Category: Advisers

Press Release

Private equity investor, LDC, has invested in the rapidly expanding insurtech business Uinsure, to support its ambitious growth strategy.

Founded in 2007, Uinsure is a cloud-based technology platform that connects financial intermediaries and lenders with a panel of the UK’s leading insurers, enabling its customers to arrange cover through a frictionless platform that has removed the complexities from insurance. 

Uinsure has achieved 27% compound annual revenue growth over the last 10 years and LDC’s investment and strategic support will increase its market share further, while developing new markets, as well as growing its network of partnerships with intermediaries, major building societies, and banks.

 

Uinsure has invested heavily in its technology capability in recent years, including in new API integrations, improvements to its customer experience and in the development of its new pricing engine, enabling it to offer disruptive and award-winning digital-first insurance solutions.

 

The Manchester-based business has doubled the size of its team dedicated to technology over the last two years, while it has won twelve prestigious industry awards during that time for its UinsureCX product, which tracks an individual’s mortgage progress and triggers communications at the most relevant moments of the mortgage cycle.

LDC is backing the existing management team led by founder and CEO Simon Taylor, who is also the former founder and CEO of Bankhall. Martin Schultheiss will continue as Group Managing Director, James Fawcett as Chief Financial Officer, and Dan Wright as Non-Executive Chair. As part of the transaction, Peter Thompson, industry expert and former CEO of BGL Insurance has joined Uinsure as a Non-Executive Director.

The investment was led by LDC North West Partner Aziz Ul-Haq and Partner and Head of North West Dale Alderson, alongside Investment Director Grant Goodwin and Investment Manager Camilla Greenwood. Dale and Aziz will join the board.

Simon Taylor, CEO of Uinsure, said: “Right from the very first meeting, LDC has been aligned with our vision to remove the complexity of insurance for our partners and their customers. When we started looking for an investor to support us through our next phase of growth, finding the right partner who shares our culture was extremely important to us. The team at LDC will be working closely to strategically support us with our long term goals, as we explore new markets and grow our network of partnerships.”

Aziz Ul-Haq, Partner at LDC in the North West, added: “Uinsure’s recent large-scale investment in its technology means it is perfectly placed to serve its target market by offering a digital-first solution with a competitive edge. It has a highly experienced and incredibly ambitious management team whose offering has disrupted the industry and revolutionised the market. We’re looking forward to working with them to help it grow further.”

LDC has a successful track record in the technology sector. Since 2012, we have invested over £650m into more than 35 fast growing technology businesses, backing management teams to achieve their ambitions.

Uinsure was advised by GP Bullhound (corporate finance), Eversheds Sutherland (legal) and Deloitte (debt advisory), with bank facilities provided by HSBC and Santander.

LDC was advised by DLA Piper (legal), KPMG (financial due diligence and tax) and LEK (commercial due diligence).

8th May 2024. Nottingham, UK: Nottingham Building Society has today announced a partnership with leading insurance technology firm, Uinsure, to provide seamless home insurance quotes in as little as 60 seconds.

Members will be able to obtain a home insurance quote through one of the quickest platforms available on the market online and within a minute in branch.

The innovative solution streamlines the application process and requires customers to enter three simple criteria: their name, date of birth and postcode. Powered by the Manchester-based insuretech, the partnership will grant Nottingham Building Society’s members access to a product which uses quotes from leading UK insurers, all competing to offer the most competitive price on Uinsure’s 5-star Defaqto rated policy.

The cheapest quote is then presented to members, ensuring they receive the best value policy that meets their needs.

Commenting on the partnership, Sue Hayes, CEO at Nottingham Building Society, said: “Our purpose has always been to make homeownership as easy and achievable a process for the UK public as possible. This collaboration with Uinsure enables us to offer potential homeowners and existing members the peace of mind that their property is protected against unexpected losses or damage.

“By leveraging cutting-edge technology, we’ve simplified the insurance process during a time where expenses continue to rise and the cost-of-living crisis remains front of mind.” Uinsure provide comprehensive home insurance policies that includes up to £1m of buildings protection, £75K or £100K contents cover and accidental breakage of technology equipment; landlords can also benefit by insuring rental properties.

