Marsh creates binding authorities division

Marsh has announced the creation of a dedicated binding authority and consumer placement service in London to meet the needs of clients globally.

The broker said the team will be the access point to the London and European insurance markets for Marsh’s small and medium enterprise (SME) and consumer business segments in the North American, Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA), Asia and Pacific regions and will have responsibilities for binding authorities in Marsh UK.

Toby Pollard, a managing director at Marsh, will lead the team, reporting to Mike Melling, CEO of Marsh ConsumerConnexions EMEA.

Binding authorities make use of insurance brokers’ distribution capabilities by delegating underwriting authority to them from Lloyd’s and London market insurance companies. This enables brokers to enter into contracts of insurance and to issue insurance documents on behalf of the insurer.

Martin South, CEO of Marsh UK said: "Binding authorities allow us to source insurance more efficiently and cost-effectively for our clients, especially for SME and consumer clients. While such offerings are not new, no other broker provides access to the full breadth of products on a global scale, with a full end-to-end binding authority solution, now offered by Marsh.

“In these tough economic times when our clients are scrutinizing every cost, we believe there will be a large appetite for our binding authorities’ capability worldwide. We have brought together our market-leading placement expertise across product lines and the appropriate administration functions into one, cohesive business division. This will also enable us to maintain the highest standards of transparency and regulatory compliance.”

Pollard said: “The binding authority business division will provide Marsh’s clients around the world with an easy and reliable access point to the London and European markets and ensures consistency of quality, compliance, speed and accuracy of documentation. The binding authority team will deliver bespoke coverage solutions for clients that reflect their affiliation, association or profession and through economies of scale, deliver this in the most cost-effective way with optimum efficiencies for Marsh.

“This dedicated resource will be a single point of access to the London and European markets for any of Marsh’s worldwide offices requiring binding authority-related placement solutions for industry, association or consumer product groups.“

Hank Allen, CEO and President of Marsh Global ConsumerConnexions, said: “I am pleased that Global ConsumerConnexions has direct access to the latest market offerings and most senior decision makers in the London and European insurance markets for all major classes of business through this dedicated placement group. Our clients’ complex needs are best served by a group of dedicated specialists such as this division affords.”