Over the last 20 years or so the UK High Street has been in rapid decline. One of the common shopfronts that has vanished is the humble insurance brokerage, or branch office representing a major name like Prudential, AXA, Aviva, RSA etc. Maybe in the rush to turn High Streets into retail ghost towns we have lost something precious, which is actually written into our DNA; daily human contact.
People need people and the recent trend towards WFH isolation, Russian bogeymen, plus Covid has not helped matters. Masks are more than symbolic, they act as tiny walls between people, hiding our facial expressions and stifling conversations. There is a theraputic value in daily conversations when it comes to fighting loneliness and feelings of isolation. Fact is, building trust – which is the foundation stone of insurance – is often achieved within minutes via a chat. Talking face-to-face is good for us all.
This is how banking and insurance used to work, before Fred The Shred got busy at Nat West. People used to pop into a local broker office and buy insurance. The Pru even had a small army of people walking the streets collecting premiums. Imagine that happening now.
It’s pretty incredible that at no point in the rush to close hundreds of bank branches since the late 90s did the big four banks sit down to work out partnership deals with big insurers, which meant the branch overheads could have been split 50-50, or maybe 70-30 where bigger bank branches simply wanted a small suite of offices in the foyer for an insurance partner, rather than halving the physical branch space.
Here’s another idea; insurers and brokers could space-share within supermarkets, which is where millions of people still visit on a weekly basis. Most big supermarket chains have shop-within-shop services like barbers, pharmacies, health food shops etc.
STANDALONE SHOPS? THERE ARE PLENTY OF UNITS
OK, perhaps a small insurance branch inside a Tesco or Sainsbury’s store doesn’t communicate the right values for some insurers. It’s too downmarket for some bigger insurance brands. We get that. Luckily there are plenty of empty shop units now, in very nice parts of cities and towns where an AXA, Aviva or RSA shop would be a welcome addition. The Council may well offer a sweetheart rates deal, as they’ve done with “anchor” stores like M&S in some regions in the past.
There are GDPR issues to think about when conducting business in public spaces of course, but clever retail shop designers can construct the right environment for private conversations. Sensitive claims can be handled in private, trained staff can assist vulnerable customers, with their carers or those with power of attorney. These are important things to think about if your insurance brand is genuinely inclusive.
In an era of low footfall on many High Streets, LTNs and LEZ charges, maybe this local, more human-centred approach is the future?
IT RAINS BRANCHES IN SPAIN
Your IE editor has noticed that in many towns and urbanisations in Spain there are still several offices where big names like AXA, MAPFRE, Generali or Ageas still have a decent sized branch network. Just to illustrate the stark contrast in strategy consider the branch network stats; MAPFRE has over 3000 standalone branches in Spain, whereas Aviva has just 12 in the UK. That dozen or so Aviva regional offices are not High Street branches open to the public of course, but workplaces.
Like Aviva, most big name UK insurers’ regional offices don’t feature a front desk where trained staff can actually incept a policy, which again is quite incredible in terms of marketing and upselling opportunities being missed. Those trained sales staff are actually inside the building on a keyboard, why not put a few of them front-of-house and make contact with your customers?
But here’s another benefit; ESG compliance. There is a social good at play when you talk to customers in person. There is still a small percentage of the UK population who are NOT online. Moreover many over 60s who are online don’t really like using online services, especially financial services. There are many people with disabilities who would also value a more personal approach for themselves – and value the human contact if they lead a lifestyle where they essentially housebound most of the time.
Insurance brands are keen of stressing how wonderfully inclusive they are, but the reality is they lock the doors, install barriers on office car parks and tell everyone to go online. Or phone and join a queue. That can’t be right, surely?
GOOD OLD SCHOOL FASHIONED CUSTOMER SERVICE
Howden is one of the biggest insurance branch networks in the UK, with around 100 offices. They still see a huge value in having offices, understanding local trends, business demands and making contacts.
Gary Stevens, (pictured) Regional Managing Director, Howden Wales, said: “Branches, such as ours in Swansea, play a crucial role in our commitment to personal service. Local touchpoints allow us to really engage with the community, fostering trust and unique cross-selling opportunities. In this ever-digital age, our branches are where customer connections come alive, offering tailored solutions with a personal touch.”
PIB also has 30 branches in the UK, specialising in HNW private clients, plus small businesses, who often need detailed advice on the right type of cover for a particular business niche.
Naturally small business owners need expert advice and it’s interesting that some brokers in Commercial and Private Lines have kept the local branch model alive, whereas banks have basically ignored their business customers and closed their branches down. In this regard, the insurance sector is undeniably more switched on than the banks, (Nationwide excepted) who regard the online app solution as being the very peak of customer service – as in, the customer does all the work themselves.
Hopefully other insurance brands will see the very positive benefits of re-opening a consumer branch network soon. MAPFRE are doing it in Spain and making a healthy profit, plus employing thousands of people across their branch network. There’s no reason why UK insurers couldn’t do the same.
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