Martin Schulthiess, Uinsure Group Managing Director, concluded: “We’re delighted Nottingham Building Society has selected us as its new insurance partner, allowing its members to access our seamless insurance technology to arrange their cover at the right time alongside their mortgage applications.

“Our mission is to remove the complexities from insurance by leveraging technology and data to make insurance quotes more convenient and accessible nationwide. The team have worked tirelessly to expand our partner network, which is an essential in allowing us to achieve our goals, this partnership underlines the trust leading building societies have placed in us to deliver excellent insurance experiences for their Members.”

For more information, please visit https://www.thenottingham.com

Leek Building Society has today announced its new partnership with leading insurtech, Uinsure, that will significantly improve members’ experiences when arranging home and landlord insurance.

After reaching its 160-year milestone this year, Leek Building Society, recently awarded the UK’s Best Building Society 2023, continues to demonstrate its commitment to putting members first by offering them Uinsure’s highly rated insurance.

By working with Uinsure, Leek members can get a quote in as little as 20 seconds and buy online in under a minute, using a journey that’s significantly quicker and more simple than other direct insurers or aggregators.

Uinsure has built a strong reputation backed by five-star ratings from Defaqto and Trustpilot, and its comprehensive coverage and commitment in providing exceptional customer experiences aligns with Leek Building Society’s dedication to delivering great value and a great service to its members.

Ian Blurton, Head of Branch Network and Customer Support said: “At Leek Building Society, our members are at the heart of everything we do. Our partnership with Uinsure emphasises our commitment to offering them peace of mind by providing access to highly rated home and landlord insurance through integrated and seamless journeys that are accessible, convenient and priced competitively.”

Lauren Bagley, Uinsure’s chief partnership and marketing officer, said: “We’re delighted to partner with Leek Building Society, in what is our ninth society partnership, as we continue the rollout of our distribution strategy that’s making insurance more accessible and convenient for people across the UK.

“With both the expansion of our partner network and ongoing development of our technology we’ve proven how our agility and innovation is changing the way insurance is being offered and the outcome of this is improved customer experiences that are no longer hindered by complexities once associated with general insurance.”

For more information on Leek Building Society and the products and services they offer, visit www.leekbs.co.uk.

expectations’ and its vital that every firm serving retail consumers introduces an improved approach to consumer protection that is centred around the active delivery of good customer outcomes. 

Making sense of the changes can be complex but with The Duty coming into force on 31st July, we caught up with Uinsure’s Chief Governance Officer, Brionie Hemingway, who has helped to shed light on exactly what firms have been asked to do.

What worked well in preparation for Consumer Duty?

The Duty is very broad but breaking it down into manageable chunks and prioritising certain elements of the work was key for us but, in addition to that, it is invaluable to talk to partners about how you can support each other.

If you take the Fair Value Assessment as an example, it’s important to understand how each party in the chain – whether that be insurer, distributor or manufacturer – is supporting value and how they’re supporting customers’ financial objectives. Fair Value as an outcome, is a combination of efforts from all parties to joined up understanding is important. 

How do you demonstrate a customer outcome?

This is a bit of a holy grail within the industry and has typically been evidenced through the likes of NPS scores, as one example, but there can be a lot more to it.

I think it’s really important to use both qualitative and quantitative information, so you have in-depth data together with wide ranging case studies that support the consumer metrics to paint a collective picture. 

How do you continually prove fair value?

GI firms will already have grappled with fair value, but it is still a fundamental part of the new Consumer Duty; fair value isn’t the same thing as offering a rock bottom price though. It’s about reasonable remuneration for work done or service delivery. Price is one aspect of value, but quality of cover and accessibility of services are really relevant too. 

We believe assessing fair value involves a detailed process of weighing up the cost to serve and the utility of products versus the amount of money actually leaving the customer’s pocket.

Continuous holistic assessment is needed because factors like customer circumstances, technology and the wider market are changing all the time. Services like claims processes and access to useful add-ons are features that can add value, or just as easily detract value, so keeping on top of service provision fits right into the value assessment. 

Can you ever be fully compliant or is it an ongoing exercise?

