Moorhouse in portal boast

Welsh underwriting giant Moorhouse has claimed its Xbroker is now the most widely used portal among UK brokers.

Moorhouse boss Lyndon Wood told Insurance Times that Xbroker has 3,800 brokers signed up, will attract 30,000 new policyholders in the next year and is currently getting 6,500 commercial quotations a month and converting 15% into new business.

Brokers range from those with gross written premium of £250,000 to more than £250m. Xbroker expects to sign up 600 new brokers over the next 12 months.

Imarket currently has 2,600 broker firms signed up, according to Polaris MD Martin McLachlan. It handles 45,000 transactions a month – McLauchlan cannot say how many create new business.

Moorhouse has almost doubled Xbroker’s agency base since taking over failed underwriting agency Shakespeare from the liquidator 18 months ago. It then had to clear a backlog of more than 3,000 policy issues but has also added new lines to the Xbroker range that includes NU, AIG and NIG.

It has seven product lines from several different insurers and will next month add professional indemnity cover from ACE, with Moorhouse having fully delegated authority.

Mclachlan says Imarket will grow too. Software houses Acturis and Sirius already fully integrate Imarket, allowing brokers to key information in only once for quotes, documents and full back-office functions. Software firm SSP has piloted its integrated system and begun trading and Open GI will begin a pilot in August.

Imarket has 13 product lines from 12 major insurers. “I have no doubt a number of people have set up over the web and have sold a few products but these things will consolidate and they will consolidate where the major insurers are,” he said.Welsh underwriting giant Moorhouse has claimed its Xbroker is now the most widely used portal among UK brokers.

Moorhouse boss Lyndon Wood told Insurance Times that Xbroker has 3,800 brokers signed up, will attract 30,000 new policyholders in the next year and is currently getting 6,500 commercial quotations a month and converting 15% into new business.

Brokers range from those with gross written premium of £250,000 to more than £250m. Xbroker expects to sign up 600 new brokers over the next 12 months.

Imarket currently has 2,600 broker firms signed up, according to Polaris MD Martin McLachlan. It handles 45,000 transactions a month – McLauchlan cannot say how many create new business.

Moorhouse has almost doubled Xbroker’s agency base since taking over failed underwriting agency Shakespeare from the liquidator 18 months ago. It then had to clear a backlog of more than 3,000 policy issues but has also added new lines to the Xbroker range that includes NU, AIG and NIG.

It has seven product lines from several different insurers and will next month add professional indemnity cover from ACE, with Moorhouse having fully delegated authority.

Mclachlan says Imarket will grow too. Software houses Acturis and Sirius already fully integrate Imarket, allowing brokers to key information in only once for quotes, documents and full back-office functions. Software firm SSP has piloted its integrated system and begun trading and Open GI will begin a pilot in August.

Imarket has 13 product lines from 12 major insurers. “I have no doubt a number of people have set up over the web and have sold a few products but these things will consolidate and they will consolidate where the major insurers are,” he said.