Up to 19 more roles could go at Towergate Underwriting

The number of people affected by Towergate’s redundancy proposals could be 19 more than the company’s previously disclosed estimate of 50, Insurance Times has learned.

Yesterday, a press release issued by Towergate said “approximately 50 roles would be at risk of redundancy” under plans to restructure its underwriting business.

Towergate yesterday announced that its bespoke underwriting arm would be rebranded as Fusion and combined with its existing Fusion-branded business. Towergate said that some staff would also be redeployed under the plans.

However, a document sent to staff yesterday, seen by Insurance Times, said: “Overall through this announcement we anticipate that a total of 82 employees are affected by the announcement, with 69 impacted through redundancy.”

Asked about the discrepancy, a Towergate spokeswoman said that 69 was the maximum number of redundancies and that “approximately 50” referred to a net headcount reduction after factoring in new appointments.

She stressed that the situation was fluid as the broker is in a period of consultation, which ends on 13 August.

The Frequently Asked Questions document given to staff answered the question “Why Me?” with the following: “While the existing business model has served Towergate well for many years, it is not the right or most effective way of serving our clients and brokers, particularly under the regulatory and competitive environment that we operate in.

“We have therefore looked at the optimum distribution channels for our products in order to streamline as far as possible and to provide efficiency savings as well.”