Alliance grows
Alliance grows
Alliance Insurance Management has acquired Bernard Knope & Partners, a business insurance agent based in Bury St Edmonds, Suffolk, and associate company Town & County Insurance Services, based near Huntingdon, for an undisclosed sum. Most of Bernard Knope's staff are to be kept on and will continue to serve its existing clients. The Hun-tingdon office is likely to close, with business based at the Bury office.
Missing calls
More than 90% of insurers lose business because they miss customer phone calls, finds research.Call Centre Support finds the industry's inability to predict when most calls would come in was the main reason for missed calls. Less than 24% of companies surveyed had a 24-hour phone service, yet 88% knew that a better response to calls would result in greater customer retention. Most cited staffing and costs as the reasons they did not have more extensive phone services.
Web give-away
Niche intermediary Choicequote is offering visitors to its website the chance to win up to £12,000 worth of prizes. The competition, which runs for three months, will feature three lottery-style prize draws.
Fowles quitsBCWA
Philip Fowles, the sales and marketing director of health insurer BCWA, has suddenly resigned his position. A company spokesperson said the split was amicable but added that there had been differences over strategy and policy. Fowles had been with the Bristol-based company for eight years. BCWA will advertise for a replacement next week.
St Paul snaps up Lutine
St Paul's at Lloyd's has acquired marketing and distribution company Lutine Assurance Services for an undisclosed sum. Lutine Assurance will continue to operate in its current form and retain its identity and management structure. Underwriting will be provided by Cassidy Davis Life syndicate 779. Lutine was set up in 1989 by a consortium of Lloyd's life syndicates and has had a close relationship with Cassidy Davis for the past ten years.
CII and RSA go east
The Chartered Insurance Institute (CII) and Royal & Sunalliance have teamed up to provide technical insurance seminars for students sitting the CII's examinations in China and for other professionals
in the Chinese insurance market. Seminars were held in Beijing and Shanghai and were opened
by senior figures from the Chinese insurance market.
Contract mediation
Project managers the Symonds Group and barristers from Roger Henderson QC's chambers have formed a new contract mediation service called Co-Med. Co-Med will be run by Resolex, a company formed by the two groups, and will concentrate on the construction industry before moving to other sectors such as banking and insurance.
Arrows brand takes aim
Non-fault accident assistance provider 3 Arrows is seeking to work more closely with bodyshops under its new Elite Repairer Scheme brand. Bodyshops will get more repair business in return for the non-fault accident cases they refer to 3 Arrows. For each successful hire referred to 3 Arrows each month, they will receive an additional repair the following month.
Avon invests in marketing CD
Avon has launched an audio cassette and CD to help brokers understand marketing.
It highlights three key marketing areas which research identified was lacking among brokers: planning, direct mail and telemarketing. The recording gives an informative guide through each of the subject areas, and backs up the marketing packs which Avon launched last year.
Ellen drives with Toyota
Ellen Group, the accident managment company, has teamed up with motor manufacturer Toyota GB.
Following ten months of negotitaion, it has acquired 2,000 Toyota vehicles in a multi-million pound deal. Ellen will supply all Toyota customers involved in an accident with a replacement Toyota vehicle while their own is repaired.
Apollo changes
Lloyd's underwriting agency Apollo Underwriting has changed it's name to Munich Re Underwriting.
At the same time dedicated corporate capital vehicle Artemis Capital has been renamed Munich Re Capital. Munich Re Underwriting agency manages Watkins Syndicate at Lloyd's, syndicate 457, for which Munich Re Capital provides 100% of its capacity of £85.6m.
Tyser expands
Lloyd's broker Tyser has expanded its reinsurance special projects division to include an accident, health and life team. The new team is headed by Ronald Reeves who has been recruited from Aon and will join the reinsurance special projects divisional board. He will be joined by Andrew Perkins, also formerly of Aon, to build a facultative and treaty reinsurance, accident, health and life portfolio.
Staff on screen
The Bollington Group is building a database of insurance personnel after spending more than £40,000 on recruitment agencies in recent months. Group administrator Paul Varetto said the group had contracted recruitment expert Gaynor Hadley to help compile the database, although it would continue to use agencies in the short term.
Explaining the GISC
Underwriters Berkeley Alexander have aranged a series of eight seminars across the UK to explain the implications of new regulation under the GISC.The events are free to attend and will examine what the GISC is, how it will affect brokers, and what it will cost. All non-FSA regulated products come under the mandate of the GISC and all Lloyd's brokers will have to join up.
Fuel protesters not alone
More than half of all motorists support the fuel protesters, research from niche intermediary Chaufferplan shows.Support for the pickets is strongest in the north-east of England (81%), while the south-west (41%) is least supportive. Chaufferplan provides alternative transport to policyholders when they are unable to drive.
Growing service
Global insurance technology specialists Sherwood International has expanded the services it provides to Liverpool Victoria, in a new three-year deal worth £8m. The contract makes Sherwood the sole supplier of outsourced services for Liverpool Victoria's legacy life assurance administration.
Expansion is the plan
HEALTH cash plan provider Scot Healthcare is planning a major expansion. The Glasgow-based non-profit organisation has set itself the target of significantly increasing its 1,600 membership.
Scot Healthcare has received a considerable investment boost following its merger with Medicash, another cash plan provider.
New online system
AssureSoft has launched its new online ecommerce system for financial intermediaries with partners Legal & General and Royal & Sunalliance. A further ten firms are undertaking testing, including Norwich Union. Independent financial advisers will soon be able to complete the whole business process from quotation to electronic submission. More than 14,000 IFAs are registered to use Assuresoft's site, Assureweb.
No green card for Europe
MOTORISTS remain largely unaware that they no longer require a green card when visiting Europe.
The discovery was made by direct telebroker Peoples Choice, which continues to receive green card enquiries from motorists. A green card states a driver has the minimum insurance cover for a European country. Peoples Choice policies offer the same cover in the UK as any other European Union country at no extra cost.
Autumn sees price war
An autumn price war has been unleashed in travel insurance. The Online Travel Company is offering a competitive package of cover at £34.95 per person and £89.90 for two adults and three children.
OTC says these rates are up to 70% cheaper than most other travel insurance writers. OTC's website address is: otc-uk.com.
A new bible for bikers
Niche motorcycle insurance specialist Carole Nash Insurance Consultants has developed a website dedicated to motorcycling. Dubbed the new bible for bikers, insidebikes.com includes detailed advice on acquiring new and used bikes, clothing, accessories, security and insurance.
Single parents get it for less
Single parents planning an autumn break will not have to pay the usual ‘extra' adult premium incuded in normal family travel insurance. Preferential Direct has tailored its multi-trip cover for single-parent families at the reduced price of £57.50.
