Bexhill UK has become the first insurance premium finance provider to launch a peer to peer lending platform specialising in the insurance premium finance market and the insurance broker working capital financing market. The innovation, called Orchard Lending Club (OLC), matches people who want to lend money, with brokers that want to finance their clients’ insurance premiums or with brokers that require working capital finance. Orchard Lending Club administers the funds and collects payments from borrowers, whilst lenders receive an attractive rate of return.
Insurance premium finance and insurance broker financing offers an appealing investment prospect for potential lenders as this type of lending has historically demonstrated very low loss rates. Lenders could be personal investors or institutional funds. For brokers, this new innovation offers access to an additional line of capital outside banks and other traditional funders.
Orchard Lending Club is offering returns to investors of between 4% and 7.08% – depending upon the length of time they invest their money. The longer they leave their money in the Club, the better interest rate they will get.
The founders have also put in place a number of key measures to minimise risk for lenders:
- The Club will lend across a portfolio of borrowers.
- All lending will be to finance insurance premiums, insurance brokers or other professional organisations and their clients.
- Significantly, Orchard Lending Club is offering a BuyBack guarantee – the first peer-to-peer website to do so, whereby lenders get their original investment back even if a borrower defaults.
Orchard Lending Club has a solid and well-regarded management team with significant experience of lending in the insurance broking market. All loans to brokers will be fully underwritten by the company and Orchard Lending Club’s sister company Bexhill UK. Bexhill UK has been providing innovative premium finance models to insurance brokers for over 16 years and currently supports over 600 professional organisations.
Ravi Takhar, CEO of Bexhill UK, comments: “We are excited to be the first premium finance company to offer a peer to peer lending opportunity in the insurance broking market. Insurance premium finance and insurance broker working capital are historically safe lending markets for lenders. In the last 16 years, our group has lent over £600 million to insurance brokers, professional organisations and their clients and has had zero losses. We are expecting this to be an attractive investment for potential lenders.”
Peer-to-peer lending is a bank-free internet based process which facilitates the lending and borrowing of money. Peer-to-peer lending makes it simple and easy to lend money quickly at a competitive rate and get an attractive return compared to current UK bank or savings rates.
For further information please contact:
Vicki Roe, Spotlight Consulting: vicki@spotlightconsulting.co.uk 07967 804140
About Bexhill
Part of Orchard Funding Group PLC, a global financial services group which has been operating within the premium funding market for 16 years, Bexhill UK supports hundreds of professional organisations across the UK. Its original unique funding model provides the finance, if required, and the supporting technology to enable brokers to run their own premium finance company without any need for complex training or additional overheads, whilst ensuring they remain in total control of the relationship with their clients.