Renovation Insurance underwriter, Chris Harris, gives us the lowdown on what it takes to be a good insurer. Plus, find out what Chris believes the key to a successful renovation project is.
We’re heading to the Broker Expo in Coventry this week, described as the premier event for insurance brokers looking for fresh ideas for nurturing existing business and for sourcing new market opportunities. As the market leader for renovation insurance, with strong relationships with brokers across the country, we’re looking forward to being part of it!
One of the programme elements has particularly caught our eye – a digital think tank that will explore the key issues surrounding the Future of Broking as it develops digitally. The insurance sector is advancing and developing at a fast pace and we are really proud to be part of the mix.
We are told the future of broking is digital – something that we saw coming some time ago, developing new products to meet these expectations and to support business growth. We tell you more here.
So, is technology increasing the workload for brokers?
The very nature of technology is that it is designed to make things quicker, easier and more convenient. That’s very much the approach we’ve taken with the development of our bespoke broker portal – providing the ability to connect into our renovation insurance products at the click of a button.
With resources stretched and time at a premium, our broker web portal has been developed to help our broker partners obtain a quote quickly. This ‘Quick Quote’ system offers an indication of the likely premium from just six pieces of basic information. Reducing the time that it takes for brokers to get quotations and to bind business is important to us all.
Are brokers losing their personal touch in an increasingly digitised world?
Just because technological advancements now support a broker’s work, digital does not mean depersonalisation. At the heart of a broker’s work is their relationship with their client – technology does not remove that or make it any less important. In fact, digital can actually help that relationship.
In any customer situation, we want to be served well. In the renovation insurance sector specifically, our clients want high quality products, expert knowledge and a quick turnaround. Our online broker portal is a key sales aid in that process – our partners can set client expectations early and let customers become more attuned to the costs of this class of business before having to buy a policy. A clear and consistent approach that clients will be happy with – and a great customer experience all round!
In our sector, it’s not just the future that’s digital – but the present too. We are delighted to be working with a growing number of broker partners to utilise our online offerings and are excited about the impact that digital is already making in the renovation insurance area specifically.
Want to know more?
If you place renovation insurance and are not yet part of our broker network, please get in touch to find out more about working with us and accessing our online portal. Once in the portal you’ll have access to the Quick Quote facility, our new MNW £950 product and a full quote and bind system for both our HNW and MNW products that produces policy documentation.
Broker Expo takes place at Coventry’s Ricoh Arena on 12th November 2015, presented by Insurance Age magazine. The 2014 event attracted over 800 representatives from broking firms in the UK. We’ll be live tweeting using the hashtag #brokerexpo if you want to join us on the day – just follow us on Twitter here.
As the broker market leader in renovation insurance, our central focus is on placing the very best insurance for large scale renovations across the country. We work with a substantial network of high net worth brokers to provide the widest cover for each and every renovation project.
We are delighted to be attending the Insurance Age High Net Worth Forum in London today to understand more about future trends, share best practice and network with others in our sector.
One of our personal highlights for today’s event is the keynote speech from Robert Hiscox, founder of Hiscox, who will be discussing the history of the insurer and outlining his views of the HNW market. His keynote will focus specifically on how a high net worth broker can really stand out…something that we try to do each and every day. Here’s how.
Our approach is bespoke. When we are working with a broker partner or their client’s project professionals, we provide a completely tailored service. We work quickly to decide on the most appropriate cover for their large scale renovations. We listen more than we talk, to find out as much information as we can about the project from the start. We are advisors first and foremost– providing consistent and relevant solutions for insuring a renovation project and help define exactly what risks are involved.
We don’t just focus on customer service – but excellence. For us, it’s all about customer experience. As Robert Hiscox stated in his pre event article, what people want now, more than anything, is to ring up and get someone who talks to them and knows their situation. We completely agree. Technology may have driven more and more online, but sometimes you can’t beat talking to someone. And not just anyone, but an expert who fully understands your requirements – even if you don’t. That’s us.
Brokers are important to us. Our broker partners are incredibly busy. They want to chat about complex cases but need fast solutions for simple projects. We have invested in a number of online offerings specifically for our brokers. They know they can always pick up the phone to speak to us but can also head online to obtain a very quick indication of premium when they are speaking to their client.
