West Bromwich Building Society launch new Household Insurance scheme
08/10/2008 13:52:13 by Marketing
West Bromwich Building Society (WBBS) launches new Household Insurance product underwritten by Norwich Union administered by chartered insurance brokers Millennium Insurance.
The policy is being sold via the WBBS branch network, the Society’s central Mortgage teams and is available to mortgage borrowers, investors and the general public.
WBBS Home Insurance gives a choice of Standard or Accidental Damage cover for owner occupied homes up to 5 bedrooms with a range of discounts on offer including up to 6 years No Claims Discount. Optional cover can be added for valuable items away from home including specified items over £1500 each.
The policy was specially developed by the Society with Norwich Union using a bespoke online Point of Sale (POS) quote and application system designed and implemented by Millennium Insurance, who were recently acquired by Direct Group.
The online system handles the full quote to submission process including a personalised Demands and Needs Statement for each customer, with the insurance application completed on line with a simple Statement of Fact.
David Taylor Insurance Product Manager at West Bromwich Building Society said “The Millennium Trading Centre system gives us the speed to market we needed in developing a new Home Insurance product with our selected insurer Norwich Union. As well as being a great POS system for stand alone insurance for branch and HO staff the Trading Platform can be integrated into our next generation mortgage application process so future scalability is already built in.”
Stephen Clowes Managing Director of Millennium said “Our GI trading platform has traditionally been used primarily by mortgage intermediaries, but working with WBBS has enabled the pipeline application status tracking and MI capabilities to be used to the platforms full potential, allowing WBBS Area Managers to monitor the activities of their branch network from any PC.”
Derek Coles CEO Direct Group added “I am delighted Millennium Insurance will provide all back office insurance policy administration services and handle all non standard risks and tailored underwriting issues for the Society”.
West Bromwich Building Society – Facts
WBBS
- employ nearly 1000 staff.
- distribute products and services through branches (48, primarily in the West Midlands), telephone and internet.
- are the 8th largest building society in the UK and have assets of over £8bn.
- demonstrate commitment to mutuality in a tangible way. Last year WBBS shared over £34m with members through competitive mortgage and savings rates and extra Privileged Membership rate benefits to reward loyalty.
- invest more than £500,000 each year in local communities through sponsorship and by supporting community and grassroots projects.
Millennium Insurance Brokers Ltd – The Facts
Millennium Insurance was acquired by Direct Group in June 2008 and as part of the wider group now offers a full range of insurance & protection services for financial services companies, from product design and point of sale implementation to premium collection, policy administration and claims management.
Millennium is a CII Chartered Insurance Broker, and handles a number of GI schemes under delegated authority from a range of insurers specialising in Household and PPI. It the new distribution arm of Direct Group and can handle all kinds of non standard household risks, plus a range of personal and commercial lines business.
About Norwich Union
Norwich Union is the UK’s largest general insurer with a market share of around 15%, with a focus on insurance for individuals and small businesses.
It is a leading provider of life, pensions and investment products and one of the largest Financial Adviser (FA) providers. FAs provide over 70% of the company's long-term savings business in the UK.
In the summer of 2009 Norwich Union will change its name to Aviva. Aviva is the world’s fifth largest insurance group and operates in 27 countries. Aviva is to become the customer brand worldwide, thus enabling the company to compete even more effectively on a global scale for the benefit of customers, staff, business partners and shareholders.
For further information please contact Hilary Thompson, Communications Officer, at: hilarythompson@directgroup.co.uk
