Loan Market gets a bit of Ginger

Ray White-owned mortgage broker group Loan Market has joined forces with newly created insurance group, Ginger.

Tuesday, December 14th 2010, 6:48AM

by Benn Bathgate

Loan Market chief executive David Hart described it as a "win-win for both companies."

"The partnership will bring benefits to both groups in that we will be able to offer a more comprehensive range of products to our respective clients. Our clients will also have access to products and expertise that they may not have had in the past," Hart said.

Hart also highlighted Ginger Group's insurance industry training systems as among the best in Australasia. He said that at present, when it comes to insurance products "we only offer the bare basics" and that the partnership will greatly expand this range to include specialist insurance products such as specific types of business insurance.

Ginger Group chief executive David Whyte also said both parties would benefit from enhanced scale, allowing them to offer advisers a comprehensive range of products and services and to help ring-fence clients and protect the client-adviser relationship against "incursion" by other institutions.

He said that for the adviser segment scale is becoming essential "in order to deliver a broad range of services their clients need."

Whyte said the current market and increased regulation is making it "more and more difficult for the one man agent to do everything for a client."

He believes further adviser market consolidation is on the way and that deals such as the Loan Market tie up with Ginger Group will "elevate standards across the industry."

Another plus Whyte identified as resulting from greater regulation and consolidation is the increase in business for those left standing.

Citing experience in both the UK and Australia he said "what's left for the guys who stay the course is an abundance of work."

He also highlighted the importance of providing advisers with a wider range of products as helping cement the important advisor/client relationship. As an advisor is able to do more and more for a client, not only are they more likely to have their services retained but "the client becomes closer and closer to that adviser."

"The relationship that Ginger Group has with advisers is as critical as the adviser-client relationship. It therefore makes a great deal of sense for the two organisations to come together and offer improved scale and scope of service to advisers and their clients," he said.

Benn Bathgate is a business reporter for ASSET and Good Returns, email story ideas to benn@goodreturns.co.nz

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