Broker expecting to make a number of redundancies
Personal lines giant Endsleigh has announced it is to close its branches network this year following a strategic a review of the business.
The broker, which was acquired by Zurich in 2002, has entered into consultation with branch sales staff in the light of proposals to close its 119 retail outlets before the end of this year.
In a statement the company said the move followed a strategic review of the of two key areas – the source of future business growth and opportunities to enhance customer service with internet based solutions.
Over 80% of Endsleigh’s enquiries originate from the internet and this figure, the company said, is anticipated to increase further. More than 30% of new business sales are transacted entirely on-line on a self serve basis with the majority of the remainder handled over the telephone.
The statement said: "The Board believes that continued investment in Endsleigh’s already established web based offering, supported by an expansion of UK call centre operations, will greatly strengthen the company’s market position going forward".
Mike Alcock, Endsleigh’s managing director, added: “The internet has rapidly become the channel of choice for people searching for insurance, often after office hours.
"We have very successfully capitalised on this growth area and over the past 5 years our client base has grown significantly. Unfortunately, over the same time period, the number of people visiting our branches has dwindled to an extremely small number.
"Clearly our company resources must be aligned to consumer demand”.
To coincide with the proposed branch closures, Endsleigh plans to create new regional based relationship teams throughout the UK.
Around 50 existing sales employees will continue to service local relationships, particularly within the education and graduate community.
The company claimed the strategy would effectively double the current number of relationship managers delivering a more effective solution to a core part of the company’s activity.
Alcock said that redundancies were inevitable. He added: “In addition to the relationship teams, wherever possible we would look to retain staff to work at our three UK call centres or at our head office so that redundancies could be reduced.
"If the proposal goes ahead following our consultation with employer representatives, then those staff who are unable or unwilling to take up alternative positions will, unfortunately, have to be made redundant."
