The largest insurance consolidator, Towergate, announced last week that it was entering into a formal consultation process with staff at Broker Network Insurance Brokers. There are 16 offices of BNIB currently and there is a possibility that this number will be slashed to 3, with the brand disappearing.
BNIB were one of the many Towergate purchases in the past five years, dealing in both personal and business insurance.
What does this mean for the average businesses, either those that are insured through BNIB or are approached by BNIB to provide them with a business insurance quote? The answer is, very little. Any business that acquires so many different ventures that may, or may not, operate in close proximity to each other are going to have to face the potential of office closures.
When we go through the worst recession that UK plc has seen since before the second world war and invest income is plummeting, then we have reached a perfect storm for the insurance world.
Hopefully, the consultation will see all staff retained in different locations but the omens do not look good. For those insured through BNIB there is inevitably going to be disruption as staff members change and physical office locations alter.