Drawing in the crowds.

Scheme business can be a profitable way of reaching specific sectors of the market. However, there is no guarantee that all members of an affinity group will sign on the dotted line, says Steve Banner.

Setting up a personal lines affinity group insurance scheme, and
persuading all the members of that group to subscribe to it, looks simple
enough on paper. "In practice, however, it is far more of a challenge than
many brokers expect," says Steve Madeley, personal lines schemes manager
at Allianz Cornhill.


There is no guarantee that all the affinity's members will sign up
immediately just because the policy document bears the group's symbol.
First year penetration rates may be as low as 1% to 2%