MMA progress

It's a few years since I last visited MMA Insurance. In fact, they were still called Norman then, in an era when the possibility that their owners might one day purchase a well known high street broking chain would have been greeted with some

Although I've always enjoyed friendly relations with the Reading based organisation, I have to confess there's always been that underlying feeling that they were a bit choosy about what market issues they would, and wouldn't comment on. These declinatures unfortunately sometimes veered towards the aloof. My favourite was, "It is not the company's policy to comment on market speculation," - the official response when Swinton was first mooted.

However in 2004 that culture seems to have been swept aside. CEO Garry Fearn was happy to discuss all relevant issues and answer all questions. For instance what do brokers think about the Swinton ownership? "They are largely indifferent. Remember, this business was acquired from Royal & SunAlliance, so for brokers it's not a problem. Indeed, we are probably less of a threat since there are no plans to go direct. We keep the two businesses at arms length. Swinton always was our largest supplier, and that has not changed."

A relatively new face in Reading is that of marketing and underwriting director Derck Plummer, formerly with Norwich Union. "Customer service is at the centre of what we do, and we take actions accordingly," he explained. "There is no illusion about that. We monitor our performance on a regular basis."

MMA have been active in the construction sector for some years, but are now focussing on the smaller firms with no more than six manual employees. So far as the ever popular wider SME sector is concerned, they will continue to underwrite the specific trades they are interested in. "It's a busy market," summarised Mr Plummer when talking about industry activity in this sector.

Clare Tilly, sales & marketing manager is ex-Fortis and joined in July 2003. She has been involved largely in the expansion of MMA from being a 'broker only' insurer to the wider remit of becoming 'intermediary only' to take account of changes in the intermediary channel with the evolution of affinities, networks, and other partners. But Ms Tilly makes it clear that this in no way diminishes the value of the insurance broker. "In fact, our wider approach will lead to many new products and opportunities for the broking fraternity," she explains. One aim is to look more closely at the agency panel. "We want to make ourselves more knowledgeable about our brokers' situation. We're looking at the impact of regulation, plus the overall changes in the distribution process. The theme is to ask what we can do between us to ensure profitable growth."

"As with any large agency base, there are inevitably going to be some brokers who have never seen anyone from MMA as yet, but our seven business development managers have been 'refocused' so they can provide flexibility." MMA currently operates with three key account managers servicing designated agencies. There is also a key account development manager looking to bring in new sources of business. "In previous times these staff members might have been called inspectors, but the modern trend is to provide a much wider authority so that the key account managers are producing solutions from end to end," explains Ms Tilly. "More attention will be paid to the way we deal with intermediaries, and how we can adapt our own organisation to meet the differing needs of different sources of business."

Anthony Lewis is the motor underwriting manager, previously motor manager at NIG and then Churchill. "The MMA historical acceptance on motor was quite rigid," he explains. "We are now looking to expand our scope, taking more account of where particular business actually comes from. We call it 'Widening the footprint'. We'll also look at other niches which may be profitable. There is no restriction on growth, even though motor is currently the biggest slice of our pie. The motor trade

business in particular has very good retention and is profitable."

Hmm...that's a far cry from the time when many of MMA's contemporary competitors wouldn't touch motor trade with a barge pole, unless it was 'bona fide' as they called it. I asked Mr Lewis about the growth of motor rating criteria. He agrees that the level of sophistication can reach the point where the pockets of business are so small as to be largely useless for rating purposes. "It's a case of not going too far. However, there are new factors that are worth measuring, some of which have nothing to do with driving. A recently identified category is the length of ownership of an individual car."

All-in-all a very pleasant visit, particularly as the insurer does seem to have adapted its culture with the changing times. Mr Plummer sums up: "In our chosen distribution channel today, it's all about how an insurer can respond to the need of intermediaries. We've tended to apply the broad brush in the past, but in the future you will see a trend towards differing intermediary needs being met by different types of service and product delivery."