Hughes Insurance is developing a range of relationships with affinity partners throughout Northern Ireland. It is a ‘win win’ situation as the partner provides access to their client base in return for an enhanced relationship with their customers and an additional revenue stream. Gareth Brady, Chief Executive, explains how Hughes Insurance is delivering benefits to its affinity partners.

Hughes Insurance, the largest locally owned insurance broker in Northern Ireland, is growing. The insurance broker now employs over 200 staff, 62 of which have been recruited in 2009.

 “We are delighted to continue our recruitment drive due to the success of our growth strategy,”  states Gareth: “Hughes Insurance is a significant player in the local insurance market, and our success depends on seeking out growth opportunities to continue moving forward as a business. We operate a business model that delivers the best available cover at the most competitive price. This is the foundation upon which our success is built and provides us with business acquisition opportunities. It’s a cycle we work very hard to perpetuate - by continuing to increase volume through our panel of insurance providers we can continue to support our customers with competitive pricing. More business equals better pricing. Better pricing equals increased growth opportunities.”

The challenge of delivering growth means seeking out opportunities to increase the Hughes Insurance customer base. A huge focus for the business in the last 18 months has been to establish affinity partners who can benefit from a relationship with Hughes Insurance. The partners, supported by Hughes Insurance, provide their loyal customers with access to competitive insurance products, strengthening their relationships whilst creating an additional revenue stream.

Gareth continues: “The key is having an honest and transparent relationship with our affinity partners.  Once they see the systems we have in place, how secure our data storage is and how strong our conversion and retention performance is, they soon gain confidence in our service.  In many cases our reputation is so strong locally that our partners choose to offer Hughes Insurance as the ‘brand partner.’  We approach affinity partners with a clear business model that illustrates how their customers will benefit from the relationship and delivers an ongoing revenue stream, fuelled by the consistent delivery of better pricing.  It is truly a ‘win win’ situation and more and more prominent local brands are beginning to understand the opportunities a relationship with Hughes Insurance can present.”

The recent recruitment at Hughes Insurance has helped support the growth in successful affinity partnerships the local insurance broker now caters for. It is also an area that the business sees as a major opportunity in 2010: “We have forecast for a number of affinity relationships to go live in 2010 and have worked hard to ensure our business model can cater for the volume each party will bring to the table.” Added Gareth: “This is the result of 18 months of dedication and provides us with a springboard for continued growth.  We anticipate announcing some interesting partnerships imminently.” 

Hughes Insurance was founded in 1977 and is Northern Ireland’s largest independent Insurance brokerage. The Hughes Insurance headquarters are based in Newtownards and the company has 11 regional branches in Ballymena, Ballynahinch, Glengormley, Derry, Lisburn, Magherafelt and Portadown, Coleraine, Omagh, West Belfast and Newry.