The new business sold its first policy on Saturday 30th January, through the AA’s Newcastle-based broking arm on the launch day.
The first customer is a Sheffield schoolteacher who is a longstanding AA member but who had not previously been an AA insurance customer.
Craig Staniland, director of AA Underwriting Insurance Company Limited said: “The business went ‘live’ for telephone quotes on the AA’s panel very smoothly and the number of new customers is rapidly growing.
“Our primary target audience is AA members who have not previously had an insurance relationship with the business. AA is primarily a roadside business with an insurance offering and we expect to be able to offer competitive car insurance quotes to customers – going some way to reward their loyalty.”
The underwriter will exclusively be quoting on the AA’s panel and is initially confined to new telephone business. By the end of February, new business will in addition originate both online and from price comparison sites.
In March, quotes will also be provided for members who are already AA insurance customers and are seeking to renew their policies.
Mr Staniland says he expects to write 250,000 policies over the next few years, subject to profitability.
He said: “We have very ambitious growth projections. We plan to add home insurance to the portfolio later this year and other classes of cover could follow in the longer term.”
Mr Staniland also recognises an opportunity to price policies based on telematic data in conjunction with the AA’s new telematics joint venture with Intelematics, announced in January.
“This could eventually allow us to offer quotes that reflect drivers’ performance – regardless of age,” he says.
“The concept of a small plug-in unit to provide real-time information to the breakdown service on a car’s performance and assist patrols attending members using the AA App, would usefully inform insurance underwriting.”
Michael Lloyd, director of broker AA Insurance, welcomed the addition of AA Underwriting to the panel.
“That we have sold our first AA-underwritten policies is very exciting.
“This new venture will target AA members adding value to their membership. It is set to be a competitive player on our panel, adding depth and breadth to our insurance offering, reaching customers we have not always been successful in winning insurance business from before.
“It will help the AA underpin its reputation as a trusted provider of both roadside service and insurance and cement its position as the leading broker of home and car insurance in the UK.”
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