If brokers haven't already got a strategy in place or aren't working on one, in three to five years' time they won't have a viable business. Imarket is a critical part of trading with insurer partners.
According to Sirius' research, only 20% of SMEs thought their broker even had an online presence where they could do anything other than just read a web page.
SMEs don't just want the ability for brokers to get quotes to them, they want to pay their bills, be able to look at their accounts online and look at policy information online.
But growth in web services could mean a diminished share of brokers' commercial business. We don't want that to happen and we believe that by using IT correctly (and obviously Imarket) brokers can safeguard against that and put themselves in a competitive position.
It's not just for small risk, it's for mid to larger risk as well, where again e-commerce can help remove a lot of the drudgery, not the expertise.
Most importantly, the cost of Imarket represents 10 pence in the pound, as opposed to 35 pence, which is a massive saving for the major players.
Hosted by comedian and actor Tom Allen, 34 Gold, 23 Silver and 22 Bronze awards were handed out across an amazing 34 categories recognising brilliance and innovation right across the breadth of UK general insurance.