This is a really important point. Every time new regulation or initiatives come into force, firms naturally spend a lot of energy getting ready for the ‘go live’ date and can then have something of drop off while other business priorities come back to the fore. 

With the new Consumer Duty, elements like the delivery of outcome are going to be very much an ongoing exercise and one that is always evolving as the industry itself changes and the technology we use continues to improve. 

The FCA has already made it clear that Consumer Duty will be an ongoing feature and we need to deliver a report to the board on an annual basis to evidence we are continuously meeting the standards. As a result, it should really form part of the fabric of all organisations from here on in – if it isn’t already.

Leeds Building Society has further cemented its investment in northern FinTech by announcing a partnership with leading insurance technology firm, Uinsure, that will allow Society customers to arrange home insurance through one of the quickest and most simple journeys on the market.

Working with Manchester-based Uinsure, Leeds Building Society members can get a quote online in as little as 20 seconds, and in branches in a matter of minutes – a fraction of the time its takes with direct insurers and aggregators – by answering three simple questions; their name, date of birth and postcode. 

The partnership will offer the Society’s customers access to seven leading underwriters who each compete to offer the lowest price on Uinsure’s 5 star Defaqto rated policy, with the cheapest being presented to members.

John Scally, Head of commercial Development at Leeds Building Society, said: “Our purpose is to put homeownership in reach of people, and this partnership with Uinsure means we can offer our members peace of mind that their property is protected should they suffer any unexpected loss or damage.

“We have made use of new technology to simplify the application process in order to encourage people to protect their homes, which is usually the most expensive asset people own.

“It’s important to us that our service is accessible for everyone, so customers will be able to apply online, in one of our branches, over the telephone or alongside their mortgage application with Leeds Building Society.”

Martin Schulthiess, Uinsure Group Managing Director, commented: “We’re delighted that, Leeds Building Society has chosen us at its new insurance provider, meaning their members can use our technology to easily buy insurance and choose a high quality policy offered by seven top UK insurers.

“Our goal is to remove insurance complexity by using technology and data to make insurance more convenient and accessible for people across the UK and our new partnership supports our strategy of leading innovation in UK Bancassurance.

“The partnership also underlines how smart insurance technology can play a big part in helping people protect their homes and we’re excited to deliver this to Leeds Building Society members.”

The Right Mortgage & Protection Network and DA Club have today (XX August 2023) announced a new partnership with Uinsure’s new digital product, UinsureCX, which allows advisers to automate insurance quotes during the mortgage advice journey.

Member firms of both the network and DA Club will now be able to refer clients to UinsureCX in order to automate building and contents (B&C) insurance quotes for their clients and to offer a five-star Defaqto-rated B&C product. 

UinsureCX tracks an individual client’s mortgage process and provides them with fully-automated communications at key moments during their mortgage journey such as application, offer and exchange. 

Once referred to UinsureCX by the adviser, the client receives automated communications that are personalised to their specific mortgage type and individual circumstances. 

The clients then arrange their own cover through a simplified journey that takes less than 60 seconds at their own convenience. 

Amy Wilson, Head of General Insurance (GI and PMI) at The Right Mortgage, commented:

“The Right Mortgage is excited to be introducing UinsureCX to bring a new dimension to our service offerings. This collaboration reflects our commitment to delivering comprehensive solutions that meet our adviser member and their clients’ evolving needs. By incorporating UinsureCX’s capabilities into the TRM proposition, we’re taking a significant step towards providing a holistic experience that encompasses both mortgages and insurance.”

Lauren Bagley, Chief Partnership & Marketing Officer at Uinsure, said:

“Teaming up with The Right Mortgage allows us to support more advisers to focus on delivering exceptional service to their clients. TRM advisers can now capitalise on the power of technology and data to drive their insurance strategy, while their clients can now enjoy a streamlined and digitised insurance journey that seamlessly aligns with their mortgage progress.” 

For more information on The Right Mortgage & Protection Network, The Right DA Club, and sister companies The Later Life Lending Network or The Right PMI & Healthcare, please contact: joinus@therightmortgage.co.uk or visit www.therightmortgage.co.uk

LDC makes significant investment in Uinsure to support ambitious growth strategy