An insurer panel will be set up, initially to focus on motor
Esure is preparing to launch a broking arm, called Esure Broker.
Former Capita strategic partnerships director Jon Morrell will lead the broker. Its board will include Esure chief operating officer Stuart Vann and finance director Andrew Whitehouse, according to Companies House documents.
Morrell said Esure Broker would operate from one of Esure’s existing offices in Glasgow or Manchester, and that the venture would be looking to hire external staff.
He said Esure Broker was launched because Esure and its subsidiary for women, Sheilas’ Wheels, had been generating many leads that fell outside their underwriting expertise. The new operation will feed these leads back to other insurers.
“Esure is in the right place for this now,” Morrell said. “It’s a fairly mature business – the brands have stature and worth.”
Morrell said the broker would look to launch on aggregators and use direct online traffic to drum up business. It was preparing to talk to Comparethemarket, Moneysupermarket, Confused and Gocompare.
An insurer panel is being set up for the business, which would start in motor and then expand into other personal lines.
The launch of Esure Broker will also help Esure increase its size and revenue as it heads towards an initial public offering, added Morrell.
Esure founder Peter Wood recently announced his plans to buy Gocompare to beef up the business before flotation. Wood wants to increase Esure’s 50% stake in the aggregator by buying out Gocompare chief executive Hayley Parson’s share.
