05.08.08 MCE appoints Matt Duck to attract and retain talent
Specialist personal lines broker MCE Insurance has appoint Matt Duck, BA (Hons) as HR Manager. MCE Insurance continues to report excellent organic growth, which will allow Duck to focus on attracting and retaining talent.
21.07.08 MCE signs Caterham Insurance contract
Specialist personal line broker, MCE Insurance has won the contract to provide Caterham Insurance. The deal went live in July following a year of negotiations when the manufacturer.
16.07.08 MCE & Pure Triumph have a storming 'Ride To Work Day'
Specialist motorcycle broker, MCE Insurance linked up with Northamptonshire based Pure Triumph to promote the MCIA's (Motorcycle Industry Association) national Ride to Work Day, on Wednesday 16th July.
21.04.08 MCE Insurance beats comparison sites for exclusive eBay deal
Specialist motorcycle broker MCE Insurance has won the exclusive tender to provide insurance for eBay Motorcycles.
21.04.08 Excellent new Taxi Insurance deals from MCE
MCE Insurance is firmly one of the UK's premier taxi insurance brokers, offering great deals to taxi drivers.
31.03.08 A fresh space for MCE Insurance
Northamptonshire based MCE Insurance have moved into a fresh and exciting space, writing business from 31st March.
14.03.08 Red Hot 125cc Insurance Deals from KYMCO
Kymco has announced details of the fantastic new subsidised insurance packages now available on the KR Sports 125 Sports Bike, which start from just £99.
10.03.08 MCE, best Scottish motorcycle insurance deals
MCE Insurance exhibited at the 2008 MCN Scottish Motorcycle Show. The two day show, 8th and 9th March, attracted over 35,000 visitors from Scotland and Northern England.
12.02.08 MCE Insurance FC fight for top three finish
In their first season MCE Insurance FC have come from nowhere and are now fighting for a top three finish.
07.02.08 MCE Insurance, first blows at the London Motorcycle Show
Northamptonshire based MCE Insurance, top three UK motorcycle broker produced the first knockout blows of the eagerly awaited motorcycle season.
23.01.08 MCE Insurance listen to what motorcycle dealers want!
Motorcycle insurance specialist MCE Insurance exhibited at the 2008 Motorcycle Trade Expo, NEC, from 20th January for three days.
08.01.08 MCE's Julian Edwards has been tipped as 'Next Generation Broker'
The Insurance Profession is changing and today's most prominent influencers will eventually move on or retire.
02.01.08 MCE Car & Bike Insurance Web Integration
MCE is a highly ambitious call centre business with a loyal and ever expanding customer base. To further their presence in the personal lines market, they were keen to redevelop their website using Open GI's complete web integration service.
05.08.08
MCE appoints Matt Duck to attract and retain talent
Specialist personal lines broker MCE Insurance has appoint Matt Duck, BA (Hons) as HR Manager. MCE Insurance continues to report excellent organic growth, which will allow Duck to focus on attracting and retaining talent.
Following university, Duck secured a place on Tesco's award winning post graduate training scheme, focusing on HR after a grounding in general retail Management. Following completion of this course, he was appointed Human Resources Manager and held numerous posts within the Personnel stream of Tesco, with direct HR responsibility for 900 staff.
Whilst at Tesco, Duck was responsible for designing and implementing their critically acclaimed Management Training Scheme, which provided tangible career paths for managers across the company.
Duck commented 'I am looking forward to using the experience I have gained working for a global company like Tesco to help grow the talent and potential within the staff of MCE Insurance. This is an exciting time to be joining the company and I want to ensure that it is widely known as 'a great place to work, a great place to shop and a great place to visit.'
An animated Michael Edwards, Managing Director added 'Throughout 2008 we have attracted some exceptional talent and we are delighted Matt has joined MCE's management team.
It is a very exciting time for broking, having the best team is essential. Matt will be responsible for attracting new people and developing an already great team.'
