Travelers is Expanding eTrade and SME Insurance Solutions

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Text: Travelers.

Two men sit in chairs in an office, in front of a glass window. One of the men holds a pen and a clipboard.

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INTERVIEWER: Travelers is growing its footprint in the SME market. To discuss why, I'm joined by the group's SME distribution director, Jonathan Forster. Jonathan, busy times for you.

JONATHAN FORSTER: Really, really, really busy.

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Text: Jonathan Forster, SME Distribution Director.

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We've just launched our new Property Owners product, available on Acturis. And that's kept us on our toes, distributing that product now to over 1,000 brokers in the UK. Not only that, we're in the partnership space, refining and developing specialist solutions for partner brokers. And on top of that, we're constantly looking at our existing products, optimising them, pricing product, so really, really busy times.

INTERVIEWER: Tell us a bit more about the Travelers’ strategy in the SME and eTrade markets.

JONATHAN FORSTER: Sure. So our strategy began with the launch of our MLP product, Management Liability Product, on MyTravelers. So MyTravelers is our quote-and-buy extranet, and we launched that. In 2020, we decided to go on a period of expansion, developing more products on more platforms, primarily Acturis. And today, we have property owners, we have office, PI combined, marine cargo, as well as specialist solutions on MyTravelers, cyber, and motor trade. All of those products are actually available on MyTravelers as well, our quote-and-buy portal.

INTERVIEWER: And which group of brokers specifically are you targeting?

JONATHAN FORSTER: We're expanding our distribution base quite significantly, and eTrade gives us that ability. So we're trading and giving access to regional independent brokers, brokers via networks, and the larger broking chains, but also appointed reps as well. So we're rapidly expanding our base beyond that. And we're firmly committed to growing in the regional network independent space. We've also seen significant results in there.

We're also looking at new options, new ways to trade via API and white-label and wholesale solutions as well. So we've also identified brokers who have specialist SME teams, or specialise in some of our products-- office, PI combined. So we're looking to further bespoke solutions with those as well. eTrade gives us that wide availability.

INTERVIEWER: The SME market is pretty competitive, so what's the USP of going with Travelers?

JONATHAN FORSTER: You're right, it's extremely competitive. There's a lot of insurers and a lot of products. But we believe, and where we're focusing on our differentiation, is our people-- employing and recruiting specialist underwriters, not in call centres. They're deployed all around the country, in Manchester, in London, in Birmingham, and giving a local service. They're highly trained. They like to talk to brokers. If they can't find a solution on eTrade, pick up the phone, drop them a line, and that's the key differentiator for us.

INTERVIEWER: I know the concept of partnership is an important one to Travelers, but what exactly do you mean by it?

JONATHAN FORSTER: Yeah, absolutely. It can mean developing specific solutions for industry sectors. We've done that with our specialist PI product. We've also developed new wholesale solutions in motor trade, right through to taking our existing product and varying, making small tweaks to that product, such as extending the indemnity period, adding additional covers, working much, much closer with our broker partners in developing solutions, which ultimately will help them grow and help us grow.

INTERVIEWER: Finally, Jonathan, you've been in this part of the market for a number of years with Travelers. How have you seen it change, particularly at the smaller end? What are some of those key trends?

JONATHAN FORSTER: Some things which have surprised us, actually, are the level of movement in the marketplace, or renewal movement, which varies between 7% and 12%. And that surprises us, being quite low. You would expect eTrade to give greater movement, but it actually doesn't. So brokers are very loyal to their existing insurers. They're also loyal to existing trading platforms, such as portals, and not necessarily on Acturis. So that surprises us as well.

The other thing that surprises us is the level of where an SME solution can get quite complex, so brokers need to pick up the phone to an underwriter to have a chat around what the solution is. Does the solution fit eTrade, or do they need to move to a non-eTrade solution, which our small business teams can provide as well? And at the end of the day, it's a people business and a service-orientated business, despite being digital.

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Text: To see the full range of Travelers SME products, visit travelers.co.uk/sme.

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And one thing we're really, really excited about is we can see our win rate really increases, where we identify brokers who specialise in high volumes of new business acquisition, and also in the partnership space. Our strike rate significantly increases beyond our normal strike rate. And that's really, really exciting.

INTERVIEWER: Jonathan Forster, thank you.

JONATHAN FORSTER: Thank you.

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Text: Travelers.

Information and opinions contained in this interview have been arrived at by Travelers, and any underlying research or analysis has been procured by Travelers for its own purposes. It does not, and it is not intended to. provide legal, technical, or other professional advice, nor does it amend, or otherwise affect, the provisions or coverages of any insurance policy issued by Travelers. Travelers does not warrant that adherence to, or compliance with, any recommendations, best practices, checklists, or guidelines will result in a particular outcome. Furthermore, laws, regulations, standards, guidance and codes may change from time to time, and you should always refer to the most current requirements and take specific advice when dealing with specific situations. In no event will Travelers be liable in tort, contract or otherwise to anyone who has access to or uses this information. Travelers and the Travelers Umbrella logo are registered trademarks of The Travelers Indemnity Company in the U.S. and other countries. All other registered trademarks are the property of their respective owners. Travelers and Insure TV accept no liability for any loss arising from the use hereof nor make any representation as to their accuracy or completeness. Travelers operates through several underwriting entities in the UK and Europe. Please consult your policy documentation or visit the websites below for full information. travelers.co.uk, travelers.ie.