Paul Williams plans to set up MGA and expand panel at Brightside

Brightside’s new chief executive Paul Williams plans to expand the its panel of insurers and increase profits by setting up delegated authority and managing general agent agreements.

In December Brightside slashed its profit forecast for 2013 by 20% after being hit by capacity restrictions.

Southern Rock, an insurer controlled by former chief executive Arron Banks, pulled its capacity. It had previously underwritten 30% of Brightside’s policies.

Brightside went on to issue a £6.8m share call and expanded its panel, which currently comprises Markerstudy, Ageas, Aviva, AXA and Groupama.

Williams’s appointment was announced in November. He was previously UK broking director at Towergate and responsible for all insurer relationships.

He said: “Initially, I will focus on a number of key areas to grow the profitability of the book. These will include negotiating deals with key insurers, expanding our insurer panel and redefining our insurance capacity through the introduction of delegated authority and managing general agent agreements to augment the group’s income streams.

Brightside will also launch several niche brands and boost its distribution through affinity schemes, such as the agreement to sell commercial vehicle and public liability insurance to trades people on RatedPeople’s database.