21.07.08
MCE signs Caterham Insurance contract
Specialist personal line broker, MCE Insurance has won the contract to provide Caterham Insurance. The deal went live in July following a year of negotiations when the manufacturer. During that period MCE clearly demonstrated they fully understand what the Caterham brand stands for and what their customers lifestyle requirements are.
By offering it's customers a truly tailored insurance, the British manufacturer has completed its desire to provide the complete ownership experience. As a result the insurance includes unique benefits including trackday insurance, breakdown recovery, agreed value and Caterham approved repairs.
Caterham Sales & Marketing Director, Andy Noble explains: 'For the thrill of driving and the joy of ownership, the seven simply can't be compared to any other vehicle; this is why Caterham believe it can't be insured the same way. With our own insurance, customers are able to come to one of our showrooms and sort the deal under one roof.'
Julian Edwards, MCE Director added: 'We are delighted to be working with Caterham and helping develop one of the UK's most iconic brands. This further demonstrates what an exciting environment the insurance market is and adds to our affinity strategy, following the launch of The Camping & Caravanning Clubs' car insurance earlier in 2008.'
Visit www.caterham-insurance.com for more details.
16.07.08
MCE & Pure Triumph have a storming 'Ride To Work Day'
Specialist motorcycle broker, MCE Insurance linked up with Northamptonshire based Pure Triumph to promote the MCIA's (Motorcycle Industry Association) national Ride to Work Day, on Wednesday 16th July. Pure Triumph hosted the event and donated £150 biking jacket in a free raffle, while MCE gave every rider a designer t-shirt and free refreshments.
The day was a phenomenal success with over 400 bikers showing up and the jacket being won by Andrew Beirne from Kettering, Northamptonshire.
An elated Andrew Beirne said 'I can't believe I won! I am not taking the jacket off. I've just got back into biking' due to the increases in fuel prices, it's becoming so expensive to run a car.'
A fired up Dominic Edwards, Affinity Marketing Director at MCE insurance added 'it was a fantastic day at Pure Triumph. Riders from all over East Midlands rode down in support of Ride to Work Day, in fact one biker rode from Buckingham Palace! From speaking to riders on the day its obvious that bikes are not just great fun but are becoming increasing important as daily transport.'
For more information visit www.mcia.co.uk or www.puretriumph.co.uk
21.04.08
MCE Insurance beats comparison sites for exclusive eBay deal
Specialist motorcycle broker MCE Insurance has won the exclusive tender to provide insurance for eBay Motorcycles. They fought off tough competition from key comparison sites and signed a partnership with the undisputed heavyweight, eBay, who can boast a motorcycle sale every four minutes.
A jubilant Julian Edwards, MCE Insurance Director added 'This is an excellent partnership for MCE at a time when the big contracts are being won by aggregators. There is not a site in the UK that can match eBay for motorcycle sales, we now have a reach to these bikers when they are looking for insurance.'
Edwards continued 'With the financial markets turmoil there is no doubt that 2008 will be a difficult year for new motorcycle sales, however we expect commuter scooters and used motorcycles sales to be strong, this is the eBay profile. This is the most important motorcycle insurance deal of 2008, we have targeted a 25% uplift in internet sales.'
Angus McCarey, Head of eBayMotors.co.uk said, "eBay Motors is the most visited automotive website in the UK, with more than 3 million unique visitors every month and over 1.3million live listings at any time, across vehicles, auto parts and accessories. We're excited about this partnership with MCE and what it offers to our community. We hope that it is the start of a long and successful relationship."
To view the campaign visit www.ebaymotors.co.uk , then follow the link for Motorcycles & Scooters.
