Insurer extends small broker support after trial generates 81% rise in new accounts
Allianz Cornhill has declared its small broker support service pilot a success after an 81% increase in new business.
The insurer said this contrasted with a 14% downturn in business placed by the "control" group of small brokers, which did not receive an enhanced service offering.
Allianz Cornhill Commercial broker development manager Lloyd Hanks said the offering will be rolled out to the rest of the South East over the next 12 months, with the rest of the UK to follow.
"The big decision we face now is whether to have one centre for the UK to handle this offering, or two," said Hanks.
Under the pilot, small brokers had access to a dedicated team and marketing support to help them develop their Allianz Cornhill accounts. Hanks said the insurer was recruiting to expand the number of "telephone account consultants" handling business for the small brokers.
He said the pilot had also seen an 87% increase in development calls relating to larger commercial business.
But the enhanced offering will not include any remuneration deals for small brokers. Hanks said they will be able to take advantage of these deals when their accounts have grown large enough to be taken out of the scheme and passed on to the local Allianz Cornhill branch.
In addition to the small broker offering, the insurer has announced plans to grow its property owners account as part of a push on commercial property.
Allianz Cornhill Commercial property manager Tony Hutchins said the insurer wanted to grow its "sizeable" account by a further 25% over the next two years.
"We want to grow the account as much as we can," he said.
The push on property owners is part of a general move to grow the insurer's commercial property account, said Hutchins.
Allianz Cornhill is looking to set up dedicated property owners teams in Birmingham, Leeds and Glasgow, to work alongside the existing London team.
' Allianz Cornhill has launched a motor trade facility with Broker Network, as part of its push to grow its motor trade account.
Broker Network chief executive Grant Ellis said the Broker Network Underwriting branded scheme is due to launch on 1 July. He said special ratings and broker remuneration rates had been agreed.
