iParc plans put on ice as insurers end proceedings

Plans to build an industry-wide real-time pricing hub for personal lines have been shelved after a group of five insurers, comprising Allianz, Ageas, Markerstudy, Covea and LV=, decided not to proceed with the project.

The decision was reached at a meeting with industry standards body, Polaris, in mid April.

Speaking to Insurance Times, Polaris sales and account manager Phil Nunn said: “Leading up to April we put together some proposal options for them, including different approaches for how they might meet the challenge of real-time pricing and data enrichment.

“But the insurers came together and decided between them that for the present they would not proceed with iParc, which was the specific solution approach that had been discussed.

“There were no express reasons given, but the view was that during the discussion and fact-finding process we went through, a number of things emerged in the market that addressed their original aims or concerns anyway and they concluded that they would see how that shapes up. So we didn’t proceed any further.

“From a Polaris perspective, our job was to bring information together and help them make a decision. We did that bit. They’ve made their decisions, so what happens next will essentially be up to that group of people.”