A year of consolidation
There has been major consolidation in the Irish intermediary market for some time but the last year has seen unprecedented levels of broker acquisitions creating a series of ‘mega brokers’. Ger Shannon, Managing Director, Premium Credit Ireland provides an overview and explains how his team continues to offer award winning Insurance Premium Finance (IPF) solutions to brokers of all sizes in this evolving market.
The background
Many brokers have been scaling up in recent years and as a result, having a major impact on market share. The focus has mainly been on the middle market, leaving fewer, but larger brokers along with a significant number of smaller firms. The latter have not been the main target for acquisition. Purchases have almost exclusively been funded by Private Equity (PE) firms looking for good investment opportunities and more importantly, better capital returns amidst the low interest rate environment prevailing over the last number of years. This investment is seen by many as an endorsement of the Irish broker market and its future.
Brokers large and small will prosper
The new, larger brokers are predicted to have greater investment opportunities, access to more markets (both new and old) along with an expected better pricing model to offer their customers, leveraging Premium Credit’s leading technology to scale seamlessly and cost effectively. Customers will hope to access wider insurance markets at even more competitive prices. The evolving situation would appear good for both the broker and ultimately the customer too.
Small brokers will continue to grow their businesses through the strong grass-roots foundations that have made them a mainstay in the Irish broker market including their customised approach; bespoke offering and the agility in which they can adapt to changing market conditions. Here, Premium Credit provides ongoing support to smaller brokers with access to credit at rates that are competitive through arrangements with the main networks such as BLD and BFI, as well a personalised service to support their unique customer proposition.
What is the future for premium finance in Ireland?
There are significant opportunities for all brokers to grow business through the effective use of Insurance Premium Finance (IPF). For most we are an intrinsic part of future growth plans, driving forward efficiencies in cashflow management for customers, helping improve renewal retention whilst also creating another valuable income stream through compliant commission opportunities. All important benefits as brokers look to maximise their returns.
We’re here to help
Premium Credit remains committed to working with brokers of all sizes with a capacity, desire and capability to effectively do this.
We complete more than 24 million direct debits each year in Ireland and the UK meeting the needs of 2.1m customers, making us the leading provider of IPF solutions. We also continue to launch new, improved propositions, offer competitive rates and optimise the latest digital options to meet the ever-changing needs of the insurance community. We are the only IPF provider with local, Irish based operations and as such are renowned for superior service supplied from the locality.
With the advent of better market intelligence and technology, Premium Credit continues to invest in systems to progress our services with a dynamic, broker/customer centric approach, including an E-journey proposition on the retail side which has been received well by brokers using it. We are also developing a new platform for improved document management and transparency in the commercial space.
The broker remains the key plank for Premium Credit as we continue to grow our market share in Ireland and since our arrival in 2004, we continually look to meet the needs of our broker partners’ customers by providing best in class IPF solutions.
We are proud to be able to offer a multi award winning, local, digitally led service. Whatever the broker size, we’re here to facilitate business growth. If our partners do well, so do we!
