The Times launches partnership with Bestinvest

The Times and Sunday Times newspapers have launched an "execution only" and financial advice service with Bestinvest. TheTimes Wealth Management Service is essentially a white-labelled version of the Bestinvest offering and is subject to the same charges. 

The partnership covers a range of services:

• A non-advised online service
• Personal advice from a Bestinvest advisor
• Model portfolios run on a discretionary basis
• A full wealth planning service including advice on pensions and IHT

The broadsheet newspapers have been regarded as a strong channel to provide financial advice services; in part reflecting the demise of advice through the high street banks. 

The Telegraph has been offering similar services for some time and works with St James's Place for Wealth Management and Skipton Financial Services (SFS) for its Investment Advisory Service, Fund Supermarket and IHT advice.  

L&G re-enters the motor market with Junction

Legal & General has announced its return to the motor insurance market, following its partnership with Junction, the affinity arm of BGL Group. This time it will operate as a distributor rather than an underwriter and it will be backed by a panel of 14 motor insurers. 

L&G has ambitions to achieve 100,000 policyholders within 3 years, which it is hoping to achieve partly through direct sales (it has over 7 million customers of its own), but more probably through price comparison websites. 

It has spoken of the "development of some exciting car insurance propositions", but it will be interesting to see how effectively these can be delivered within a panel model and in such a price-competitive market.  

L&G announced its intention to re-enter the motor market in March 2013. 

Lloyds Bank announces SME partnership with Gallagher

Lloyds Bank has announced a partnership with Arthur J Gallagher to provide business insurance solutions to its 1.1 million SME customers. The exclusive 5-year partnership (which actually commenced at the end of December 2013), covers a range of insurance covers and aims to increase the Bank's "underwriting footprint" by use of the broker's panel of specialist SME insurers.

The service will be available in-branch as well as over the phone and online and has been described as a "fully advised business insurance offering". The main casualty of the new partnership is Allianz which had held the Lloyds Bank business since November 2009. 

Allianz continues to partner with Barclays for its SME customers, AXA with HSBC and Santander, and UKI (NIG) works with RBS. 

The shift to a "broked" solution by Lloyds Bank and the growing appetite of many brokers for commercial partnerships, suggests that the other banks may also look beyond single insurer deals in future renewals.   

P&O Ferries selects Cigna as travel insurance partner

P&O Ferries has appointed Cigna Insurance Services as its travel insurance partner. The partnership offers single trip and annual covers and reportedly extends to elderly passengers and those with pre-existing medical conditions. 

P&O Ferries will act as an IAR (Introducer Appointed Representative) of Cigna, which is now established as a top 5 travel insurer within the UK. Cigna also provides affinity and white label travel insurance for a number of significant partners including Sainsbury's Bank, Saga, Barclays and Halifax. 

One slight surprise is that the partnership was launched in November 2013, but has only recently been reported in the trade press. 

Junction claims 2 million affinity customers

This week saw the announcement by Junction, the partnerships and affinity business of BGL Group, that it was now responsible for the insurance of over 2 million customers; an increase of 1 million since 2007.  

The result is an impressive one and Junction now manages partnerships with a wide range of household brands including Marks & Spencer, Post Office, Lloyds Bank, HSBC and the RAC.

The recent press release mentioned a 2013 "affinity deal" that Junction had done with Zenith Insurance, which looks more like third party insurance administration than a partnership, but it does at least show the extensive capabilities within the group. 

It also begs an interesting question about which affinity insurance provider is now the largest in terms of premium income and policyholders. Junction is almost certainly one of the top 3, albeit as an intermediary, but it would be interesting to see how these numbers compare with Aviva and Ageas; both of which hold some of the largest UK affinity partnerships (even excluding the business they underwrite through Junction). 

West Brom partners with Towergate for financial advice

West Bromwich Building Society has launched a partnership with Towergate Financial, to provide a financial advice service in its 37 branches. The service will provide whole of market advice in pensions, protection and investmenets and is being managed by 20 former West Brom staff who will be employed by Towergate. 

West Brom previously worked with AXA, but the insurer withdrew from offering an advice service in Summer 2013. 

Towergate Financial has been active in working with small and medium sized building societies and, using a variety of models, it already has partnerships with the Loughborough, Melton Mowbray, Nottingham, Saffron and Scottish Building Societies.