Online insurance trading organisation Polaris UK has reported record usage figures for 2021.
The company noted that the use of its personal and commercial lines online trading Standards grew to reach 112 unique organisation-users. These new users included businesses from outside the insurance sector, which first subscribed in 2020. Polaris also said in a release that the number of organisations using its proprietary ProductWriter rating engine rose to 80.
Polaris stated that in 2021, the number of policies traded on imarket – Polaris’s system which connects broker software platforms to insurer systems for the placement of commercial lines insurance risks – hit a record-breaking 490,000. The company also found that the use of live chat across imarket and insurer extranets also grew last year – more than 200,000 online chats were recorded in 2021, averaging just over 800 per working day.
“We’re delighted to support a record number of organisations and customers. As an industry-owned organisation, widespread usage of our products is a key indicator that shows once again that secure digital trading is the clear direction of travel for the industry,” said Polaris managing director Vivek Banga.
In a company release, Polaris stated that it is “strongly committed to developing its products and services”; to that end, it is making its largest investment in imarket’s infrastructure for 2022-23. This investment will support the system’s continued growth in the coming years and ensure its operational resilience, it explained. Polaris will also continue to support machine learning-based rating and data enrichment investment opportunities for ProductWriter, and will develop Standards for areas such as multi-vehicle private cars and claims notification.
“Organisations of all sizes are offering a growing range of online products using the common languages and products that we have developed,” commented Banga. “We will continue to invest in our products to enable the market to push the boundaries of digital trading for the benefit of its consumers and its participants.”
