Clear and present danger

Packaged commercial cover, once exclusively the domain of brokers, is facing increasing competition from banks and direct business. Marcus Alcock assesses whether this cosy niche now faces the same fate as intermediated personal lines

Bundling various commercial covers into a single package has, for many years, been a solid income stream for brokers, with the benefit of capturing a raft of business for the insurer and obvious administrative and cost-saving benefits for the customer.

Yet, the traditional cosy relationship between small businesses and their brokers when it comes to the take-up of such multifaceted coverage has started to come under threat. In recent years the competition posed by both direct business and banks