Published : Jun-2019
No. of Pages : 52
1. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
1.1. Brokers continue to dominate commercial insurance distribution
1.2. Key findings
1.3. Critical success factors
2. CHANNEL ANALYSIS
2.1. Introduction
2.2. Key regulatory updates
2.3. Brokers continue to dominate, and are fighting back in the SME space
2.3.1. Price comparison sites have expanded SME insurance at the expense of traditional brokers
2.3.2. Simply Business is a role model for e-brokers in the SME market
2.3.3. Banks and building societies rebounded after seeing a steady decline in recent years
2.4. Commercial insurance distribution within the direct channel
2.4.1. The direct channel is much more prominent among SMEs
2.4.2. AXA and Aviva dominate the increasingly digital SME market
2.4.3. AXA suffers setbacks despite XL acquisition
2.4.4. Uber's latest partnership aims to remove brokers from the picture
2.4.5. Hiscox looks to leverage its cyber cover to increase its market share
2.5. Retailers/affinity groups and commercial insurance
2.5.1. Affinity providers target SMEs with commercial insurance products
2.6. Banking providers and the distribution of commercial insurance
2.6.1. Banks and building societies are used the least to purchase commercial policies
3. BROKERS AND COMMERCIAL INSURANCE DISTRIBUTION
3.1. The broker landscape is dominated by five global firms
3.2. Global brokers retain the largest share of commercial revenues
3.2.1. The top five brokers accounted for around 25% of the total market in 2018
3.2.2. Marsh will further strengthen its leading position after the acquisition of JLT
3.2.3. JLT remained in second place in 2018
3.2.4. Aon climbed back up to third after recording the highest growth among the top five
3.2.5. Arthur J. Gallagher fell to fourth
3.2.6. Willis Towers Watson dropped to fifth as its brokerage took a hit
3.3. Common themes emerge from the growth strategies of brokers
3.3.1. Brokers look to facilitate growth through cross-selling and upselling
3.3.2. Acquisitions are high on the agenda of national brokers
3.3.3. Brokers are warming to the use of social media
3.3.4. Provincial brokers keep the focus on traditional methods but seek to develop online channels
3.3.5. Super-regionals are prioritizing social media engagement
3.3.6. National brokers are looking to enhance their online propositions
4. THE DISTRIBUTION LANDSCAPE GOING FORWARD
4.1. Tech advancements will play different roles in the commercial sector
4.1.1. Cyber insurance presents a huge opportunity to gain market share
4.1.2. Gig economy insurance continues to grow
4.1.3. Blockchain is yet to become mainstream within commercial lines
4.1.4. AI will benefit many facets of commercial insurance
4.1.5. E-trading has become the norm in commercial insurance
4.1.6. AXA offers car insurance in partnership with Brolly
4.2. How will the distribution landscape change in the coming years?
4.2.1. Growth in the commercial market stems from SME insurance
4.2.2. The continued growth of digital brokers will cut into traditional brokers and direct channels
5. APPENDIX
5.1. Abbreviations and acronyms
5.2. Definitions
5.2.1. Brokers
5.2.2. Direct
5.2.3. Managing general agent
5.2.4. SME
5.3. Methodology
5.3.1. GlobalData's 2018 UK SME Insurance Survey
5.3.2. GlobalData's 2019 UK Commercial Broker Survey
5.4. Bibliography
5.5. Further reading
List of Tables
Table 1: The most popular commercial insurance providers among SMEs, 2018
Table 2: Leading UK banks and their business insurance providers
Table 3: Percentage of brokers planning to employ selected strategies for growth, 2019
Table 4: SME and non-SME GWP splits (£m), 2017-23f
Table 5: Share of the commercial insurance market by channel, 2017-23f
List of Figures
Figure 1: Brokers are slowly increasing their market share
Figure 2: Online sales dominate the SME commercial market
Figure 3: Distribution channels are much more competitive in the commercial space
Figure 4: The direct channel's share remains lower than pre-2016
Figure 5: Direct GWP increased slightly in 2018 despite market share declining
Figure 6: AXA is not as popular with brokers in 2019 as it was in 2018
Figure 7: Retailers/affinity groups have seen their market share decline since 2016
Figure 8: Retail GWP saw a slight increase in 2018
Figure 9: Banks' market share is dwindling
Figure 10: Banks' GWP has been declining since 2014
Figure 11: Marsh topped Insurance Times' rankings for the second year in a row
Figure 12: Growth strategies vary by broker size
Figure 13: Social media is becoming increasingly popular among brokers
Figure 14: Provincial brokers mostly embrace features associated with traditional insurance broking
Figure 15: Super-regional brokers have the highest adoption of social media to engage clients
Figure 16: National brokers are looking to improve their use of social media as an engagement tool
Figure 17: Large businesses dominate the EU standalone cyber insurance customer base
Figure 18: Brokers account for four out of 10 cyber insurance policies sold in the SME market
Figure 19: Commercial GWP is expected to exceed £20bn in 2023
Figure 20: The broker channel will continue to dominate the commercial space
