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When I started this company, I knew that we had to do something different to stand out.
And it’s pretty clear that transparency and honesty are not words you closely associate with the insurance industry.
It was obvious what we had to do….become the honest, transparent broker that you trust, enjoy doing business with and tell your friends about.
How hard could it be?
So, with that in mind, we decided to share what no insurance broker has ever shared before…
The interesting, behind the scenes stuff that you should know about, like:
How much commission life insurance brokers are paid
What percentage of claims do the life insurers pay
And most importantly, where do we place our business.
Or do we actually give unbiased, independent advice?
We have published two such Transparency Reports so far detailing where we place our business:
Jan-July 2016
July-December 2016
So this is our third Transparency Report covering the first half of 2017.
It makes interesting reading:
↓7%
Zurich got the majority of our business but it’s down a sizeable 7% on the last 6 months of 2016.
Why does Zurich Life get so much business?
Price is still the main reason, they offer our clients a massive 15% discount on their life insurance premiums.
This makes them number 1 with clients who want to spend as little as possible….and have no health issues.
A lot of our clients do their research on our website, get a quote, see Zurich are much more affordable than the competition so apply to Zurich.
We don’t advise these clients, it’s all DIY / execution only.
Why is Zurich Life’s share dropping?
They’re not as sympathetic as other insurers for certain health issues so lose business because of this.
Service can be slow so I don’t advise Zurich for urgent cases. We find ourselves chasing Zurich to get things done.
No longer have the standout serious illness cover offering in the Irish market.
↑15%
Just like in the second half of 2016, Aviva continue their march up the lion.ie charts, increasing their share by 15%!
Why Aviva?
Excellent, well reasoned underwriting and as we specialise in getting life cover for people with health issues, we’re a good fit.
They try their best to avoid medical reports / nurse medicals so offer cover with less hassle for our clients.
They have the quickest turnaround of all the insurers so if we need a policy quickly, that’s where we go.
Service is spot on!
They offer to beat the lowest mortgage protection quote in Ireland by 15%!
Why not Aviva?
Aviva need to update their protection products, they lag behind when it comes to benefits offered elsewhere.
You guys don’t see it but their application process can be a bit frustrating behind the scenes!
↓5%
Why choose Friends First?
They are the only insurer offering dual life mortgage protection.
For me, they offer the best income protection in Ireland.
Best underwriters for certain medical conditions.
Why are Friends First losing market share?
No discounts available so their premiums are higher – this is really beginning to bite. Dual life mortgage protection used to look like good value but not when it’s 15/20% more expensive than similar joint life mortgage protection.
Serious illness cover needs a revamp.
Guaranteed insurability isn’t available on their mortgage protection.
↑ 2%
Why have Royal London got more business?
They have improved their serious illness cover.
They offer a 15% discount on mortgage protection and a 10% discount on life cover so like Zurich are attractive to our clients who don’t have health issues.
Why do they lag behind the other insurers?
It’s hard to get an indicative quote from Royal London without having to go through a full application, get doctor’s report etc.
We pride ourselves on being able to give our clients a pretty accurate quote before they apply.
There is talk of a shake-up in their underwriting department..
↓3%
What are New Ireland good for?
Helpful underwriters for certain health conditions.
Free whole of life cover on their life insurance policies.
Conversion option on their mortgage protection policies.
Why do you not place much business with New Ireland
While underwriting is good, and they will approve complex cases, their loadings are higher than other insurers.
Service can be slow
New Ireland accept digital signatures but only from one software provider….the one we don’t use…and we’re not changing.
↓2%
Why we would recommend Irish Life
They provide our over 50’s non medical life cover.
They offer excellent pregnancy cover.
Why not Irish Life
Our underwriting queries go to a general email address so if we’re lucky we get a response after a few days.
Not good enough I’m afraid.
Irish Life are the provider of life insurance products at
That’s why they are the biggest life insurance company in Ireland.
But as a lot of our clients come to us after getting the hard-sell at one of the banks, the last thing they want to see is an Irish Life product.
You can’t win em all Irish Life.
You may be the biggest but you’re not a good match for a small boutique broker like us. 🙂
I hope that sheds some light on what we do around here and why you can be confident of independent advice.
I actually look forward to writing this report, it’s interesting to see how the changes introduced by the insurers influence their market share over time.
Will Aviva topple Zurich over the next 6 months?
Only time will tell..
…don’t forget to tune in next time, SAME BAT–TIME, SAME BAT-CHANNEL.
Nick McGowan
lion.ie | making life insurance easier
We’re an online life insurance broker. We compare life insurance quotes for mortgage protection, life insurance, specified illness cover and income protection from all 6 leading life insurance companies in Ireland, instantly and anonymously.
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