2020 has brought with it a renewed focus on digital opportunities and Global Risk Partners (GRP) is building on this with its latest acquisition. The insurance intermediary has today announced its purchase of a majority stake in Insync Insurance solutions Ltd (Insync), a Dorset-based online commercial insurance broker. The deal has received regulatory approval and the consideration is undisclosed.
Insync provides insurance for specialist businesses, operating mainly in the beauty and medical sectors as well as covering a wide range of commercial risks. The brokerage was founded in 2014 by MD Jon Norman and local entrepreneur Nigel Walters and has 70 employees who, along with Norman, will remain with the business following completion of the deal.
Group CEO of GRP, Mike Bruce, noted that the acquisition was an important strategic investment for GRP and that building omni-channel distribution capability was core to the group’s future growth. GRP has invested heavily in its data warehouse on the operational side, he said, to apply both data analytics and data enrichment to its offering and the Insync deal highlights that the group will continue to evolve its digital distribution capabilities.
“Jon and his team will give us great insights into growing a successful digital broker, which will be of huge benefit to our other retail broking businesses as they further build out their own digital and affinity propositions,” he said. “Insync’s growth record since its inception in 2014 has been phenomenal and we are delighted to invest in such a high quality and well-regarded business.”
Commenting on the deal, Norman emphasised that the broking industry must get to grips with digitisation in order to survive and prosper over the next decade. Digital technology has already disrupted other professional services sectors, he said, and demand for digital interaction has accelerated as clients become increasingly comfortable purchasing insurance products online.
“GRP’s significant investment will enable us to continue our rapid growth trajectory, both organic and inorganic,” he said, “and being part of the GRP family will enhance the range of products and services we can offer our clients.”
Discussing the overall focus for GRP, Bruce noted that at the start of the financial year 2020-2021, he set the business’s objective to continue to grow its retail footprint in the UK and that this has been achieved through the acquisition of a series of regional retail broking businesses.
“In addition,” he said, “we had three specific M&A objectives for the year: the acquisition of an Irish hub business; to enter the healthcare market and to invest in a high growth digital business. On the back of Crotty (Ireland hub), Premier Choice (healthcare hub) and now Insync, our new digital and affinity hub, we have completed our hat-trick.”
