01.12.03 - MCE scoops top financial services award for second year running
Leading motorcycle insurance provider MCE has achieved a unique first by winning the award for Marketing Campaign of the Year at the UK's leading insurance industry awards for the second year running.
05.12.03 - MCE create new recruitment campaign
n response to the closure of Hill House Hammond's (HHH) 150 seat call centre in Northampton, Northamptonshire-based broker MCE has created a new recruitment campaign making 20 new positions (various roles) available immediately to HHH staff affected by the redundancies.
31.10.03 - Staff get in the pink for charity
Staff at an insurance firm were tickled pink at how much they raised for charity.
02.10.03 - MCE win prestigious financial services award
Wellingborough-based insurance provider MCE has picked up a major national trophy at the 2003 Insurance Age Awards. MCE was singled out as the UK's Personal Lines Intermediary of the Year, fighting off strong competition from the UK's leading insurance broking firms, including financial services giant Aon.
09.09.03 - Julian Edwards invited to join The Insurance Times Advisory Board
Julian Edwards responsible for Business Development at MCE has been invited to join The Insurance Times 'Young Professionals' Advisory Board'.
25.07.03 - MCE to provide e - quotes
OASys e-Quotes gives brokers an additional channel to generate business, through integration between the internet and the Misys back office system.
Julian Edwards, Head of Business Development at MCE, said: "We currently generate business through advertising, direct mail, affinity schemes and customer recommendations (which make up 73 per cent of general enquiries).
14.07.03 - The MCE team v Europe's largest American lifestyle show
Tens of thousands of people flocked to the Americana International Show at Newark County Showground, Nottingham for Europe's number 1 American lifestyle event.
26.06.03 - MCE Finalist - British Insurance Awards 2003
MCE was nominated as Personal Lines Broker of the Year at the British Insurance Awards, hosted by Post Magazine, and presented at a glittering awards dinner at The Royal Albert Hall in London on 9th July 2003.
16.06.03 - MCE Main Sponsor at the 2003 American Auto Club Summer Nationals
The weekend of the 14th and 15th June saw England's largest American car show descend on Billing Aquadrome, Northampton.
25.05.03 - MCE proud members of the General Insurance Standards Council
MCE have become proud members of the General Insurance Standards Council (GISC), the UK watchdog established to set, monitor and enforce standards in all areas of general insurance, including fair treatment of our customers.
23.04.03 - MCE appoints Bimal Patel as team leader
Patel joins from Norwich Union where he was responsible for evaluating the success and progress of training courses, designing and implementing new personal lines products and preparing and presenting new projects to maximise the company's risk free income.
15.03.03 - MCE Sponsor John Jackson
MCE confirmed their passion for grass roots bike racing by becoming a main sponsor for John Jackson of Rovic Racing Team.
15.03.03 - Wellingborough-based insurance provider MCE increases staff numbers
MCE is to increase its staff numbers by 25% during the first quarter of 2003. Building on the foundations of the record success achieved in 2002 MCE is looking to bring more than a dozen new staff to its offices in Wellingborough to handle the company's impressive sustained growth.
01.02.03 - New specialist insurance scheme launched for classic car owners
Wellingborough-based insurance provider MCE has launched a Classic Car Scheme providing discounted insurance premiums to classic car owners. MCE (formerly MC Edwards) has built a team of classic car experts whose knowledge and experience enables the company to provide a hassle-free value-added service to classic car enthusiasts across the UK - at the best price possible.
27.01.03 - Scooter culture set to take hold in London
London's streets could soon be buzzing with the sound of Vespas, Peugeots and Piaggios, as the capital vies with Rome to be the centre of the scootering world. Reduced ownership costs and low-cost insurance are getting Londoners out on two wheels.
01.01.03 - S.O.S. (Save our Scooters)
You don't have to be a masochist to own a scooter; but there are two obvious reasons why it probably helps. Firstly, scooter owners are much more likely to suffer serious accidents than car owners. And secondly, scooterists stand a much higher chance of making an appearance as the victims of crime statistics when their pride and joy goes missing. Highly organised gangs of thieves see our two-wheeled friends as an easy source of tax-free income. Given this, it is perhaps surprising to learn that a high proportion of the many scooters stolen every year are uninsured against theft.
