Brokers can now be online and selling insurance within just two days with a free service from internet company Quote and Buy.
Quotes, mid-term adjustments, renewals, and cancellations can all be completed by the customer and fed straight into a back-office system that is hosted by Quote and Buy.
"Having looked at the internet and what was on offer two years ago, we decided to start with a clean sheet of paper," says Quote and Buy managing director James Green.
"The key to this was and is to do it across all personal lines and selected small commercial lines insurance."
The service – currently only available for motor insurance – allows immediate changes in every customer's policy documentation and stores the relevant documentation on the policyholder's computer desktop.
That means, for example, that if a customer decides to add a new driver to their policy, then the change is effected immediately and the desktop documentation is ammended on the spot.
Some software providers claim they have been hamstrung from offering such services because of legal technicalities, but Quote and Buy says it has sought counsel on every aspect of its business and that it is watertight legally.
The sites are co-branded in the names of the broker and Quote and Buy. The internet company provides the back office system.
The service is charged for on a transaction basis. Prices range from 50% per transaction to 20% per transaction, depending on the volumes of business the broker provides to Quote and Buy. But the internet company claims the site requires no work on the part of the broker apart from the marketing they undertake.
So far, on motor, Quote and Buy has a panel of 10 insurers available, including Allianz Cornhill, Equity Red Star and NIG, and claims to be close to concluding deals with a further 15.
Further lines of insurance due to be launched over the next few weeks include household, pet and travel. Commercial insurance is expected to follow shortly.
Quote and Buy says the service can offer insurance for all types of driver and all types of car.