21.04.08
Excellent new Taxi Insurance deals from MCE
MCE Insurance is firmly one of the UK's premier taxi insurance brokers, offering great deals to taxi drivers. Following six months of listening to what taxi drivers are looking for from their insurance, MCE Insurance has now launched their exciting new scheme:
- 65% introductory No Claims Bonus
- Exclusive facility for mirroring private car No Claims Bonus
- Insurance for new badge holders
- Drivers aged 21+
- Any driver policies
- Unbeatable taxi insurance for Buckinghamshire, Birmingham, Buckinghamshire, Cambridgeshire, Derbyshire, Leicestershire, Lincolnshire, Norfolk, Northamptonshire, Oxfordshire, Shropshire, Staffordshire, Suffolk, Warwickshire, Worcestershire.
Head of Taxi Insurance at MCE, Alex Lecynski commented ‘We are delighted to provide not only great Taxi Insurance deals, but an excellent service. We have a dedicated team to help you at any stage of your insurance. In addition if you have a non-fault accident our claims team will get you back into a plated vehicle swiftly and recover any loss of earning you may have incurred.
If you have any ideas on how we can improve our insurance or service please call me on 0870 112 24 13 or email alex.leczynski@mceinsurance.com
For a taxi insurance quote call 0870 112 2413 or visit www.mcetaxi.com
Some useful websites for taxi drivers:
www.taxidirectory.co.uk
www.phtm.co.uk
31.03.08
A fresh space for MCE Insurance
Northamptonshire based MCE Insurance have moved into a fresh and exciting space, writing business from 31st March. MCE provide over 100,000 policy holders with insurance for motorcycles, specialist cars and taxis throughout the UK, including Northern Ireland.
A fired up Michael Edwards, Managing Director of MCE Insurance commented 'We are delighted to open our new centre in Rushden, Northamptonshire. This exciting building has a real city buzz, we boast one of the UK's most high tech insurance centres and excellent training facilities.
We have capacity for 180 insurance advisors in Rushden, plus 120 seats in Wellingborough. This is the beginning of another very exciting stage of MCE's 33 year history, our sales will reach £45 million by Q4 2010. This growth will be generated through mceinsurance.com sales and new affiliate schemes, such as providing car and motorcycle insurance for The Camping & Caravanning Club.
We are making our thoughts public about the future, it's a brilliant time for any forward thinking Northamptonshire firm, we have the best communications with the whole of Europe! At MCE we have invested in building and training a brilliant team, driving technology and sound hard working marketing strategies.'
14.03.08
Red Hot 125cc Insurance Deals from KYMCO
KYMCO has teamed up with MCE Insurance to provide the UK's leading 125cc insurance scheme. From now, until 30th June 2008, Third Party Only insurance will be available on the KR Sport 125 Sports Bike from just £99 for riders aged 21+ years, and £199 for riders aged 17-20 years (subject to status). Third Party Fire & Theft insurance is also available on the KR Sport 125 for a maximum premium of just £149 for riders aged 21+ years and only £249 for riders aged 17-20 years old (subject to status) - with fire and theft excess set at just £250.
Also included as standard in the insurance scheme is breakdown recovery, legal cover and 24-hour, 365 days a year claim line.
Voted the best in its class in a MCN test review last year, the KR Sport 125 is a fully faired, race styled, sports bike, which offers exceptional value for money, priced at just £2499 otr. The new 125cc subsidised insurance scheme now makes this bike even more attractive and affordable for riders of all ages.
KYMCO, who have a worldwide reputation for combining premium quality with engineering excellence and value for money, also offer a 2-year unlimited mileage parts and labour warranty on all of their Motorcycles, Scooters and ATVs.
For further information on the new KR Sport 125 and the exciting new insurance packages, please telephone 01743 761107 or visit www.kymco.co.uk.
10.03.08
MCE, best Scottish motorcycle insurance deals
MCE Insurance exhibited at the 2008 MCN Scottish Motorcycle Show. The two day show, 8th and 9th March, attracted over 35,000 visitors from Scotland and Northern England.
