It scarcely feels like I’ve finished writing my New Year’s piece for 2019 when here we are, 2020 is upon us and brings with it a whole new decade of challenges, opportunities and unknowns. At Installsure, we greet the new year with optimism as we set out to reinforce and build upon our position as a leading insurance broker within the home improvement industry.

2019: a challenging year that our clients weathered well

Looking back, I think I echo the views of many when I say that 2019 was another year of challenges for the glazing industry. It is therefore a testament to the strength and ingenuity of our sector that many businesses have not only made it through a difficult year but emerged both stronger and wiser. We have certainly seen this from our position as a leading IBG provider to installation companies.

Record numbers of businesses applied to join the Installsure IBG scheme in 2019 and the volume of insurance backed guarantee policies registered with us over the last twelve months goes to show that, for our clients at least, business has been good.

From our perspective as a provider of insurance services to installers, we too have felt the effects of continued economic uncertainty on the side of the insurers we deal with. Capacity on a number of fronts has been reduced with some key players exiting the market altogether.

Other insurers have been limiting the amount of business they write in niche areas, focussing primarily on core products. As a result, in many sectors premiums have inevitably risen.

As GGFi - and now Installsure - we delivered more in 2019

Against this backdrop a key achievement for us in 2019 was to continue providing our clients and their customers with our core insurance backed guarantee cover as well as our extensive range of other insurance products including Performance Bonds and Consumer Finance whilst maintaining competitive premiums.

While we worked hard to deliver great service and value to our customers, last year saw a number of other positive and significant changes take place within the business.

One notable achievement – as you have no doubt seen – was our comprehensive rebrand from GGFi to Installsure. This was a long time coming and the result of many months of research and work. Our goal was to underline what we stand for and our dedication to providing installation companies with a level of service that’s second to none.

With this in mind, Installsure was born and we are all immensely proud of our new name and brand direction. It clarifies and enhances our position as a leader for insurance backed guarantees for windows and doors and gives us a fantastic platform from which to launch a range of new products for installation companies of all sizes. We hope you agree that Installsure represents an exciting step forward for us and our clients.

We have also implemented a number of other positive developments to continue to enhance the quality of our services. Our new digital policy system means we can give homeowners access to their policy documents via a simple secure download link. That means no more piles of paper being sent in the post, and a quick and easy way for homeowners to access their policies.

We’ve also expanded our business insurance product range, which sits alongside our core IBG specialisation. Installsure is now able to place requests for both Performance Bonds and Latent Defects Insurance (LDI), both of which are increasingly in demand across the construction industry  

Add to this the continual refinements we’re making to our processes and systems and we really believe we offer fantastic value, expertise and support to our registered businesses.

In 2020 and beyond we’ll provide even more value to our clients

And now to look ahead to 2020. We have a number of exciting initiatives lined up which we can’t wait to share with you. We’re also always looking to move forward, to find better ways to do things, and to deliver more value to our registered businesses. So alongside the big ticket items, we’ll continue our work behind the scenes streamlining our systems, finding new efficiencies and delivering unrivalled support to installation companies.

Clearly, certainty surrounding the wider economic picture for the UK would be beneficial to all businesses and hopefully this is something that can be achieved as the year progresses. More than one observer has predicted tough times ahead for the industry.

Nevertheless, at Installsure we remain committed to looking ahead with positivity and focussing on the genuine value we can bring to our customers no matter the state of the market. We truly believe we can help our clients navigate whatever may lie ahead in 2020.

Talk to us about your 2020 insurance needs

If you’re not currently with Installsure and would like to discuss your IBG or business insurance needs, please don’t hesitate to give our team a call on 020 7645 3744 or send us a message online.

Whether you’d like to switch to Installsure from another IBG provider, know more about insurance backed guarantee costs, or simply have a general question about insurance, the Installsure team is here to help.