Allianz targets small brokers

Allianz Cornhill is the latest insurer to confirm that broking on the high street has a long-term future.

Allianz Cornhill personal lines and marketing executive Gareth Jones said that small brokers gave a better quality of service and customers were increasingly service sensitive.

He said, for this reason, Allianz Cornhill had stepped up marketing pressure on high street brokers this year. "In the last three months, 100 brokers have started selling Allianz Cornhill motor products and the number is steadily increasing," he said.

He said the insurer created a telemarketing team this year, which was dedicated to getting more smaller brokers on board.

"This team is geared to encourage product sales, encourage brokers to switch us on to their software systems and to communicate with us," he said.

He said Allianz Cornhill had £400m premium in broker-based business and the majority was motor-related.

But he said he was also trying to grow the non-motor areas of the business.

"We are trying to even the balance of our business between the wheel business, which tends to be very cyclical and the non-wheels business, which is less cyclical," he said.

"Our key objective is to supply an adequate return of capital to our shareholders. If you don't do that, you end up in the kind of situation Royal & SunAlliance is in."

Jones said Allianz Cornhill would not be "driving prices down because we need to be here in the future".

Jones said Allianz Cornhill was not threatened by the volume other insurers generated in personal lines. "The league table of size is macho," he said.

"The league table that matters to me is profitability."

Last month Zurich staked its future on the intermediary market, with a multi-million pound advertising campaignthat advises consumers to call a local broker.