Soft market still the biggest hurdle, says Bernard Mageean

Bernard Mageean, Broker Network, QBE

New Broker Network and Countrywide director of insurer relations, Bernard Mageean, says he wants to increase the amount of broker business placed through its own insurer panel.

The former QBE Europe managing director of property said he was confident the network’s broker members and insurer partners would profit from the plans.

“Our task is to look at how we change our product set and our proposition for our members, so they can begin to look at writing a greater share of their business through the Broker Network model,” he explained.

Mageean said the biggest obstacle in maintaining profitability was the current soft market.

“Results across the major composites probably haven’t been at their best, we are at the lowest point of a very long soft market cycle, the economy is not in good shape, all of that brings its own sort of pressures,” he said.