We want to share our renovation insurance knowledge. For property renovating clients, the development of a large scale renovation may be a once in a lifetime experience. However, for a broker it may be something they see regularly – but always with different requirements. Our renovation, liability and party wall CPD training gives a deeper understanding of this very specific insurance; it outlines potential challenges and helps brokers be confident about what they are recommending. To encourage dialogue, we’ve set up a dedicated LinkedIn group for high net worth brokers to provide ongoing support and wider networking for those working in these sectors found here.
We are proud to assist the high net worth broker market and look forward to seeing everyone at this unique sector event. We’ll be sharing online insights and input throughout the day, which you can follow live through Twitter here.
We are proud to announce the launch of a brand new fixed price product for the broker market. The new product has been specifically developed to offer a more marketable solution to insuring renovations in the mid net worth (MNW) sector.
Called Single Premium MNW, this online only offering is available to brokers from Renovation Insurance’s unique online portal. For brokers operating in the mid net worth sector this new policy provides the same market leading cover, at a very low price and is expected to prove very attractive.
The Single Premium MNW policy covers existing structures up to £450,000 and works up to £250,000, property owner’s liability to £2,000,000 and non-negligent liability (Party Wall cover) to £250,000. The cover is for a maximum of 12 months and all this at a single premium of £950 including IPT.
Renovation Insurance’s unique broker portal has been very well received in the broker market since its launch in June 2015 and Single Premium MNW extends that online offering and brings quote turnaround times down further. The portal enables broker partners to obtain an immediate premium indication for some very basic information. This gives brokers an edge over their competition who may have to wait days for a quote. The client is engaged early and broker partners appear more efficient and responsive.
Douglas Brown, Managing Partner of Renovation Insurance Brokers said: “Over the last five years we have seen the renovation insurance market grow significantly. We worked very closely with our broker partners to come up with the market leading renovation policy for the HNW sector, but have known for some time that we serviced the MNW sector less well.”
He continues: “As innovators in this market, we have worked hard to develop this unique product to provide an exciting new insurance offer that is easy for brokers to recommend both in terms of cover and price. It still won’t be the rock bottom priced product out there but for the genuine MNW customer there is no better value to be had in the market.”
Brokers who are interested in using the Renovation Insurance broker portal need to have a Terms of Business Agreement with Renovation Insurance Brokers and the relevant login details. Underwriting criteria for the Single Premium MNW policy requires the building to be of a standard construction, not listed, to not involve basement works and have a clean claims history. Other terms and conditions apply.
If you are a broker that operates in the mid net worth renovation market, we’d love to tell you more. To obtain further product details or to arrange a demo, just call 08442 641200 or email us here.
As the market leaders in renovation insurance, we work with insurance and project professionals all the time. Whilst renovation insurance is our focus, we know that for many of those we work with, it is not their area of expertise – and that’s where we can help, thanks to our new online groups.
Keeping our stakeholders up to date with the latest news and best practice in renovation insurance really is key to us – and we’ve recently launched two tailored LinkedIn groups that do just that.
High Net Worth brokers, architects or project professionals that are involved in luxury property renovations can join us to benefit from:
The latest news, developments and trends within the luxury property renovations sector.
A go-to place for advice, ideas and discussions from experts within the sector.
An opportunity to network with other relevant professionals.
Many of the key stakeholders we work with are already online, and the development of these groups enables us to connect in a new way. If this is you, please do join us and get involved.
When planning a high net worth (HNW) renovation project the value of the insurance cover is extremely important to protect the building, belongings, fixtures and any period features. Under insurance is a common problem with high net worth clients, due to the unique nature of their projects. We delve into the problem and what an experienced broker can do to avoid it. Continue reading…
When managing a renovation project of any size it is critical to ensure that the correct insurance clauses under the JCT contract are utilised so that they dovetail with the insurance package which is purchased. Continue reading…
One of the areas where renovation insurance provides the most inclusive cover is when renovating a block of units. However, the challenges of block unit renovation are many and complex – requiring the renovator to take an individual view (of each unit) as well as a wider view of the whole project. Continue reading…
The nature of renovation means that no two projects are ever the same. We see a range of clients with properties large and small, town and country with different budgets, deadlines, features and designs. This means we often quote for what we call complicated cover, which is tailored to cover exceptional circumstances. Continue reading…
In an ideal world a renovation project would be completed to deadline, and within budget. Are you chuckling to yourself at the mere thought of this?
We understand that the majority of renovation projects overrun, no matter how organised everyone is, it is just the nature of the beast. This is why we are flexible with our approach, and can offer policy extensions tailored to each renovation project. Continue reading…