05.12.03
MCE scoops top financial award for second year running.
Leading motorcycle insurance provider MCE has achieved a unique first by winning the award for Marketing Campaign of the Year at the UK's leading insurance industry awards for the second year running.
MCE was first picked out as winner of the award at the annual Insurance Times Awards in 2002 (when the company also won Small Broker of the Year) and has now been presented with the award for a second consecutive year in a ceremony attended by over a thousand of the leading players in the UK insurance and financial services sector in Birmingham on 5 December 2003.
MCE beat off hot competition from many of the UK's leading insurance companies to win this historic second award - confirming the company's status as one of the country's most dynamic and switched-on insurance providers. This is the latest of a string of major achievements for MCE.
The award recognised the massive success of MCE's 2002/2003 campaign to promote its newly formed motorcycle Dealer Support Unit (DSU) - which helped to treble the number of policies sold and almost doubled the number of motorcycle dealerships with whom MCE works.
The DSU service was conceived when MCE saw that problems arranging insurance for bikes and scooters were stopping bikers buying the machines they wanted and preventing dealers from selling bikes. Julian Edwards comments: 'We saw a golden opportunity to help bikers and dealers alike by stepping in with a dedicated package of insurance support and advice.'
Drawing on its specialist knowledge of bike insurance, MCE offered dealers instant paperless quotes and cover and dedicated support from advisers working dealer-friendly hours, seven days a week, including weekends and bank holidays.
The campaign was based on working with dealers to achieve common goals, making the insurance process as easy as possible, giving dealers the tools and advice to sell more bikes, and simply being there for them whenever they needed support.
It included promotional mail-shots, dealer visits, strongly branded sales and presentational materials, attendance at motorcycle open days, extended opening hours, a 10-second call response commitment, a 50 per cent increase in dedicated staff, unique solutions for difficult risks, introducers' fees and account facilities for key dealers.
MCE is now a widely recognised brand across the UK motorcycle dealer network and is constantly strengthening dealer partnerships through a programme of mail-shots, follow-up calls, and visits to dealers on location and at events.
Edwards concludes: 'We are absolutely thrilled to win this prestigious award for a second year running. The insurance business has changed enormously since MCE was formed in 1975, but we are not simply keeping up with the pace we are setting it - constantly moving with the times to give our customers the specialist insurance policies and the high standard of service they need.'
MCE specialises in providing insurance for American cars and classic vehicles, motorcycles, and household and travel policies. MCE combines state of the art technology with a highly trained and motivated workforce to deliver first-class service and providing 'insurance made easy.'
Simon Horswell - Aascent Finance Company, Julian Edwards - MCE, Jimmy Carr - Comedian.
01.12.03
MCE create new recruitment campaign.
In response to the closure of Hill House Hammond's (HHH) 150 seat call centre in Northampton, Northamptonshire-based broker MCE has created a new recruitment campaign making 20 new positions (various roles) available immediately to HHH staff affected by the redundancies.
Julian Edwards, responsible for Business Development at MCE said; "The redundancies must be seen as both a blow for our profession and the local insurance community. Once redundancies are made and the talent is lost from HHH to another profession, it is doubtful whether we will be able to win them back".
Employees of HHH interested in furthering their insurance career at MCE should contact Lisa Hunt on 0870 420 7575.
Insurance Age 5th December 2003.
31.10.03
Staff get in the pink for charity.
Staff at an insurance firm were tickled pink at how much they raised for charity.
Workers at MCE Insurance in Lister Road Wellingborough, dressed in pink and raised about £400 between them for the Breast Cancer Campaign.
Credit Controller Debbie Wiltshire, 31, of Queensway, Wellingborough, helped organise the event. She said: "People could either pay £2 and wear pink or £4 and not to wear pink, "Everyone knows somebody who is affected by breast cancer so I am pleased with how much we have raised".
To find out more about the campaign, call 0800 789 1465 or visit http://www.insuremce.com/news/index.asp#
Evening Telegraph 31st October 2003.