Following the show Julian Edwards, MCE Director commented 'We had a fantastic time at the MCN Scottish Motorcycle Show. The visitors are some of the friendliest we have met and they certainly enjoyed visiting our stand. We had the Manx TT arcade game on free vend with some motorcycle babes on hand to bring a smile.
On a more serious note we provided 251 quotes and arranged 126 new motorcycle insurance policies. However our real aim was to listen to Scottish bikers about what they wanted from their insurance. At this show the bikers we were talking to wanted a great claims service, we are now looking for any ways we can make improvements.'
To see more about the show visit www.scottishmotorcycleshow.com or to view videos visit www.youtube.com.
12.02.08
MCE Insurance FC fight for top three finish
In their first season MCE Insurance FC have come from nowhere and are now fighting for a top three finish. The Northamptonshire based Rushden & District League has hosted many exciting games, with some cracking goals and beautiful howlers!!
By day Stuart Gardener is an insurance expert, at the weekend he is known as The Manager for MCE Insurance FC. The Manager commented 'We have had a thrilling season, with our striker Mark Fletcher being the divisions lead scorer by a massive seven goals! We have a real chance of finishing in the top three, having won our last three games.'
For more information about MCE Insurance FC visit www.soccerweekend.com
Or phone Stuart Gardener on 0870 420 75 75 to challenge the team.
07.02.08
MCE Insurance, first blows at the London Motorcycle Show
Northamptonshire based MCE Insurance, top three UK motorcycle broker produced the first knockout blows of the eagerly awaited motorcycle season.
MCE Insurance who arrange cover for over 100,000 motorcycles exhibited at the London Motorcycle Show from 31st January to 3rd February at Excel. The team were offering quotes and expert advice to over an estimated 60,000 visitors. The show's audience demanded show girls, freebies and insurance deals. MCE listened and delivered all three to make it their most successful show to date, recording an increase of 92% on like for like sales.
A fired up Paul Graham, Manager of MCE 'Elite' commented, 'I spent my time listening to motorcyclists and finding out exactly what they want from MCE Insurance. People want on-line quotes, but then access to UK based insurance advisors who are both knowledgeable and friendly. Motorcyclists also want to have choice over policy options, including multi-bike insurance. It's going to be a long hard year, but one the whole MCE team are ready for.'
23.01.08
MCE Insurance listen to what motorcycle dealers want!
Motorcycle insurance specialist MCE Insurance exhibited at the 2008 Motorcycle Trade Expo, NEC, from 20th January for three days. MCE Insurance already has excellent relationships with hundreds of UK and North Ireland dealers is preparing to launch their 2008 offering, but first they wanted to listen what motorcycle dealers want!
Both motorcycle dealer proprietors and sales managers gave a clear message of what is wanted. Julian Edwards, MCE Director was delighted with the exhibition and commented 'over the three days we had the opportunity of talking to over 500 people at the forefront of motorcycle sales. These individuals were both straight talking and fantastically open, we are now 100% clear of what we must do to make their lives easier. I would like to thank everybody who came to see us, your input will have a huge impact on our 2008 product.'
For more information on the show visit www.motorcycle-expo.com
08.01.08
MCE's Julian Edwards has been tipped as 'Next Generation Broker'
As reported in the Insurance Times:
The Insurance Profession is changing and today's most prominent influencers will eventually move on or retire.
So who will be responsible for the future of the development of the insurance market. The Insurance Times, QBE and The Broker Network have tipped Julian Edwards for success.
02.01.08
MCE Car & Bike Insurance Web Integration
As report by Open GI 02.01.08
MCE Objectives:
MCE is a highly ambitious call centre business with a loyal and ever expanding customer base. To further their presence in the personal lines market, they were keen to redevelop their website using Open GI's complete web integration service.
The company's existing site was attracting a good level of new business but there was room for improvement in terms of overall user experience. Data capture could be simplified and integration with the Open GI back-office would make processing converted business faster. What MCE wanted was a fully interactive online quote and payment facility for a wide range of standard and non-standard car and bike insurance, with linkage to aggregators.
