UK Commercial Insurance Broker Survey H1 2008 - Almost Three Fifths Cited That Their Insurance Partners Were Helpful and a Further 16.2% Cited That They Were Very Helpful

DUBLIN, Ireland--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Research and Markets (http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/db79bc/uk_commercial_insu) has announced the addition of the "UK Commercial Insurance Broker Survey H1 2008" report to their offering.

Introduction

Datamonitors commercial insurance broker survey analyses the opinions of 154 respondents covering their views of opportunities for growth as well as threats to their business, their experiences of working with different insurers and their attitudes towards FSA regulation.

Scope

Information on what brokers find satisfying and dissatisfying about their insurance partners. Broker attitudes towards acquisitions, broker networks and consolidation in the industry. Data on the impact of FSA regulation on the market.

Highlights

Large national brokers and direct underwriters posed the largest threat to respondents, with more than 15% of brokers citing direct underwriters as a high threat to their distribution model while a further 14% perceived large national brokers to be a high threat to their business. Excellent claims handling, a high level of personal service and rapid query response are all valued highly by brokers. Excellent claims handling was valued most, with 79.9% of respondents citing this, while a high level of personal service and rapid query response were rated as important by 76% and 75.3% respectively. Most brokers surveyed by Datamonitor felt satisfied with the level of assistance they received in complying with FSA regulation from their insurance partners. Almost three fifths cited that their insurance partners were helpful and a further 16.2% cited that they were very helpful.

Reasons to Purchase

Gain an insight into broker attitudes towards the greatest threats in the market Understand broker appetite for acquisitions and future consolidation Gain a greater understanding of the issues facing commercial brokers in the UK.

Key Topics Covered:

OUR VIEW 1

CATALYST 1

SUMMARY 1

ANALYSIS 2

Direct underwriting, particularly in the commercial motor insurance market, represents a large threat to commercial brokers 2

Direct insurers and large national brokers are seen as the biggest threats to commercial brokers 2

Commercial motor insurance is seen as being most at risk from the direct channel 3

Norwich Union, Allianz and Zurich are seen as good insurance partners, while excellent claims handling is the number one driver of broker satisfaction 4

More than two third of brokers cited Norwich Union as a particularly good insurer to deal with 4

Excellent claims handling is most valued in an insurer 5

There are opportunities for some insurers to improve their service levels 6

AXA has the most scope to improve its service level to its broker partners according to survey respondents 6

Poor service is the main driver of broker dissatisfaction with their insurer partners 7

Organic growth and the targeting of new customers are the main ways brokers hope to grow. However, many have grown or intend to grow regionally through acquisitions 8

Brokers are primarily looking to grow their business organically 8

Consolidation of the intermediary channel looks set to continue 9

Regional growth is the main motivation behind planned broker acquisitions 10

Around a fifth of brokers acquired another broker in the last 18 months 11

Brokers join networks chiefly for access to a larger panel of insurers. However most remaining brokers do not intend to join one 12

One third of intermediaries belong to a broker network 12

Brokers joined a network to access a larger panel of insurers 13

Most brokers do not intend to join a broker network within the next 18 months 14

Despite consolidator interest, most brokers do not intend to close or sell their business 15

A large proportion of brokers do not intend to sell or close their business 15

Broker consolidators have contacted half of the broker market regarding possible acquisitions 16

Swinton has been the most active in its approaches to other intermediaries 17

Adherence to FSA regulation can be costly for brokers and, even though the majority of insurers offer good advice, brokers would like more assistance with documentation 18

The vast majority of firms estimate that FSA regulation is imposing costs on their annual turnover 18

Insurance partners have generally been good at helping brokers deal with FSA regulation 19

However, the majority of brokers would like more assistance with the speed of documentation 20

Awareness that the FSA is revisiting mandatory commission disclosure is high, but many brokers feel its introduction would have a negative impact 21

A large percentage of brokers are aware that the FSA is revisiting the issue of commission disclosure 21

Mandatory commission disclosure is seen as having a negative impact on brokers 22

APPENDIX 23

Supplementary data 23

Methodology 27

Further reading 28

Ask the analyst 28

Our consulting 28

Disclaimer 28

List of Tables

List of Figures

For more information visit http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/db79bc/uk_commercial_insu

Source: Datamonitor