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Retail insurers are experiencing a perfect storm of demand and supply side challenges. Consumers and SMEs are suffering in the ‘cost of living crisis’, while inflation is increasing insurers’ costs. And at the same time, UK regulators have imposed arguably the most radical reform in a decade on the market, which is having an uneven impact on both consumers and insurers. Insurers must find ways to navigate these pressures and maintain performance.

Whether rethinking distribution strategies, innovating propositions, finding productivity opportunities, or supporting M&A, our teams support leading retail insurers to set their businesses up for success.

We benefit from tools such as our UK Motor Market ModelTM, which gives us unparalleled insight into the market.

WE CONNECT C-SUITE DECISION-MAKING WITH PRACTICAL, STRATEGY-DRIVEN CHANGE

Strategy: We help management teams understand their options and trade-offs and make robust decisions.

Operations: We use our industry expertise to build detailed, bespoke operating models and processes aligned to the specific features of your strategy.

Technology: We recognise that technology is a fundamental shaper and enabler of modern strategy and support with architecture design and vendor selection.

Strategic transformation: We help organisations transform by connecting strategy to delivery, ensuring that delivery both aligns to strategy and shapes it.

WHAT WE DO IN UK&I RETAIL

Strategy

We help executive teams understand and prioritise opportunities and threats, find their “edge” and communicate compellingly to their stakeholders.
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Operations

We help executive teams build robust, scalable businesses and operating models, covering organisation design, key processes and governance.
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Technology

We help business executives understand how technology can boost their productivity, and technology executives build and deliver technology strategies and roadmaps aligned to strategic imperatives as well as helping them select vendors.
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Transformation

We help executive teams execute on their priorities by supporting them through a continuous cycle of strategic decision-making and detailed design and delivery.
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M&A

We help investors and corporates with commercial, operational and technology due diligence, deal preparation and execution, and post merger integration.
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OUR LATEST INSIGHTS

Oxbow Partners forecasts 106% combined ratio for UK motor market in 2023

Oxbow Partners forecasts 106% combined ratio for UK motor market in 2023

Our Motor Market Model suggests 2023 will be another tough year for UK motor insurance

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Amazon’s entry into UK home insurance: Spooky

Amazon’s entry into UK home insurance: Spooky

Amazon’s move into insurance has finally happened. This should worry the industry, and regular readers of our commentary will know that we do not say that lightly.

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Consumer Duty: Short implementation means firms must act now

Consumer Duty: Short implementation means firms must act now

UK insurers have more regulatory change to deal with. The Consumer Duty ("the Duty") comes into effect in 12 months (end of July 2023)

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More insights

EXAMPLE ENGAGEMENTS

Supported Tesco Bank’s strategic transformation

Tesco is one of the UK’s best-known brands. Tesco Bank originally entered the UK retail insurance market as a broker using a panel of carriers. After several years of successful trading, Tesco Bank asked itself how it could make its insurance proposition “more Tesco”. Oxbow Partners supported the business through this multi-year transformation. You can read a case study here.

Designed an FS operating model for a leading retail brand

Our client is a prominent UK retail brand. The client was undergoing a strategic reorientation of their retail financial services business and asked Oxbow Partners to advise on how to set up their insurance operating model optimally. We were then asked to support on the broader retail financial services set-up.

Supported a UK retail insurer to stress test a technology selection

Our client is a large UK retail insurer who wanted to replatform their core policy administration system. The CIO asked us to validate their choice of system and that the underlying business case stacked-up. Our findings allowed the decision to be approved by the board.

Assessed the impact of new regulation

Our client was the insurance CEO of a well-known UK affinity group. The executive wanted to obtain an external view on the impact of the new FCA Pricing Fairness regulation. We leveraged our detailed understanding of the regulation (see our blog) to hypothesise about how the market was likely to react and what it meant for our client’s strategy and performance.

Supported the strategy refresh for an Irish insurer

Our client is a leading Irish retail insurer. The incoming CEO asked Oxbow Partners to support with a strategy refresh. We have subsequently supported the client with topics ranging from ESG to claims strategy and ‘break-out’ strategy moves.

Advised a private equity firm

Our client is a leading UK mid-market investor. We were engaged to provide commercial and technology due diligence on a technology-enabled UK distribution asset. Our team of experts applied Oxbow Partners’ structured approach to diligence and were able to support a successful investment.

Oxbow Partners used their impressive knowledge of the UK retail insurance market to help us develop our strategy and create a detailed but pragmatic operating model. The team brought a strong, results-driven approach but also worked collaboratively and collegiately with our team.

Amir Goshtai, Financial Services Director, JLP

RELEVANT PRODUCTS

Magellan

Magellan is our insurance technology navigator. Magellan contains detailed information on over 4,000 technology vendors targeting the global (re)insurance market. Magellan is designed to help business and technology professionals find the right short-list of companies to help with their specific technology requirements. We offer both a self-service subscription and a ‘Curated Search’ service delivered by our dedicated team of experts.
Find out more

UK Market Intelligence

Our UK  Motor Market Model™ is a bottom-up forecast of the premium, combined ratio and operating profit in the market. Our model is updated regularly and provides Boards and management teams objective insight into the market allowing them to make better decisions about how to win.
Find out more

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Lead contact

Greg Brown, Partner

Greg leads engagements on digital, operational, and technology strategy and transformation. He spends most of his time in the Lloyd’s and London Market and European retail insurance.

Graduating with a degree in Engineering and Computer Science, Greg has a strong technical background which allows him to give his clients confidence in the feasibility of their strategic choices. CEOs often rely on Greg to look through the hype and advise them on the relevance of technical trends. Topics where Greg’s range of experience comes together include digitisation in the London Market and the impact of Lloyd’s Blueprint 2, strategic choices available to syndicates around the bifurcation of lead/follow, and using technology as a vehicle to drive underwriting transformation.

Greg is a regular commentator on transformation and digital topic, and often speaks at industry events. He has authored many pieces on the Oxbow Partners blog.

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Lead contact

Chris Sandilands ACII, Partner

Chris leads engagements across strategy and transformation, focusing most of his time on global reinsurance and UK & Ireland retail insurance.

Chris started his career at Munich Re where he was a D&O underwriter. During this time, he gained his ACII qualification. He then moved into consulting, where he has spent 20 years advising (re)insurance management teams around the world on topics including strategy development, operating model redesign, governance optimisation, underwriting transformation and innovation. Chris lives in London and spends a lot of his time with clients in Bermuda and Continental Europe.

Chris frequently authors Oxbow Partners papers and articles. He was the lead author on our InsurTech Impact 25 series. He is a dual British and Austrian citizen and speaks fluent German.

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