Covéa-owned Sterling to keep its brand in HNW

Sterling will keep its brand name in mid- and high-net worth products, says Covéa Insurance chief executive James Reader.

Reader said that the products will be underwritten by Covéa, as expected following its acquisition of Sterling in December last year, but the brand name will be kept.

Sterling’s commercial book would come under the Covéa name. Reader said brokers had been widely consulted over the acquisition. 

He stressed that Covéa itself had undergone major improvements in customer service, being awarded the highest accreditation by the Institute of Customer Service.

He said it was now a case of both businesses feeding off each others strengths to improve customer and broker service as they integrate. 

“Sterling’s brand is about the proposition, the quality of what they deliver, the service, the people, the products. The name is just the badge that sits on the front of it. And the key message we got from brokers was ‘don’t mess with that stuff’”,he said. 

To read the full interview with Reader, click here.