Revealed: Who won at the Insurance Times Awards 2022?

In December 2022, Insurance Times closed out the year with a bang, returning to London’s Grosvenor House Hotel on 8 December for its flagship awards ceremony, the Insurance Times Awards.

Held in the Park Lane hotel’s glamorous Great Room, around 900 insurance professionals gathered to see which firms and personalities would be taking home gold, silver or bronze prizes across 36 award categories.

Hosting the evening and dishing out awards was comedian and actor Romesh Ranganathan, who is best known for standup shows such as The Cynic and The Ranganation.

However, it was Insurance Times editor, Katie Scott, who opened the award proceedings, highlighting that the Insurance Times Awards aims to “recognise creativity and innovation” over the last year.

Addressing attendees, she noted that the insurance sector has faced a number of challenges in 2022, such as the Russia-Ukraine war, inflation and the cost of living crisis.

Scott continued: “Your successes and propositions will be recognised tonight as we dish out awards covering everything from excellence in technology and risk management to diversity and inclusion and professional development.”

One of the most prestigious awards of the night – The Insurance Times Industry Achiever Award, sponsored by Close Brothers Premium Finance (CBPF) – was presented to The Clear Group’s executive chairman, Howard Lickens, who started the intermediary organisation back in 2001.

This nominated award strives to recognise an inspirational individual in the market who continues to push boundaries.

Lickens said: ”I was vaguely aware of the Achiever Award but I was flabbergasted when my name was called out. I love what I do and have enjoyed helping to create The Clear Group over the last 20 years but, as ever, running a business is a team sport and without a great team I’d have achieved precious little.”

As for the evening’s other nominated award winners, Allianz’s chief executive, Colm Holmes, was named Insurer CEOs’ CEO of the Year. 

Holmes said: “I’m honoured and humbled to have won the award and it was a pleasure to accept it in a room full of fantastic industry talent. Being chief executive of Allianz means that I work with wonderful, dedicated colleagues who are always looking out for our customers and broker partners.

”Winning this finishes 2022 on a high for me but watch out 2023, we’ve got a lot in the pipeline.”

Meanwhile the Broker CEOs’ CEO of the Year accolade went to Mike Bruce, group chief executive of Global Risk Partners (GRP).

Bruce said: “It’s been a great year for GRP, recognition from your peers makes it extra special. I’m fortunate in working with a dynamic and entrepreneurial set of people, both within GRP and in the wider Brown and Brown family.

”The team at Brown & Brown have made us all feel extremely welcome, and our shared values and culture makes me excited about our prospects for the future. 2022 was an exceptional year for all of us at GRP, but we’re determined to make 2023 even more successful.”

The event’s sponsors included the AA, Ageas, Aviva, Carpe Data, Carpenters Group, CoreLogic, CBPF, Insurance DataLab, Markerstudy, Premium Credit, PremFina, RSA and Tata Consultancy Services.

Markerstudy encouraged guests to pose in Markerstudy-themed trilby hats, which were given out as party favours. The best photo of guests wearing the hats won a dinner for two people at The Shard.

Collecting multiple prizes

Insurer Zurich had a winning streak scoring a hat trick. 

It won the gold for the Customer Champion of the Year - Insurer category, sponsored by Tata Consultancy Services, as well as the Excellence in ETrading accolade, sponsored by Premium Credit. The judges felt that Zurich displayed “dedication and extreme focus”.

Zurich also won the overarching Commercial Lines Insurer of the Year award, sponsored by Insurance DataLab. 

Richard Pash, Zurich’s UK chief customer officer, said: “Awards like these are testament to the hard work of our teams and what they do every day to exceed the expectations of customers and brokers. We’ve focused hard on making it quicker and easier to interact and trade with us, and we’re incredibly grateful to be recognised for our efforts.“

Insurers Ageas, Aviva and Covéa Insurance were also able to pick up numerous trophies on the night.

Ageas, bagged the gold prize in the Excellence in Professional Development category for its Activate, Ascend and Accelerate programme - this impressed the judges with its “mixed digital and in-person approach to professional development”. Ageas’ Eve Underwriting Development Programme also secured the insurer a bronze award in this same category. 

Loss adjusting firm Sedgwick, meanwhile, took the silver prize.

Ageas additionally received gold in the Insurer Diversity and Inclusion Excellence category for clearly demonstrating the impact of its in-house programme that saw a significant increase in women applying for senior management positions. Allianz Holdings got the silver award, while Covéa Insurance took home the bronze prize.

Aviva, meanwhile, picked up the coveted General Insurer of the Year accolade, sponsored by CoreLogic. This award recognises the best UK insurer covering both personal and commercial lines.

Adam Winslow, UK and Ireland GI chief executive, Aviva, said: “We are thrilled to have won the Insurance Times General Insurer of the Year for an incredible ninth year in a row. This award is fantastic recognition of the valuable work we do for our brokers and customers and reflects the dedication, hard work and expertise of our people right across the General Insurance business.

“What makes these awards so special is that they’re voted for by an independent panel of industry experts and recognise everything we’re doing to support the industry, our brokers and our customers – from our continued investment in our regional and digital broking channels, to working to create a more sustainable future.

“We won’t be resting on our laurels, though. We have ambitious plans for the coming year, and we look forward to continuing to work with and support our brokering partners throughout 2023 and beyond.”

The insurer further won two silver awards across the Challenger of the Year and Excellence in Underwriting categories.

Broker Hubb received the gold prize for the Challenger of the Year accolade - with the judges celebrating the firm’s “bold and brash approach to commercial lines for SMEs” - while The Movo Partnership took home a bronze trophy.

