PowerPlace is key as Towergate hunts online trade

Towergate chairman Peter Cullum says the PowerPlace commercial pack is “number one priority” for the company.

The founder of the insurance giant said he expected PowerPlace to hit its £1bn GWP target by 2012.

PowerPlace is the commercial quote and back-office package that runs off the Towergate-owned Open GI software platform.

Towergate shelled out £276m for Open GI two years ago, making it the largest deal to date.

Cullum, speaking after Towergate Underwriting’s ‘Looking into the Future’ event last Wednesday, said: “[PowerPlace] is our number one priority for the next three years.”

He had told the audience earlier that investing in technology would help Towergate against competitors such as Direct Line. He said around 39% of the very small SME market is controlled by e-trading. “Online trading will decide the future of the SME market.”

Cullum also revealed that Towergate would look to improve commissions as it emerges from the economic downturn.

“The one advantage we do have is that our model enables us to negotiate better terms and conditions than what might be seen as the norm, and we are happy to pass that on to guys who work closely with us,” he said.

The Towergate founder said he would continue to invest in sales and marketing, while keeping costs down. “We have been through a pretty drastic process of saying ‘We have to reduce costs’, and now we have reduced those costs.”