Berkeley hired David Probert from insurance provider Sterling last month to spearhead the launch of the division in a couple of months’ time, which is currently being referred to as ‘private clients, part of Berkeley Alexander’.
GI master broker Berkeley Alexander is providing IFA firms and their customers with brochures and marketing materials about high net worth insurance ahead of launching a specialised division.
Berkeley hired David Probert (pictured) from insurance provider Sterling last month to spearhead the launch of the division in a couple of months’ time, which is currently being referred to as ‘private clients, part of Berkeley Alexander’.
Probert revealed that so far much of the focus has been on educating IFAs with materials so they can recognise when a HNW GI policy is suitable, as well as helping their clients identify when they need better cover.
Probert said: “The industry scores an own goal by creating a language and marketing that alienates the customer from the products they are looking for.
“If you think about marketing at the moment it’s very much pitched at the high end – it’s a very big country home with six or seven bedrooms with some very expensive motor cars sat outside.
“My experience is high net worth customers often do not recognise themselves as that type of customer even if they are very successful.”
Currently Probert reckoned a number of high net worth people end up purchasing contents insurance on aggregation sites with cover limited to £100,000.
The worst situation, he added, is if customers only recognise that they need better cover once they claim.
Geoff Hall, managing director of Berkeley Alexander, said: “High net worth is a sector within its own – there is a huge opportunity within our market.
“The people we’re looking for will be seeing financial advisers for their financial investments. They will be using mortgage brokers.
“These guys have the clients. What they don’t have is access to that market and that knowledge and ability.”
As well as ‘private clients from Berkeley Alexander’, the firm will add a high net worth division within Genius, a white label general insurance portal for members of SimplyBiz Mortgages.
In the meantime Hall revealed the firm is doing due diligence on a range of high net worth providers’ services to ensure they do a good job.
He was mindful of the fact that advisers don't want to risk losing some of their most valuable clients.
