A new year, but is it more of the same?

As we move into the New Year I am not going to dwell on all the negatives in the market from last year, as I could make a list as long as your arm on poor house sales, a static market, little or no re-mortgaging, Government cuts and so on. The market is the market – which none of us alone can influence. However we can to a certain extent influence our own little part whether that is professional or personal.

In business this means doing the right things to make the most of what is there. In recent articles within Mortgage Introducer, the CML commented that they believe the UK economy has begin a process of long
term re-balancing, whilst AMI do not believe Bank of England base rates will rise significantly in 2011, although they see unemployment, sickness and family breakdown as the three main causes of arrears and repossessions. As an adviser, you can’t do much about family breakdown, but you should seriously consider your position regarding unemployment and sickness. Surely at least making the client aware of the existence of unemployment & sickness insurance is key to TCF, ensuring that they can purchase cover if they feel the
need. That then enables you to open discussion on the subject and allows you to offer them a quote. If you don’t have the time or the appetite for this type of product, why not pass the lead to another firm – just make sure this firm will not cross sell to your client and will pay you ongoing commission.

It’s not just ASU that provides you with an opportunity. I suspect pretty much every one of your clients will insure their home. Why not offer them a quotation – don’t just work on new clients, work your whole client base – it’s amazing how often you will win additional business from an existing client. I often hear advisers say that commission on general insurance isn’t worth the time and paperwork. However, the average household or ASU commission is between £75-£100 and that is a recurring commission every year for the lifetime of the policy, which is often 5 or more years, so that can bring you in £500+ over the lifetime of the policy. If you don’t want to sell and advise GI to your clients, introduce it to us and we will pay you ongoing commission.

December 2010 saw the retirement of our MD of 30 years, Ted York. On behalf of everyone within Berkeley Alexander Insurance I would like to take this opportunity of thanking him for his friendship and leadership over those years and for everything he has done for his employees and the wider market. As a founder of NFIFA and being innovative over the years in bringing many new products to the market, the IFA and mortgage market has much to thank him for.



As for me and 2011, having worked for BA for 25 years and having been part of the decision making process during that time, you won’t notice much change. However you can expect to see us drive forward in 2011 to ensure that we maintain our high levels of customer service whilst launching a range of new insurance products and services. I am always willing to listen to what you need from a GI provider – after all by giving you the products and systems that allow you to do your job well and efficiently, we all benefit. If you have any thoughts or comments, please contact me on 0845 355 1166 or by e-mail on ghall@baonline.co.uk.

Geoff Hall
Managing Director