Local News at Coversure Kennington

The Board of Directors of Coversure kindly invited Coversure Kennington to their exclusive Midsummer Evening Event on Monday 21st June 2010, held at the magnificent St John’s College Cambridge.

This was the first year that Coversure had arranged such an event and it was attended by both Franchisees and senior insurers. It was a lovely relaxed and enjoyable evening at beautiful Cambridge University. There was wonderful music, tasty food, some weird science and a candlelit punt down the moonlit River Cam. All this plus the chance to catch up with fellow Franchises and from around the industry.

Our thanks again to Coversure for the invitation extended to both Hina and Rajan.

Another exciting day at Coversure Kennington to mark the incredible success in the month of March when the we achieved a milestone in gross written premium! The team were rewarded by the company with a day trip to Paris, including our partners. It was a bright Saturday morning when we reached Paris with Eiffel Tower elegantly shinning in the sun. We watched beautiful sculptures, appreciating French architecture at its best. A super lunch was also laid on by the company at an exquisite French restaurant facing the Eiffel Tower. It was memorable day away for all concerned and one to be cherished. It has motivated the team to break new milestones in line with the company focus of continued growth in 2010!

Emmanuel Kenning meets Rajan Amin, a golf loving cricket fan working in the shadow of the Brit Oval and a broker determined to break the million pound barrier

Taken from Professional Broking (http://www.broking.co.uk/…straight-bat) | 08 Apr 2010

Opening his office in Kennington in 2003 was quite a challenge for Rajan Amin. For the first two years, he did not receive a wage. Amin comments: “It was only because my wife Hina was working and we had another income to live off that we didn't have to shut the office down.”

In his own words, Amin took a “scattergun approach” to building his business initially, buying databases from Yell, sending out 12,000 mail shots and quoting on every type of insurance under the sun. With disarming honesty, he admits: “I was foolish, I overestimated and my business plan was way off target.”

With two full-time employees to pay, he quickly worked out that his business needed to specialise and settled on property owners' insurance, businesses and liability. The office now has 85% of its business in the commercial arena, has grown every year since opening bar one and has started 2010 very strongly. Amin highlights: “In January and February this year, compared to last year, we have grown by 27%.”

Pursuing a career in financial services only occurred to Amin in his mid-twenties and he focused on assurance rather than insurance at first. His parents owned a newsagent and a regular customer recommended that he contact Allied Dunbar. Amin explains: “I talked to the group director, an ex-military captain; in fact, 75% of the team were ex-military. I was very impressed with everything they said and that they sent you to Swindon for training.”

His decision was not, however, endorsed by his father, who felt that the life industry had a bad reputation. Amin reveals the advice his dad gave when he started as a tied-agent in 1991: “He said to me ‘don’t ever sell a policy where if you go to a wedding and see someone you have sold to, you have to turn your back and look for a door to get out. Sell as if you are selling to me so that the person will walk to you and shake your hand'.”

First steps

At the end of 1996, Amin joined Croydon-based RA Insurance Services to work as an independent financial adviser, a period he describes as “the best three years I'd ever had”. It was in August 2000, when a friend was made redundant during the closure of the AA's high street offices, that Amin jumped at the chance to open his first Coversure franchise in Wimbledon. The partnership was not destined to last. He comments: “Unfortunately we fell apart. We didn't share an ethos for the business so we parted company.”

Despite the setback, Amin was determined to pursue a career as his own boss. He selected Coversure again – a franchise group with 87 franchisees and £65m of gross written premium.

To establish a franchise with the company currently costs £15,000 (see PB Jan-Feb 2010, pp.32–34), followed by a 10% charge on commission and fees a year, for which franchisees receive a broking-in-a-box package.

Amin cites the agencies and support offered as the reasons for choosing this route over starting up alone: “They give me the authority, power and control to run my own office. You don't have an overbearing big brother.” He warns anyone thinking of taking the same steps to be prepared for plenty of hard work and to ask a key question of themselves: “You will have control of your own destiny: is that the sort of life you want to lead? When we first opened, I used to work until nine and I used to come in on a Saturday.”

While the office sits proudly on the high street, Amin says that it is less passing trade than repeat business and word-of-mouth recommendations that allow him to access the opportunities within his local community and further afield. The office, which has retention rates of 80% and above across all its operating areas, focuses on cross-selling policies and is fast approaching a rate of two for each client. He says: “We don't sell on price only and we make that clear from the word go. If you want to be a successful local community broker then you can't turn away certain types of business just because you think ‘I don’t want to do it'. You've got to find ways of writing it rather than looking for ways of saying no.”

Now well established, Amin is keen to push harder to reach his goal of £1m premium income. A big help in achieving this aim is Coversure's online presence. For instance, a Google search on property owners' insurance, one of Amin's franchise's key areas, returns Coversure on the first page; potential clients can then source a quote online or find the contact details of a local branch.

