnership, including an aligned approach and vision, and a longer-term approach to success.

Read more: Pro MGA Solutions CEO on the future of MGAs

Meanwhile, while the regulatory framework has become slightly tougher, for businesses that are structured accordingly it’s a case of following the process. This is where Pro MGA Solutions’ offering really comes into its own, he said, as the team has spent significant time ensuring its oversight frameworks are robust and meet, if not exceed, regulatory requirements in every territory in which they operate.

“As to how the high inflation environment is impacting MGA development and scaling, a lot of that is happening around the investment side and the working capital element of it more than anything else,” he said. “[It’s] around the control of costs and ensuring that costs are not spiralling out of control in terms of whether that’s general salaries or general servicing fees, or costs for IT and technology.

“I think a lot of it hasn’t really hit home yet. And I think we’ll probably find as we come through the remainder of 22 into 23, what we’ve all been experiencing around inflation will start to bite and there’ll be more focus around cost management and more focus on embracing things that will help to streamline that.”

It will be interesting to see what happens on the investment side of things, Maleary said, as the current lay of the investment landscape depicts a positive outlook for MGAs. He is seeing this environment as extremely robust in terms of entities looking to invest in MGAs in multiple ways – whether that’s angel investors, private equity, venture capital, or institutional investors.

“There still seems to be some significant options out there,” he said. “But as we go through the remainder of this year and into next, we’ll just have to wait with bated breath to see how that’s impacted because of what’s going on in the world around inflation.”

As it stands, Maleary said, the appetite of risk capital partners to embrace the MGA route to market is a real opportunity. He has seen a “significant increase” in the opportunities available for MGAs to partner with risk capital partners which are really thinking about their own growth strategies and who understand that the MGA proposition is a key part of that.

Read more: Pro MGA Solutions CEO discusses the evolution of the MGA sector

“Despite what you might call hard markets in some areas,” he said, “I’m still seeing strategic relationships being built with a number of MGAs during that hard cycle, which I think is good and robust and a healthy thing for a risk capital partner to do. I’m seeing that with more partnerships wanting to be created, not just between the MGA and the insurer, but also the reinsurer.

“I’ve seen quite a lot of coming together and like-mindedness around creating a proposition that is streamlined, perhaps light-touch, cost-effective but able to deliver good, quality profitability and ultimately a good, quality service and proposition to the customer. And the MGAs that have entrepreneurial flair, that are a bit more innovative and that are happy to partner accordingly… I think, they’ve got significant opportunities to create long-term relationships.”

Pro MGA Solutions prides itself on taking a partnership-first approach to growth, and Maleary noted that to him a great partnership is about being aligned, transparent and trusting. With his deep-rooted history and experience in the MGA market, he is able to guide firms along every step of their strategic journey, he said, and offer real guidance on what they should be looking for as they shape their medium-to-long term vision.

Critical to his team’s approach, he said, is finding the right MGAs to partner with and while Pro MGA Solutions is designed in such a way as to be everything to everyone, the company has a careful selection process. That’s of paramount importance as it keeps that partnership-first approach front-of-mind throughout the entirety of the relationship – and it’s a model that has worked very successfully to date.

“We’ve had a busy 2022 already but we’ve a few more things to do in the remainder of the year,” he said. “We’ve got a bit more strategic growth to do, a bit more positioning as we go into 23. We’ll probably have a few more clients come on board, I anticipate we’ll end up securing 15 clients in total for the whole of 22, which is a similar number to 21. So, we have a very healthy pipeline reflecting that this is a very healthy market when it comes to the world of the managing general agent.”

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Read more: Revealed – which insurance market is poised for considerable growth?

With 11% of all households having already welcomed a new pet, while 10% more plan to do so, the shifting makeup of the market is clear – as is the opportunity for insurers to step up and support pet owners with new products and services. A recent report by Global Market Insights revealed that the value of the pet insurance market is expected to reach US$14.9 billion (approx. £12.31 billion) by 2030, growing at a compound annual growth rate of 7.1% between 2022 and 2023.

It’s with these market conditions in mind that the UK insurance giant Admiral announced it is expanding its insurance offering with the launch of Admiral Pet. Admiral Pet is the group’s fourth insurance product to be underwritten by the insurer – alongside motor, home and travel insurance. Where before customers could buy pet insurance through the brand via a third party, now all pet policies will be 100% Admiral, with pricing, underwriting, and customer service handled in-house.

Speaking with Insurance Business UK, Pritpal Powar (pictured), Admiral’s head of pet, touched on how the offering came about and how it fits in with the current lay of the pet insurance land in the UK.

“There has been significant growth in the last two years due to a boom in pet ownership linked to COVID, and people spending more time at home,” he said. “It will be interesting to see how this develops as we move to more hybrid ways of working and a full return to work across some industries.

“The market itself has some potential to grow still, with an estimated 50% of dogs and cats uninsured. Providers who can offer a good balance with a range of valuable products, affordable premiums and effortless service, will be able to benefit from this potential growth.”

There’s little doubt that the big increase in pet ownership during COVID has fuelled growth in the pet insurance market, Powar said, but there other factors that have contributed to the evolution of this space. The evolution of technology has seen virtual vet services now become commonplace and the sector is seeing growing interest in other tech, including wearables to help customers be even better at taking care of their pets.

Read more: Admiral Group appoints new group chief risk and compliance officer

As head of pet, he said, he’s responsible for building and leading the team – his main responsibility is to ensure the business meets the needs of customers, allowing it to scale and grow. Exploring how Admiral Pet first came about, he highlighted that the insurer had been trading pet insurance through a white label partnership for some time and built a modest base of customers with limited focus.

“But it was evident to really grow the business we needed to do things differently,” he said. “This involved bringing in some pet expertise from the market in a range of key roles and recruiting talent from across Admiral to supplement this. The idea for the business was to take the things that Admiral does really well and apply them to pet insurance, combining this with key customer expectations on product and service to deliver a compelling proposition to the market.”

Admiral Pet differentiates itself from Admiral’s previous pet insurance offering in a variety of ways, Powar noted. It provides simpler products that offer more to customers as well as more competitive and targeted pricing, new and innovative customer journeys, and the inclusion of new value-added services such as 24/7 video vet consultations as standard.

As to the next steps of the rollout of the offering, Admiral Pet has its path forward clearly set out, he said: “The next phase of our plan is to build and grow the business, taking the feedback from our customers and market to continuously improve our products, services and pricing.”

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