According to Director, Julian Edwards, the web is a key part of MCE's future distribution strategy. He said: "As a major personal lines broker competing with some of the biggest names in the market, we need to make sure that our web presence is as dominant as possible via successful marketing, but more importantly that the technology underpinning the site makes the user experience seamless.
He said: "We benchmarked the easyJet website for car and motorcycle insurance i.e. a quick to use, easy to navigate site with good facilities for incepting and amending policies. When we heard that Open GI was offering a complete solution we were keen to talk to them about what they could do for us. We were previously working with a separate web integrator but were not satisfied with the results. The advantage of Open GI is that they could offer a one-stop-shop for all of our web design and integration needs."
The new service from Open GI:
Open GI offers a fully hosted interactive e-commerce solution for brokers wishing to trade online. This incorporates web design (eStarter), online comparative quote functionality (eBroker) secure web hosting and back-office integration. Additional features include online credit card payment and postcode validation.
The service can be tailored to suit brokers' needs from developing a simple brochure website to integrating with aggregators. Open GI's in house web development team manages the entire process and brokers can be trading online within as little as five days. MCE opted for the complete service and launched a fully hosted quote and buy website - www.mceinsurance.com - during spring 2007.
How MCE's website was developed using the service:
The website was developed in close partnership between both companies. MCE set out what they wanted to achieve with Open GI and a detailed project schedule was created using tailored web templates.
The initial step was to design the look and feel of the site in conjunction with the web development team. In order to build the technical structure, Open GI took time to understand the MCE brand and their vision of the consumer experience and delivered against their requirements in a short time frame.
In terms of data capture, pre-quote terms and conditions and question sets were established for each product line. These were tailored for non-standard vehicles such as pizza delivery vehicles, scooters and modified cars. Postcode look up was implemented at this stage.
For quote retrieval / display, the site was integrated with e-Quotes engines for car and bike, providing access to products from over 20 insurance providers. Quotes are displayed immediately to the customer, at which time the details are sent to MCE's back-office over a secure internet connection. Quote & Buy functionality was implemented, once MCE had gained insurer agreement.
In terms of prospect storage, quote data is available to MCE staff in seconds using Open GI's IN-Stream software. 'No-quotes' are also imported so that the customer can be contacted as soon as possible and converted to a sale (outbounding). The site has full email functionality and can send branded messages to the customer including a web reference and links back to the 'Retrieve a Quote' functionality.
A range of online payment options are available to the broker. MCE set up an account with an online credit card merchant and once agreements were in place they sent the details to Open GI to implement payment processing.
Web hosting is also an option for brokers that don't have the infrastructure to host in-house. MCE has opted for this. Open GI coordinates the web hosting agreements and tests the broker's site before it goes live. Information pages are also amended / updated by the web development team.
Results / impact of the service
The results have been impressive for MCE:
The site has had an immediate impact on new business - generating a 44% increase in the first month of going live, and over 15% in the following three months with no additional marketing spend. MCE acquisition costs have reduced significantly.
Web new business now equates to 23% of MCE's overall new business. With the Open GI service, this is forecast to increase to 40% in 2008.
MCE has created a market leading quote and buy website with Open GI without having to take on any new in house IT people.
According to Julian Edwards, the site is now much slicker and easier to navigate and integration with Open GI's e-Quotes engines means quotes are available 24/7 from over 20 providers. HTML messages can be sent to customers in real time, following quote and policy inception, and the site is built on XML technology and web services to handle large quote volumes.
"Internet projects are extremely technical so you need a good level of support, particularly when it comes to web integration. Working in partnership with Open GI has allowed us to achieve what is a robust and fully interactive e-commerce solution for our customers. We have been particularly impressed with the input and dedication of Open GI's web development team. The fact that the site has the ability to link to aggregators and is fully hosted by Open GI is extremely important for MCE."