Any Scheme can now be shared freely across the market – huge distribution and profit uplift for Brokers, MGAs and Insurers.
SchemeServe, a leading cloud-based provider of insurance software, has today launched the SchemeServe Network: a collaborative scheme sharing facility which, for the first time, allows any insurance scheme to be shared and replicated by any other broker, MGA or insurer. The Network is tipped to double brokers’ GWP from schemes, and in some cases increase it by a lot more.
The Network is supported by seven leading insurers that specialise in schemes, who have partnered with SchemeServe to create an exclusive panel, providing ready access to new scheme capacity. The insurers signed up to the partnership include AXA, Pen Underwriting, Ecclesiastical, Hiscox, Blink Intermediary Solutions (part of Iris Insurance Brokers), Gresham and ARAG. The new insurer panel, called SchemeServe Partners, connects MGAs looking for capacity for their schemes to insurers with matching appetite.
This latest initiative gives brokers access to a scheme library sharing facility, as well as a panel of willing capacity providers all under one roof, giving schemes owners a massive plug and play advantage. It will also help reduce the time to get schemes products live.
Specialist insurer Ecclesiastical has been working with SchemeServe for many years, and it has built and administrates a number of the insurer’s specialist schemes through its platform. Antony Osborne, Corporate Portfolio Underwriting Manager at Ecclesiastical, comments: “The SchemeServe Network and its insurer panel is a great initiative. Ecclesiastical is a schemes specialist with a broad risk appetite and Schemes is a growth area for us. Supporting initiatives like this creates more opportunity for brokers and insurers to develop successful partnerships and deliver specialist solutions for customers. We’ve been working with SchemeServe for a number of years now and we have been impressed by its agility, innovation and dependability.”
Sean Neal, Commercial Director & Chief Commercial Officer of SchemeServe, comments: “For 20 years SchemeServe has been constantly curious and asking, ‘What If?’. This launch is highly significant, particularly in the current market where capacity is scarce, and brokers will be looking to specialise more to maximise income from niche areas, and insurers will be relying now more than ever on premium income. The SchemeServe Network does all the leg work – every broker – whether an existing SchemeServe user or not, can collaborate and share schemes with each other, giving brokers instant access to new markets and new potential revenue for brokers and insurers, overnight.”
Generalist brokers looking to develop niche specialisms can access ready-made successful schemes almost instantly, also providing them with access to better wordings and often better rates than open market policies. Appointed Representative brokers or Introducers in particular will benefit from instant access to schemes including policy administration, quote and buy, prospecting, client management, and integrated MI with full audit trail and reporting, with delegated authority capacity coming from the host broker. The schemes can also be white labelled under a broker’s own brand and brokers can quote and bind schemes policies through their own website.
The 270 schemes currently registered with SchemeServe range from Commercial Combined to specialist Farming, Pet, Horsebox, Craft or even Hairdressers, covering all imaginable niche insurance schemes. Schemes are added to the Library free of charge for brokers to search and browse.
Sean Neal continues: “This year we have made significant investment in our people and the platform. Always curious and hungry to find new ways of using technology to improve people’s lives, this latest launch is one of many new initiatives we will be revealing over the next 12 months. We have a highly experienced team of developers and web designers with exciting UI and UX capabilities that is transforming the schemes market. We have just celebrated our 20th anniversary, making us an experienced and well established Insurtech, and I’m thrilled that SchemeServe continues to be at the forefront of schemes innovation.”
SchemeServe currently operates more than 270 schemes and £240m of gross written premium via its cloud-based platform. It works with brokers, MGAs and insurers of all shapes and sizes and has long been the platform of choice for those operating delegated authority schemes because it allows them to get schemes up and running in a matter of days and make any updates (rate changes, changes from regulatory demands, or launch new products, for example) quickly and securely.