Article: How Quote & Bind technology accelerates growth for both brokers and insurer

Chaucer’s Lonham Marine Specialty brand has been undergoing transformation in recent years, becoming fully integrated into the Chaucer Marine & Energy team and complementing the company’s existing Global Marine proposition. Lonham has long been a trusted insurer in the midmarket marine space, having served cargo and freight clients from their Ipswich base for over 40 years. They bring a breadth to Chaucer’s Marine distribution strategy and now operating from both London and Ipswich, can reach a greater range of brokers.

Lonham’s proposition has been refreshed in recent years by Head of Specialty, Mike Smith, Underwriting Manager, Gavin Hasnip and their growing team, who have distilled their offering into a three pronged approach towards products, distribution and geographies:

• Products Offered: cargo, freight liabilities and marine professional indemnity
• Distribution Channels: open market, delegated authorities, and a digital Quote & Bind
• Geographies: UK, USA, Europe and MENA.

Central to Lonham’s embedding within Chaucer has been the creation of their Cargo Quote & Bind product, an assumptions-based tool which has been receiving risks since late 2024. Offering a light-touch approach for brokers once on-boarded, the product enables the volume SME market by offering a range of variables for quotation such as limits and excesses, and based on specific criteria to be listed in the policy. Lonham’s Underwriting Manager Gavin Hasnip describes the key benefits of the product as “quick, slick and efficient, and with a degree of flexibility”.

The product also offers broader coverage than many competitors on a number of factors.

For example, appetite is limited by specifying excluded goods, rather than using a definition to speed up and aid the quotation process. Territorial definitions are included along with clear parameters for each section, as you flow through the user-friendly platform.

At present, limits are available between £150,000 - £350,000 with excesses between £250 and £750 and exhibitions and storage can be added on up to specified maximum limits. Brokers can also choose to increase or decrease their commission as desired, to enable a business win.

In its first year Lonham is working with brokers to input renewals and new business quotes. However, in the longer term, brokers will be able to interact with the tool entirely independently. It is clear that they have spent a lot of time honing the question set to be as simple as possible and creating a user-friendly interface for ease of transaction. As Hasnip says,

At present, a selected set of brokers have access to the tool and to gain access, brokers must be onboarded through a simple application process. In time the goal is to foster growth in the portfolio by accessing a much broader range of clients, and to add freight liabilities, which they feel can also be well suited to the speed and simplicity it offers. For the Lonham team, streamlining their SME offering will enable them to enhance the service they offer across the market and grow their expertise.

As Head of Marine Specialty, Mike Smith, says,