Biba 2014: Meet the newcomers

The exhibition at this year’s Biba conference is not just about the usual suspects - although they will be out in force. Manchester Central’s vast exhibition hall will play host to 18 newcomers to the conference. The list of Biba first-timers includes a range of companies, from brokers to underwriters and service providers. Insurance Times caught up with some of the companies to find out more about them and why they are attending.

 

Applied Systems, stand A70

Why are they exhibiting this year?

“Biba attracts the largest network of brokers in Europe. Our team is committed to taking part in conferences and events dedicated to driving value for the brokerage community.Biba offers a tremendous programme for the entire insurance channel and  provides practical insights from industry experts to drive greater success for the business of insurance.

“Our brokerage management system, Applied TAM, is one of the most widely used brokerage management systems in the world. Applied TAM has been available in the UK marketplace for over ten years. This year, Applied Systems opened a new data centre in the UK.”

Who from the company will be there?

Senior vice-president of international operations Jeff Purdy, UK managing director of insurer solutions Chris Moseley, UK managing director of broker solutions Joe Sultana.

What’s on their agenda?

“Applied Systems is introducing Applied CSR24, the leading online self-service application, to the UK insurance market this summer. Applied CSR24 has been rapidly adopted in international markets and will now be available to insurance brokers in the UK to provide their customers access to their insurance information through the Internet and mobile devices.”

 

Aspect Business Intelligence, stand A30

Why are they exhibiting this year?

“We have just started to enter the UK insurance broker market and we thought it would be a good time to exhibit the services we have on the market.  

“We are a software company specialising in insurance for both brokers and MGAs. We provide IT assistance for brokers that use the Open GI system and we help them to make the most out of the system, especially those that would not have a full-time IT person on staff.

“Open GI system is sold as completely configurable and brokers usually get training from Open GI, but it still takes time and a certain degree of proficiency to set up and work the system. The services we provide are ongoing or project-based.

“If you want to extract a report to see how many policies your have or what the profile of your book is, we can help you get that information.”

Who from the company will be there?

Chief executive Trish Gallagher, Project support and training head Trish Duggan and analyst programmer Tim O’Brien.

What’s on their agenda?

“We hope to establish a presence, get the brand name out there and expand our broker market.”

 

Blue Insurances, stand A21

Why are they exhibiting this year?

“We are looking at raising our profile in the UK broker market and see Biba as the ideal opportunity. We are one of the leading suppliers of insurance in Ireland and offer a range of solutions to intermediaries in the UK such as wholesale and free branded white labelled booking facilities. 

“Biba will allow us to engage with a number of brokers on a large scale which will hopefully lead to new business opportunities and partnerships being developed.”

Who from the company will be there?

UK business development manager Christian Bennett, Ireland business development manager Paul Downing and UK and Ireland travel manager Jason Whelan.

What’s on their agenda?

“To promote the Blue Insurances brand, meet with existing clients, engage with new brokers and to attend some of the conference/fringe sessions.”

 

Gresham Underwriting, stand E89

Why are they exhibiting this year?

“Whilst Gresham have been around for over 30 years, we are re-launching our brand and website, so what better forum to get that message out to brokers than at the Biba conference? We have led the way in the MGA market with our instant quote system , working with our agents to provide the best . Our stand will take a retrospective look at changes over the last three decades and promises to be talking point especially for the technophiles in the industry.

“These changes have come about following the acquisition of Gresham Underwriting by Tasker Ventures Limited in May 2013.”

Who from the company will be there?

Group chief executive Paul Tasker, group director Barry Reynolds and head of marketing and communications Liz Romano.

What’s on their agenda?

“Biba is a great opportunity to network with brokers but also to attend the sessions to take a look at the future of the industry.”

 

Kingsbridge Professional Solutions, B47

Why are they exhibiting this year?

“Kingsbridge is a commercial insurance brokers, with 50% of our income coming from one particular scheme; professional indemnity, personal accident and a liabilities package; for professional contractors and freelancers. We have been doing it for since 2007 online and we work with a number of accountancy firms who offer accountancy services and recruitment agencies who recommend us to their candidates. Our clients include professional white collar, IT consultants, computer designers and professional engineers.

