UK General restructures its branch network

UK General has unveiled the latest stage of its strategy for the SME commercial market.

The company, which came together after the merger last year of Primary General and Longhawk, is in the final stages of a strategic review which it claims will make the business one of the UK’s leading providers of product and distribution to niche and specialist markets.

UK General chief operating officer Michael Warren also confirmed that Fortis will act as capacity provider for SME business and Rural, its specialist agricultural insurer.

Warren said: “We are delighted to have Fortis on board as our main capacity provider. Our partnership with them creates a strong platform for profitable growth in our chosen markets.”

Regarding its SME commercial strategy, Warren said UK General will centralise its underwriting, processing and some other back office activities at the Leeds headquarters. "We know from our research that our brokers need us to provide quotes quickly and efficiently, they require access to our best underwriters and want rapid claims processing, and a centralised operating model will enable us to achieve this.”

The company said will continue to maintain a local presence through its network of UK General business development managers.

It is embarking on an IT investment programme which is expected to be fully operational by the beginning of next year.

“The IT programme is further proof of our ambition to be a leader in our chosen markets, and that servicing the needs of regional independent brokers is a core part of our business strategy,” Warren said. "We are, moreover, fully committed to growing our regional businesses in both Scotland and Northern Ireland, where a local presence is essential.”

Warren acknowledged that current market conditions remained tough, and there was little sign of rates hardening. “The marketplace is crowded, competition intense, and there are new players entering all the time. Brokers tell us that quality underwriting and razor sharp service are, alongside pricing, the major drivers of success; our restructuring plans illustrate our determination to drive continuous improvement in all these areas.”

He said UK General would review some non-specialist business lines where there was intense competition, such as hotels, motor trade, take aways, D&O and professional indemnity, and switch the focus to specialist and niche lines, such as property owners, commercial combined and tradesmen. "There will be a small number of people leaving the business as a result of these changes, but we will do our best to make sure that, wherever possible, they exit on a voluntary basis.”

Concluding, Warren said he expected this restructuring to position UK General for growth in the coming months. “We are fully focused on completing our restructure by June this year so that we are well positioned for future growth,” he said, adding: “We want UK General to become the number one provider to the independent broking community, and our new business model will give us the chance to service their needs to the very highest standards.”