Fee and commission income (2000): £12.9m
Pre-tax profit (2000): £2.4m

Address:
1 Great Tower Street
London
EC3R 5AH
Tel: 020 7407 7144
Fax: 020 7378 667 ...

Fee and commission income (2000): £12.9m
Pre-tax profit (2000): £2.4m

Address:
1 Great Tower Street
London
EC3R 5AH
Tel: 020 7407 7144
Fax: 020 7378 6676
Email: info@windsor.co.uk
Website: windsor.co.uk

History: Windsor is a long-established Lloyd's insurance broker that wrote commercial and marine insurance at the beginning of the century. The recent renaissance in the company's fortunes dates from the appointment of David Low as chief executive in 1996.

A root-and-branch restructuring of the group followed and has led to the creation of an independent broker, focused on a number of specialist markets and comprising five principal operating divisions.

These are: professional indemnity, sport, commercial, London Market and financial services.
This diversity has meant that, despite the difficult trading conditions that have characterised the insurance market in recent years, Windsor has been successful in both developing business and improving profitability year on year. Such diversity also encourages valuable cross referrals and this is becoming an increasingly important feature of the group's development.

In recent years, the company has been able to invest heavily in information technology, enabling the group to cut costs while delivering an improved service to its clients. The launch of Insurethelot, its business-to-consumer website, took place earlier this year.

A team of dedicated internet professionals has been recruited to develop the technology platform that will support the company's e-commerce activities, and the company believes it is well positioned to exploit the opportunities that the internet offers.

Chief officer: David Low
Biography: David Low has more than 35 years' experience in the insurance market. He built Regis Low, a Lloyd's insurance broking company, into an operation with a turnover of £25m, which he eventually sold to Steel Burrill Jones. After an absence of three years from the industry, he acquired a 12% holding in Windsor and joined the main board in July 1996 as chairman. He assumed the combined role of chairman and chief executive in January 1997.

Major shareholders: Abtrust Fund Managers, DH Low, Jupiter Asset Manangement
Main lines of business: Commercial, professional indemnity, fine art and antiques, sport, financial services and aviation.

Number of UK branches: 4
Number of employees (average for 2000): 167

Greatest technological advance: Windsor worked closely with software suppliers to launch B2B insured, a comprehensive system that will allow brokers to place business and produce the required documentation online.