“For 18 months we have been offering the scheme on a wholesale basis and part of being a schemes provider means we have an obligation to have a stand but we also want to make the most of it.”

Who from the company will be there?

Managing director Steve Wynne, director Tony Bird, head of strategy and operations James Ledingham and six other members of the team.

What’s on their agenda?

“This is our biggest opportunity to get in front of 4,500 brokers – all of whom are our ideal target market. We want to make our stand inviting so that brokers will come and speak to us.”

         

Lime Underwriting, stand C74

What does the company do?

Lime Underwriting started trading in December of 2013 as a specialist managing general agency. It’s part of the US Risk Group, which control $1bn gross written premiums and is headquartered in Dallas. It trades with brokers throughout the UK from its office in Londno and focuses on SME and mid market professional indemnity, directors and officers liability, charities and associations and sports governing bodies. It has just put together a facility to write office package policies.

It underwrites on behalf of both Lloyd’s syndicates and insurers in the London company market.

Who from the company will be there?

Managing director Jonathan Morgan and underwriting director Lindsay Noble

What’s on their agenda?

“It is an ideal time for us to exhibit at Biba this year as a new operation which gives us the opportunity to link up with past, current and new partners and be able to talk through our product offering,” says Morgan.

“We will be demonstrating our brand new Broker Quote and Bind underwriting system, developed by software company VIPR. This is a fantastic solution for our brokers to trade with us.”

 

McLarens, stand F69

Why are they exhibiting this year?

“The broker market is extremely important to us and we enjoy strong support at regional and national levels.  We see this conference as a perfect way to engage with the many brokers who attend.”

Who from the company will be there?

Europe Managing director Graham Smart, executive directors Steven Wallace, Nigel Clarke, Kieran Gallagher, David Gillan and David Walker. Head of construction and engineering Peter Scott, executive adjuster for the north west Dave Watts and Agrical managing director Mike Collins.

What’s on their agenda?

“Our core agenda remains unchanged; we are a practitioner led business with a focus on the provision of niche, technical loss adjusting services in the corporate and commercial arenas.  The conference is a valuable forum for us to convey our ethos, the depth of our expertise and our passion for the delivery of a quality differentiated service,” says Smart.

“We have recently expanded our offering in the construction and engineering sectors and we believe that we now provide the full spectrum of specialist commercial services required by the UK market.  We will have specialists from all disciplines available to meet brokers and tailor bespoke solutions for them and their clients.”

 

Pool Reinsurance, stand D74

What does the company do?

Pool Re is the UK’s government-backed terrorism insurance scheme. It appointed its new chief executive ulian Enoizi in september 2013.

Why are they exhibiting this year?

“The Biba conference gives us a terrific opportunity to meet the brokers who we work with across the country and bring them up to date with what we’re doing to protect business in Great Britain from the threat of terrorism.”

Who from the company will be there?

Chief executive Julian Enoizi and chief underwriting officer Steve Coates

What’s on their agenda?

Promoting the availability of government-backed terrorism cover to the SME sector.

 

QuestGates, stand B59

Why are they exhibiting this year?

In September last year Biba appointed QuestGates as its preferred partner to manage its new valuation facility and the loss adjuster will be showcasing its Biba Valuation Facility for brokers.

Who from the company will be there?

Managing director Chris Hall, directors Alistair Steward and Greg Laker, and client relationship managers Matt Wade and Kirsten Watson.

What’s on their agenda?

“The new Biba valuation facility provided by QuestGates extends beyond a singular buildings valuation service to include plant, machinery and contents, fine art and antiques, and engineering and technology. The facility also includes the QuestGates business interruption survey service, providing a comprehensive review of a broker client’s existing BI cover and gives recommendations to ensure appropriate insurance protection is in place should a catastrophe hit the client’s business.

“There is mounting pressure on brokers to provide quality advice to their clients and we look forward to meeting brokers on our stand to explain how we can assist them with the provision of accurate reinstatement cost assessments, thus minimising the risk of under insurance. QuestGates is also running a competition on its stand to ‘guess the sum insured’ to highlight some of the common challenges and pitfalls of over or under insurance.  The winner will receive a magnum of champagne and a free buildings valuation.”