Groupama launches Broker Trading Team

14 March 2007

New service initiatives prompted by Groupama broker advisory forum

Groupama Insurances is strengthening its broker and intermediary relationships with a range of important service initiatives including the creation of a brand new Broker Trading Team that opened for business in February 2008.

Cathie Bruce, Distribution and Customer Services Director said: "We are constantly looking at the ways in which we can get closer to our partner brokers to provide the support they need to operate in what is a highly competitive marketplace. We hold regular forums so that we can really understand what we can do to help. As a direct consequence we have now invested in the creation of a dedicated Broker Trading Team offering hot-line access to skilled underwriting resources and technical advice and guidance. This latest initiative also includes a simple 'Guide to Groupama' that provides clear and, concise information about our products and services and how brokers can access them. The idea is for brokers to be able to place business more easily with Groupama."

Managed by Anita Fenna, the new Broker Trading Team will offer product specific telephone help-lines to assist with queries over underwriting criteria or advice about the best way of placing business. The idea is to identify the right solution, whether this is over the phone, on the Groupama extranet, or via imarket. Brokers will be able to access an expert member of the Broker Trading Team who has particular product or systems knowledge and is ready and able to offer whatever is required to ease the business process.

Groupama is also putting in place a dedicated Broker Training facility to support its growing imarket and extranet trading activities. This will mean that a specialist Groupama trainer will be available to visit brokers' offices and to provide practical training and support to enable intermediaries to maximise the potential of on-line trading.

"The Groupama Advisory Board was very clear that this sort of assistance was necessary as there is still some reticence among some brokers to switch to doing more business on-line," says Cathie Bruce. "In simple terms we will offer some hand-holding to help these intermediaries get started. Our experience shows that once they are switched on properly, usage increases significantly and is much more consistent."

Cathie Bruce concludes: "We know that over 50% of commercial business for Tradesman, Small Fleet and Package business is end to end, but that still leaves around 50% where the broker has a query or concern over how to place the business or about the underwriting criteria. The new Broker Trading Team, our 'Guide to Groupama' and our latest broker training initiative are being launched to give brokers what they say they want. These changes are designed to remove any barriers to business and ensure that when a business partner needs some help or wants to place business quickly, we are literally just a phone call away."

Ends
March 2008