Amin is also focusing on previously unavailable business areas. Coversure has switched from a personal lines focus to being predominantly commercial lines based and has developed a bespoke technology system. Amin mentions this improved insurer access as one reason that his plan to push into taxi insurance will be a success. The office has also added Polish to the impressive roster of client languages catered for – which also includes Sinhalese, Tamil, Punjabi and Hindi – all of which again helps in reaching the 200 taxi offices in its marketing area.

Adverts in Asian Voice, free weekly Polish newspapers and StreetSkins – an idea featured on Dragons' Den for adverts to be placed on roller shutters on shops at night – are also being tried in a concerted marketing drive.

Training

Investing in staff is integral to the broker: Amin organises this through the Chartered Insurance Institute and achieving his own Certificate was a valuable learning curve in understanding the importance of training and qualifications. He is eager for his staff to have the same opportunity: “We pay for the CII training but we also make staff sign a declaration that if they fail then they will pay for a second test out of their own pocket and take it within three months!”

The final piece in the jigsaw is new product development: an ongoing process. Working with Lambeth Council, Amin has, for instance, created an accredited scheme that has secured more business with property owners.

The council runs a one-day course on the legal requirements of being a landlord along with advice on treating tenants properly. Any landlord attending the council's course (which it runs for 33 London boroughs) is entitled to a 15% discount on a landlord's building insurance scheme underwritten by Towergate's underwriting arm – a Coversure exclusive of Amin's Kennington branch. Further deals with other London councils have followed, including a rent guarantee product and buildings contents product.

Like all brokers, Amin prizes good administration and efficient service from insurers. For property owners' cover, he praises Policyfast – a sister company and Coversure's underwriting agency – as well as Allianz and Fortis. On quotes, taking out policies, adjustments, renewals and claims, he says: “We don't want to be chasing an insurer. If you can do it electronically online then that is the sort of insurer we want to deal with.”

Situated less than 500 metres from the Brit Oval, the former amateur medium-fast bowler is also now a golf devotee, although he concedes that hitting the ball straight remains a challenge. He says: “I just can't get enough of golf. I have been playing for four years and have a handicap of 24. It's completely under my skin.”

Amin has also been a Rotarian for four years and is currently president of the Balham chapter. He says: “It is purely about wanting to give something back to the community, about professionals getting together and giving up their time for people who are less fortunate.” The Rotary Society's motto seems to fit this man, who lists honesty, integrity and openness as the qualities that sum up the ethos of his office: service above self.

Coversure Kennington appear in Asian Voice. The related article can be found here. (PDF 882kb).

Coversure Kennington appear in the 13th edition of the London Landlord Accreditation Scheme newsletter. The related article can be found on pages 5 – 6. Click here to view the PDF (2.36mb).

The Internet Is No Substitute for Knowledge says Community Insurance Broker

Kennington’s local community Insurance Broker, Coversure Insurance Services have been honoured with an award for their work in the local community at a national ceremony that took place at the Marriott Hotel in Leicester on 14th November 2009

Speaking after receiving the Claims Assistance Award, sponsored by Markerstudy Insurance and Close Premium Finance companies, Rajan Amin, proprietor of the brokerage said “It’s great to receive an award such as this and be recognised for the work that we do but we weren’t actually doing anything more than we normally would. In this particular case our client suffered property damaged caused by water escaping from a pipe that had worn through general use. Our client made a claim but was told by the Insurer that the claim wasn’t payable due to exclusion for wear and tear.”

Rajan went on to add “Unfortunately, some insurance companies are trying to cut costs and one way of doing this is by taking on inexperienced members of the public who do not know the ins and outs of their policy in an attempt to reject a claim. Luckily for our clients we always know the ins and outs!”

“Armed with our years of experience we were able to spot a technicality in the insurance cover provided and pointed this out to the Insurer. Whilst damage to the pipe itself wasn’t covered, in this particular instance the damage caused by the water leaking out of it was.”

”I dread to think what might have happened had the client not contacted us, people don’t realise that very often when they buy insurance direct or over the internet when it comes to making a claim they are on their own. In this case we not only got the claim paid but managed to get the amount increased too!”

Photo – L to R Tim Wilson – Close Premium Finance Rajan Amin – Coversure Kennington and Paul Copeland – Markerstudy Insurance

Hina and Rajan Amin established Coversure Insurance Services Franchise in Kennington in 2003. The franchised branch is one of 87 throughout the UK which control premiums in excess of £65m.

In the wake of the dreadful floods in Cumbria this week, Rajan Amin, Director of Coversure in Kennington Branch, urges local homeowners and businesses to be prepared.

We have all seen on the news what devastation a flood can bring. Water is relentless, and if you are in its way, there is nothing you can do to hold it back. If you are properly insured, you should be covered for the damage and repairs. When disaster strikes, Insurers are very quick to set up additional phone lines and draft in staff to cope with the calls.

