Freelance specialist broker Kingsbridge has acquired on-demand insurance start-up Dinghy in a move that looks set to ignite innovation in the broker sector, says GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company.
Dinghy offers UK freelancer’s professional indemnity, public liability, cyber liability, and business equipment insurance for flexible working hours. Kingsbridge is a specialist broker for contractors insurance, so its new acquisition should fit in well with its existing proposition. It no doubt hopes Dinghy can improve its digital presence and perhaps strengthen its appeal to millennial freelance workers.
Ben Carey-Evans, UK General Insurance Analyst at GlobalData, comments: “Consumers are increasingly moving online to purchase insurance policies across all product lines. A strong digital presence is especially beneficial within the freelance and contractors market, where there are often time pressures and last-minute schedule changes. If it is available, freelancers and contractors are always likely to choose easy, digital, on-demand insurance rather than having to organize a policy over the phone with a broker.”
GlobalData’s 2018 UK SME Insurance Survey, which had 4,000 respondents, found that 31.9% of small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) currently purchase insurance from brokers online, while only 2.8% do so via a smartphone. This highlights that within small business insurance, the broker channel is ripe for disruption. Kingsbridge’s acquisition of an easy-to-use digital insurer should help it stand out from its competitors.
Carey-Evans concludes: “Going forward, this will likely see Kingsbridge offer more flexible, online-only policies to a range of freelancers as it takes advantage of Dinghy’s expertise within the gig economy, demonstrating that some brokers are looking to enhance their digital capabilities and product offerings.”
With the UK gig economy currently accounting for about 4% of the workforce, and growing rapidly especially inLondon and the South East, the timing looks right for insurers and brokers to offer truly flexible PAYG cover to freelancers of all types.
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