Is selling up the only way?

Speculation continues as to why NU chose to pull the plug on the broker chain. Some see it as a further nail in the coffin of the high street broker, arguing that the decision was a cynical move to push business through NU Direct.

If so, the recent revelations that HHH staff are recommending that, owing to botched renewal documentation, clients use a local broker rather than NU Direct is perhaps an amusing irony.

Yet many see a bleak future for the small personal lines broker. The rise of supermarket affinity deals and the growth of the direct channel have squeezed the broker channel. Brokers are looking for options - selling their personal lines books being one of them. But that may not be the only choice (page 29).

The arrival of mega-brand Virgin into the market has also raised the competition for brokers. Virgin Money managing director Mark Hodgkinson has big ambitions (page 6), but will the venture be a success? Virgin's offering is underwritten by UKI, which also underwrites Tesco, so the dynamics between the two will be one to watch.

But there are opportunities for brokers in the personal lines sector, the secondary intermediary market being one potentially lucrative area for the entrepreneurial broker. We take an in-depth look at how the brokers might take advantage of this sector (page 23).

High net worth insurers are also looking for new opportunities to develop their products. There is a growing trend to include additional covers to protect against stalking and identity theft, but is this a positive development (page 11)?

The issue of uninsured driving has come under the spotlight, notably with Professor Greenaway's examination of the matter. And the Motor Insurers' Bureau, the organisation set up in 1946 to compensate the victims of untraced and uninsured drivers, has not escaped criticism from the insurance industry.

Ashton West has been the MIB chief executive for just over a year. He reveals how he is turning the organisation around (page 15).