Property is our business

Not many brokers can boast 30 years of booming business, but Hampshire-based commercial property insurance broker Keelan Westall, can do just that.

Established in April 1976, when the Brotherhood of Man's Save Your Kisses for Me topped the charts and Rocky was pulling in the cinema crowds, today the broker packs a hefty punch of its own, with almost 100 employees and a gross annual income of £30m.

This is a long way from its set-up with small offices in Woking and only six employees. It began life as a general broker and estate agency and then became a niche commercial property insurance broker in 1990.

Growth has been impressive in that time: an average year-on-year rise of 20% with a focus on organic growth. To put this into perspective, it now takes Keelan Westall just two hours of business to write the commission income earned during the whole of 1976.

When Insurance Times last saw Keelan Westall chief executive Ashley Canning in July 2004, he enthused about hopes to more than double its premium income to £70m by 2008.

This target is still an ambition but no longer in this timeframe. The new target is by the end of 2009.

"The soft market hit us hard," admits Canning. "We have had to go back to basics in some ways and have more realistic targets, but we are stronger for it."

So how will this ambition be fulfilled?

"We have expanded our insurer panel which allows us greater flexibility in underwriting each risk," he says. "We have also launched some ancillary products to complement our core product range, but we are staying firmly in the property arena."

Canning is also looking at some acquisition targets to assist with overall growth. Rumours abound that Keelan Westall is to take over London-based underwriting agency AUA Insurance, as part of this plan.

New focus

Canning, who joined the company in 1990, made his presence felt from the outset with the then new focus on commercial property. He was promoted from deputy chief executive to chief executive in July 2003, when founder Alan Westall took a step back to become non-executive chairman.

Although there was a small flirtation with residential property, Canning says: "We chose to sell our residential property book about two years ago because it would have required heavy investment to compete with the direct sellers and cover the potential cost of regulation around dealing with retail clients as defined by the FSA."

Canning is determined to ensure that the future is bright for Keelan Westall and, as such, the focus is about being proactive. The emphasis this year has been on a major recruitment campaign, the creation of a new internal telesales function, and the expansion of key accounts.

Canning says: "Our number one priority this year is sales, sales and sales."

Keelan recently promoted Elaine Gear to senior development consultant, a new role designed to support key client growth areas.

And the company announced the appointment of Clare Roberts as telesales manager, responsible for building and developing a telesales function designed to promote the company's products to brokers.

"Our underwriting agency is still a key area for us and we continue to invest in staff and are constantly striving for growth via our network of business developers and also through the telesales unit.

"We recently added an online submission form facility which greatly increases the efficiency for our brokers in the way they communicate risk details to us.

"We are also considering investing in a full online quotation facility for our brokers and are currently undergoing a feasibility study on this."

Keelan Westall's internal underwriting agency and sales department will continue to work side by side in a bid to nurture and grow existing relationships with brokers as well as resurrect dormant or previously untapped business.

Canning is keen to develop products to tie-in with affinity groups and he has invested in an in-house telesales team to assist with this area - again, still linked with the property market.

"Also, we have developed products and facilities in the European market which support many of our clients' aspirations as they head into new markets in search of greater yields.

"We have been laying the foundations for the year ahead, particularly within the sales department.

"This includes the appointment of two new business developers and Nicky Pepper as sales director, plus considerable restructuring to help facilitate expansion."

Keelan Westall recently added Royal & SunAlliance to its portfolio of major blue chip insurers. It also has access to Norwich Union, AXA and Zurich for specially agreed terms and premiums.

Like many brokers who have grown, the spectre of FSA regulation hasn't been that haunting at all.

"I would say that regulation has brought more professionalism to the industry," Canning says openly.

"I don't really have any time for those who complain about rising paper mountains. Regulation is the price we pay for being a modern business environment. It is needed. And other financial sectors have endured it and not collapsed, so we will continue to survive as an industry."

But the down side for Canning is that he doesn't foresee the market turning for some time.

"I believe that the market will continue much as it is with premiums remaining generally flat for at least another year.

"Sadly, there are still some very silly deals being done by certain insurers in order to buy in high profile accounts. This trend will curtail over the next 12 months as the insurers' profitability is hit by this wayward pricing."

So has the tough market made Keelan Westall reconsider its business model of being focused on commercial property?

"Definitely not, property is our business," affirms Canning.