Mortgage insurance: APRIL has transformed its wholesale broker model to make it multi-brand and more open
The Group has therefore launched an online multi-brand product comparison service and will soon be setting up a comprehensive credit product in association with La Centrale de Financement
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In an increasingly digital insurance market, impacted by the requirements of the Insurance Distribution Directive (IDD), the APRIL Group has decided to launch a thorough transformation of its wholesale brokering activity in mortgage insurance, by offering its network of 15,000 partner brokers a multi-brand range of products, through a dedicated platform bringing together mortgage insurance solutions from other operators and brands in the sector. APRIL is also aiming to be in a position to distribute mortgage insurance products to the brokering network through its close links with La Centrale de Financement. The aim: to offer brokers an increasingly broad range of products as well as even greater support with their advisory duty.
"We want to become the platform of choice for brokers, especially for mortgage insurance, by offering a full range of services and solutions, which means becoming multi-brand. Our aim is to meet the requirements of local brokers, who are looking first and foremost to provide tailored solutions to the issues facing each of their customers," states Emmanuel Morandini, CEO of the APRIL Group. "Through this platform, we can also establish ourselves as the partner of choice for insurance operators who are looking to distribute their products to our network of broker distributors. This is a significant change in our wholesale brokering model, which we have initially applied to mortgage insurance, and which we aim to extend to other areas of our markets at a later stage."
A multi-brand mortgage insurance comparison service which combines high-performance products and added-value services
Operational from 3rd October, the platform will initially offer 6 mortgage insurance products: 5 products designed by APRIL, in association with MNCAP, the PREVOIR Group and Axéria Prévoyance for risk bearing, and most recently an AXA Partners product.
"The AXA Partners product broadens the current range to offer brokers a more comprehensive solution for their customers. We are proud that AXA Partners agreed to join this multi-brand, digital platform and to make its mortgage insurance product available to our distributors," explains Roger Mainguy, Chairman-CEO of APRIL's Health-Personal Protection division. Following our partnership with La Centrale de Financement, the creation of this multi-brand platform is a new stage in the development up of our model to enable our partner brokers to have a wider choice and therefore to fulfil their advisory duty more effectively."
The aim of this multi-brand mortgage insurance comparison service goes beyond price comparison, as it incorporates a significant services element, particularly regarding support in relation to changes in the market and in regulations. It will therefore pass on training modules which, given the IDD requires each broker to complete 15 hours of training annually, is a key issue.
The array of solutions will rapidly be expanded between now and the end of the year, with the inclusion of products from other insurance operators, to enable brokers to offer their customers the best possible advice and to draw on a broad range of products tailored to different requirements, to optimise their conversion rates and therefore to develop their business.
An upcoming comprehensive credit product: a first in the brokering market
The launch of this platform contributes towards the rapid development in APRIL's positioning in the mortgage insurance market. On 4th September, the Group finalised the acquisition of 54% of the capital of La Central de Financement, a mortgage insurance broker, to extend its operations in the value chain and therefore offer its partner brokers an over-arching range of services with high added-value to optimise individuals' and professionals' property purchases, which has been non-existent in the brokering market until now.
"The industrial partnership which we have developed with La Centrale de Financement will enable us to build strong synergies in the mortgage market and its ecosystem. Indeed, we have some great common ambitions," adds Roger Mainguy, Chairman and CEO of APRIL's Health-Personal Protection division, "In particular to design a credit product in 2019 dedicated to our network of partner brokers, combining access to negotiated rates and high-performance mortgage insurance."
By bringing together the comparison service of APRIL's multi-brand platform and the credit product which will be developed with La Centrale de Financement, APRIL will be the only operator to offer such a comprehensive range to independent brokers, who are included in addition to La Centrale de Financement's network.
About APRIL
In 2018, APRIL, an international insurance services group and leading wholesale broker in France, will be celebrating its 30th anniversary. And at 30, the APRIL Group is still making life easier for its customers and partners - individuals, professionals and businesses - in the 31 countries in which the Group operates. APRIL's 3,800 staff members design, manage and distribute specialised insurance solutions for them (health-personal protection, mortgage, property & casualty, mobility and legal protection) as well as assistance services in order to offer an easier and more accessible insurance experience to as many people as possible.. Listed on Euronext Paris (Compartment B), the Group produced a turnover of €928.4 million in 2017.
Detailed regulatory information is available on our website www.april.com (Investors section).
INSIGN Press CONTACTS for the APRIL Group:
Samantha Druon: +33 (0)7 64 01 74 35 - samantha.druon@insign.fr
Ylhem Benhammouda: +33 (0)7 64 56 97 54 - ylhem.benhammouda@insign.fr
Financial analysts and investors
Guillaume Cerezo: +33 (0)4 72 36 49 31 / +33 (0)6 20 26 06 24 - guillaume.cerezo@april.com
