Despite doubts surrounding the re-launch of online insurance broker Screentrade, the service is still on target to sell 75,000 policies this year.
Lloyds TSB Insurance Services bought Screentrade from technology company Misys last year and, under its new ownership, continued to sell home, motor and travel insurance online.
Screentrade is Lloyds TSB's alternative online insurance service, which is a completely separate brand from Lloyds TSB Insurance. According to Screentrade chief operating officer Nigel Lombard, both sites have "different products and a different ethos".
At the time of the re-launch, one technology expert said he gave Screentrade "a year" before it was "brought back into the Lloyds TSB fold". Another industry source said many online brands were being replaced by parent brands and he expected Screentrade to follow this pattern.
Lombard said that despite this initial scepticism, Screentrade was doing "pretty well". He said the site was being improved and now offered a `loan finder' function, which searched for unsecured loans.
"We are trying to see if the Screentrade brand stretches to selling loans," he said.
Screentrade has also overhauled its car insurance sectionand now provides a quick and accurate quote. "We think the site is top hole and are planning enhancements already," said Lombard.
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