Insurtech Flock was the gold winner of the Excellence in Underwriting prize, thanks to its “novel solution” in a sector that is “traditionally difficult for underwriters”. MGA CFC Underwriting won the bronze award in this category.

Aviva additionally nabbed a bronze trophy too in the Marketing Campaign of the Year – B2B category. Intermediary business Aventum Group won the gold award here with its “big, glossy [and] impressively cohesive rebranding campaign”. The silver prize went to Paymentshield.

In terms of Covéa Insurance’s other wins, the insurer won the Personal Lines Insurer of the Year accolade, sponsored by Carpenters Group, as well as bagged silver in the Excellence in Technology – Fraud Claims category. 

The Excellence in Technology – Fraud Claims gold winner was software company Quantexa, while law firm Horwich Farrelly received the bronze award.

Market-leading recognition

Insurtech Sprout.ai picked up two silver awards on the night - for Claims Partner of the Year and Excellence in Technology – Claims. However the gold winners in these categories were Corporè and RightIndem respectively.

The judges liked RightIndem’s entry because of its “tangible results and a compelling customer proposition”. The bronze prize in the Excellence in Technology – Claims category went to Alphatec Software.

Blink Parametric, meanwhile, won the Excellence in Technology – Service Provider prize for its “clear and simple proposition”. Horwich Farrelly nabbed the silver award for this category, while Genasys Technologies took the bronze trophy.

The Ageas sponsored Personal Lines Broker of the Year accolade was awarded to BGL Insurance, followed by IGO4 with silver and AllClear Travel Insurance in bronze spot.

As for the Commercial Lines Broker of the Year award, sponsored by RSA, gold here was given to Ascend Broking Group for its “strong organic growth” and innovative technology platform. Radius Insurance Services won the silver prize for this category and Clear Insurance Management received the bronze award.

The gold winner of the Independent Broker of the Year accolade, sponsored by Aviva, was H&H Insurance Brokers due to its “community focused approach”. The silver trophy for this category went to Jukes Insurance Brokers, while Sutton Winson bagged the bronze prize.

In the Specialist National Broker of the Year category, Rhino Trade Insurance bagged the top spot, closely followed by McCarron Coates in silver second place.

Excellence and innovation 

The Insurer Innovation of the Year award, sponsored by Carpe Data, saw Markel UK bag the gold trophy for providing clients with timely support. Policy Expert, however, won the silver prize and Axa took home the bronze.

Genasys Technologies was able to nab another award as well - it achieved the gold accolade in the Business Partner of the Year – Technology Supplier category thanks to its partnership with MGA Arma Karma. Data enrichment firm Percayso Inform won the silver prize for this category, while Nuvalaw in joint venture with Trust Arbitration picked up the bronze trophy.

Fleet management support company Samsara won the gold prize for Excellence in Risk Management – the judges loved the “real-time coaching aspect of Samsara’s proposition”. Meanwhile, CFC Underwriting picked up the silver award for this category and LCP received the bronze trophy.

In addition, the gold title for the Marketing Campaign of the Year – B2C went to Arma Karma for a “really impressive, 360-degree marketing effort” that used social media platform TikTok. Insurer More Than won the silver accolade here and Policy Expert nabbed the bronze prize.

As for the Excellence in Technology – Property Claims gold award, this went to WeatherNet. The firm wowed the category judges with a localised technology solution that used real-time weather data to benefit customers and insurers. AICL, trading as Saga Group, and CoreLogic won the silver prize here and insurer Axa gained the bronze trophy.

The Customer Champion of the Year – Broker accolade, sponsored by Markerstudy, went to Clegg Gifford and Co for dealing with an “incredibly difficult situation in a very complex area of the market”. Ascend Broking Group picked up the silver prize and Uinsure nabbed the bronze trophy.

Digital-centric broker BGL Insurance won the gold award for Excellence in Technology – Distribution, which was sponsored by PremFina. Broker Insights picked up the silver accolade in this category while insurtech Novidea bagged the bronze prize.

The Excellence in Professional Development – New Talent gold prize went to insurer AIG for its “360-degree approach to its apprenticeship programme”. Loss adjusting company Crawford and Company picked up the silver trophy.

Meanwhile, VisionTrack won the Excellence in Technology – Motor Claims gold award for a “truly game-changing” artificial intelligence solution. Motor Repair Network picked up the silver trophy and AutoProtect Group received the bronze prize.

Software company Addresscloud scooped the gold award for Excellence in Technology – Customer. The judges said the broker’s proposition was unique and “put the policyholder at the centre”. Sentiance won the silver accolade while Ignite and Wrapper Insure gained a bronze trophy.

Romero Group won the gold accolade for the Diversity and Inclusion Excellence award, thanks to its “refreshing and innovative approach” in implementing a diversity and inclusion strategy. Law firm RPC gained the silver prize here and ISC Group secured a bronze award.

Premium finance company Premium Credit won top spot in the Business Partner of the Year category - the judges thought the firm went “outside its usual activities specifically to help the customer”. The silver award for this category went to DAC Beachcroft and the bronze prize was given to Gauntlet Group Appointed Representative Network.

Insurtech Flock bagged gold in the MGA Challenger of the Year category, marking its second win of the night due to its “innovative insurtech approach to commercial fleet insurance”.

NBS Underwriting, meanwhile, walked away with the MGA Initiative of the Year gold award, with judges describing the firm as a “standout performer”. FloodFlash received the silver trophy and Camberford Underwriting took home the bronze prize.

The Legal Claims Partner of the Year gold award was won by Nuvalaw in joint venture with Trust Arbitration - the judges liked its proposition that led to “speedier and lower cost claims”. DWF Law scooped the silver prize for this category.