If you could be susceptible to this kind of damage, here are some top tips to help you make a plan. When the warning comes, you should be able to spring into action;

• Keep important papers upstairs, and make sure your insurance documents are close to hand.
• Keep a list of important phone numbers.
• If you have a store of sandbags, keep them where it’s easy to reach them when you get the warning.
• Locate any airbricks around the building. Lots of people sandbag doors and forget the other routes in.
• Have an emergency pack ready. Include a torch, dry clothes, a flask, blankets, toiletries, first aid and water containers.
• Make sure mobiles are fully charged.
• Have a plan, but be aware that safety comes first and that you should not take risks unnecessarily.

Here are a few things to have in your plan:

• Turn off the electricity.
• Look out for the elderly and vulnerable. Make sure they are safe, and be prepared to call emergency services if you suspect they are in trouble.
• Move important furniture upstairs or to a higher part of the building, especially electrical items.
• If you have to evacuate, take care. Even a 12 inch current can knock you off your feet.

Insurance can be considerably more costly in high risk areas. It pays to use a broker to help you to find the right cover for you. Brokers will look for the very best price for you without compromising on cover.

The biggest asset in the UK is its commercial property and housing stock which rebuilding cost is an estimated £3,000bn. The majority of houses are owner occupied but more and more commercial premises are held as investments. There is also the growing buy to let rental market.

Many businesses have chosen to own property in the directors names, transfer it to trusts or pension schemes or enter into sale and leaseback arrangements. Some have sub-tenants or rent out space which is surplus to requirements. Many clients have also invested in property through buy to let, feeling this as an excellent long term asset and of course there are large numbers of property companies whose business is to own and develop property.

If you own investment property for any reason, it is important that the insurance you have is arranged to protect you against all eventualities. In most cases, the cost of cover is passed on to the tenants who often have a full repairing lease so they also have a vested interest in ensuring the cover is correct.

One of the most important issues is to ensure the sum insured is adequate to rebuild the premises if they are destroyed or damaged. With material costs rising rapidly and planning controls becoming ever more stringent, rebuilding can be delayed and the costs far more than anticipated. Buildings may have to be demolished and professional advisers employed. It is most likely that higher standards of construction will be required and green, environmental and climate issues recognised. Delays in rebuilding in a period of higher inflation will increase costs. It is always advisable to have regular rebuilding cost valuations done to ensure sums insured keep in line.

Other covers which are normally required are:

Loss of rent – This will cover any drop in rental income whilst the premises are rebuilt including the costs and loss of income if the existing tenant is lost.

Property owners liability – This protects the owner from claims from tenants and the public arising out of the ownership of the property or the use of any contractors etc.

Employers liability – covers the employment of full time or casual employees.

Plant – it may be advisable to cover key plant against breakdown and use an insurer to check all the plant, and facilities including electricals comply with H&S regulations.

Contents – Often owners also own contents which are in common parts of a building and these should be covered.

Coversure recently held a joint seminar at the Shirley Park Golf Club in Croydon with Bryden Johnson, a firm of financial advisors and mortgage brokers. The seminar was called “Ensuring Your Financial Security During the Credit Crunch”

Three short presentations were made on the topics below

1. Capitalising on your capital!
2. Under insurance – Could be the last claim your business makes!
3. Making your bricks and mortar work for you through your mortgage

More than 30 clients and professionals attended ending the day by networking in an open and relaxed atmosphere. Clients who attended had the following to say:

“Good presentation needed bigger room” Mr MS Sohanpal SW17

“My honest opinion…I thought you presented well and succinctly” Mr AR Ganatra Goldmark Management SE20

“Thank you for organising an excellent set of seminars. I found the presentations very useful; they were well prepared and the speakers were very knowledgeable in their respective areas. There was good opportunity to have one-to-one discussions with the speakers. Overall the venue/location was good but the room felt quite small especially with the turnout you had. I would encourage more women to attend. Please continue to keep me informed of any future seminars” Dr B Patel Quantum Pharma Consulting Ltd SE19

After last year’s disappointing Summer when Insurance Companies spent a lot of time dealing with claims for floods and storm damage, it has come as a relief to see that some warm sunshine has heralded its arrival this year.

This unexpected turn of events has already seen us all scurrying into our gardens to light the first barbecues of the year and make a start on our borders, but have you ever given a second thought to the insurance cover that is available for your garden? When we think about contents insurance we tend to think about items in the house itself but many insurers offer additional cover under the contents section of their policies for items in or around the garden including patio furniture, mowers and even the plants themselves.

As always, not all insurers offer the same level of cover so, before you head out to your own little part of Britain this Summer, why not consult your local Coversure branch about home insurance and make sure that the cover you buy is the cover you need.