Using Regulatory Compliance as a Competitive advantage
MEDIA INFORMATION 13 July 2006
LEADING INSURANCE BROKER TURNS REGULATORY COMPLIANCE INTO A COMPETITIVE ‘WEAPON’
- Lloyd’s Broker Glencairn is using its excellent compliance performance as a key differentiator in the market place
- Clients increasingly prefer the certainty that comes with a broker backed by high scores for regulatory compliance
- A total end-to-end review of business operations, in preparation for change in regulator to the FSA, has ensured that compliance and quality assurance are built in
- A ten-fold increase in cross-selling between operating divisions, and a five-fold reduction in the number of versions of standard documents has also been achieved
Financial Services companies are often heard to complain about the burden of regulation, but leading specialised Lloyd’s Broker Glencairn is using its excellent compliance performance as a key differentiator in the market place as it builds its business in the UK and internationally.
Glencairn, which has been working with international operations improvement specialist OEE Consulting on a total end-to-end review of its business operations, is finding that its compliance record, and the certainty that its robust processes and operating systems provide, is becoming increasingly valued in the marketplace to the point where it is becoming a purchase motivator for clients.
Melanie Renwick, Chief Administrative Officer at Glencairn Group, said: “The genesis for the competitive advantage that Glencairn has developed in its regulatory compliance performance was initially the change in regulator from the GISC to the FSA. This was coupled with a commitment from the firm’s senior management team to radically improve efficiency and quality of service following an MBO in 2003. We decided to go beyond a basic upgrade of our operations to meet FSA obligations.
“The challenge we set for the business was to:
- Fundamentally review all policies, systems and controls with respect to FSA requirements;
- Question all current assumptions regarding service provision;
- Benchmark services against those of peers and competitors;
- Fundamentally re-assess all supporting structures and processes, and standardise these across five divisions: Specialist Risk, Health and Specialty, Risk Solutions, Professional Risks, and Reinsurance.”
John Barber of OEE, said: “We worked with Glencairn across their entire business, both front office and back office, to create a series of 'one best way' type processes that all divisions could use. This means that instead of each broking division needing its own support staff to operate unique systems, all divisions are able to use a centralised back office with significant efficiency benefits. At the same time, the standard operations that have been implemented mean that compliance and quality assurance are built in at the outset.”
Glencairn has continued to improve on its business capabilities following the initial organisational reengineering project. Not just from a compliance perspective, but also operationally. The firm took the decision to relocate all of its operating divisions on to one floor in an open plan office with the centralised support as a hub operation. In addition to providing operational benefits, improved communication has been fostered between divisions which has enabled greater cross selling through sharing of sales leads and best practice. A ten-fold increase in cross-selling has resulted from this improved communication.
Melanie Renwick concluded; “Glencairn looks and feels very different today compared with where we started. Just about every member of staff was involved to some extent in the business reengineering over the last three years. They are all stakeholders in this and they have all been on the journey together. The culture of the business has changed fundamentally. Our processes and operating systems are streamlined, standardised and robust.
“In addition to the efficiency and quality benefits we have achieved, including a five-fold reduction in the number of versions of standard documents we use, it is the compliance element that is becoming increasingly valued in the market place. Both in the UK and internationally, clients prefer the certainty and comfort factor that comes when dealing with an organisation such as ours that is validated with high scores for its regulatory compliance performance. We are finding that this really is becoming a competitive weapon for Glencairn in the markets in which we operate.”
For further information, please contact Garry Hague at Paratus Communications Tel: 01375-480844 / 07795-644284 | E-Mail: ghague@paratuscommunications.com
