sugar

“John, can you pick up a new role….can you take us back to number 1 for personal lines in the broker market……oh, and do it in 2010 please…..oh, and take the brokers with you by becoming the Aviva face on personal lines” ……..mmmm I thought………another massive personal lines challenge I thought.

But on the basis that I have seen Aviva (old NU) through the halcyon days of “quote me happy”, the riding on the crest of the aggregator wave, big partner accounts such as Barclays and Ford, and niche areas such as ‘pay as you drive’….and in more recent times launching into the broker market with the flourishing Club 110 and Broker Independence Group, Facility 110, Fast Trade, the brand change to Aviva…maybe I’m the right man for the job after all!

You know it was only a few years ago that the old Norwich Union was no.1 in broker personal lines, with thousands of regional brokers trading hundreds of thousands of NU policies…well, those times are about to return.

The key to success is to make a weighty investment in pricing and technology and, in tandem, treat every broker who trades personal lines individually; engaging them, listening to them and then responding with action. Good news is we’ve already begun.

We have brought our new sophisticated rating to the broker market. The same rating that has proved so successful over the past 9 months in our direct business. “At last”, brokers are saying, “there will be alignment between direct and broker prices…transparency…thank goodness…with the only difference being the cost to distribute”.

And its already started…seeing our conversion rates dramatically shift in a matter of weeks.

In July, we launched our prototype new web system, Personal Best. In just 10 weeks we are seeing thousands of quotes being placed across hundreds of brokers. The only place in the broker market you can get our ‘Aviva deals’. Currently, motor is offering 12 months for the price of 10, and home is offering free contents cover when buying combined. It has been so successful – we’ve listened, and already released version one, replacing the prototype with a much improved version.

So, what if you use a software house? That’s changing too! Going live this week are our exclusive new software house rates…..initially with Insurecom, but soon to follow with the other software houses. Early signs are that we have dramatically improved our competitiveness…its starting…but there is so much more to come. Price, product, offers, service, distribution, IT, account relationships will all be stepping up a gear or three. Keep watching.

On being asked to guest blog, I couldn’t let the blog go without mentioning a certain Mr Kitson.

It was nearly 10 years ago that an energetic, passionate, excitable John Kitson asked me to join him to be part of the team to run our flagship corporate partner, Ford.

Since then, I’ve spent many years being his FD, his strategy guy, his marketing man, his Aviva voice, his Norwich City partner in crime, and not in 10 years has there been a dull moment!

He has been an inspiration to me and many others. As we moved from the success of FordInsure, to the marketing heyday of “Quote Me Happy”, to Pay as you drive, to Club 110 to Aviva…he will be sorely missed from next year.

Whilst work is what we do, imprinted in my memory is John the ‘individual’. Whether its his 8 sugars in his coffee, his love of bakewell tarts, his infectious energy, the fact he was on the pitch after Ronnie Radford’s equaliser at Edgar Street (Hereford v Newcastle 1972), or him never passing the ball in a 5-a-side, our passion shared for Norwich City, his relentless expletive texting to me as the canaries went down to Fulham 6-0 and Colchester 7-1, or our visit to India where he not only lived on bananas and muesli bars for a week but he also forgot to update his visa at Heathrow and joined us a day late!

For many different reasons, it has been full of memorable personal and work experiences working with John.

And as one ex-footballer said as he signed off…”It’s been emotional”.