Staff get in the pink for charity
09.09.03
Julian Edwards invited to join The Insurance Times Advisory Board.
Julian Edwards responsible for Business Development at MCE has been invited to join The Insurance Times 'Young Professionals' Advisory Board'.
'The wise old owls' of the insurance industry have plenty of opportunity to put their views to the profession and while the words are often stimulating, they tend to reflect the industry from a sometimes seen-it-all-before point of view.
Insurance Times has decided to give our young professionals a voice. We have decided to set up a young professionals advisory board to investigate and reflect on our industry and its ills.
The first of the board's meetings looked at the issue of image - who better to tell us what is wrong and how it can be changed than those who have most recently joined the industry.'
The board:
| Andy Cook (Chair) | Editor, Insurance Times |
| Julian Edwards | MCE |
| David Curry | Miller |
| Mark Walker | Royal & SunAlliance |
| Kerry Ostello | Groupama |
| Simon Lockwood | Norwich Union |
| Alison Douglas | Cox Insurance |
| Gavin Buckley | Aon |
| Claire Hayward | Allianz Cornhill |
The board
02.10.03
MCE win prestigious financial services award
Wellingborough-based insurance provider MCE has picked up a major national trophy at the 2003 Insurance Age Awards. MCE was singled out as the UK's Personal Lines Intermediary of the Year, fighting off strong competition from the UK's leading insurance broking firms, including financial services giant Aon.
The award recognises MCE as one of the UK's fastest growing and most dynamic companies and reflects its success in delivering excellent value and service to a growing customer base across the UK. It follows two other prestigious award wins for MCE (Insurance Intermediary of the Year and Marketing Campaign of the Year) in the 2002 Insurance Times Awards at the end of last year.
MCE Director Michael Edwards comments: 'Winning this award is a superb achievement and recognises another record-breaking year for MCE. We have put in a very strong financial performance, growing our customer base from 49,000 to 76,000 and increasing staff numbers from 50 to over 80. This award reflects the hard work, commitment and enthusiasm of every single one of those employees. It may not be fashionable to care passionately about insurance; but we do, and the difference shows. This really is a winning team in every sense'.
2003 Insurance Age Awards
25.07.03
MCE to provide e-Quotes
MCE, a leading provider of car, bike and home insurance, will be one of the first to implement OASys e-Quotes - a new product from Misys that allows brokers to provide quotes over the web.
OASys e-Quotes gives brokers an additional channel to generate business, through integration between the internet and the Misys back office system.
Julian Edwards, Head of Business Development at MCE, said: "We currently generate business through advertising, direct mail, affinity schemes and customer recommendations (which make up 73 per cent of general enquiries). Being able to quote over the web gives us an extra route to market our products, 24 hours a day, seven days a week - allowing us to reach a wider customer base.
"Our philosophy, 'insurance made easy', is reflected in our decision to provide quotes on-line and is why we continually seek feedback from our customers. Our recent market research has shown that clients and prospects want to use the internet to gain information and more importantly a quote - especially when it comes to Personal Lines. OASys e-Quotes was clearly the best solution on the market.
"At MCE this facility will be fundamental to our growth plan to increase our client base from its current figure of 77,000. Misys is certainly an incredibly robust system with excellent functionality. In fact, our business would cease to function without reliable technology."
James Gamble, Sales and Marketing Director, Misys General Insurance, said: "Web-based quotes are fast becoming an extremely important part of a broker's business. The internet continues to grow as a means of selling insurance with 70% of consumers now able to go on-line at home or at work. OASys e-Quotes was designed to specifically address this.
"Given the profile of MCE clients, the ability to quote using the web is critical to the company's future growth. They have been a Misys customer for over 20 years and were one of the first to implement our OASys front office sofware. I am delighted they will be one of the first, once again, to embrace this latest technology."
14.07.03
The MCE team v Europe's largest American lifestyle show
Tens of thousands of people flocked to the Americana International Show at Newark County Showground, Nottingham for Europe's number 1 American lifestyle event. The MCE show team exhibited over the weekend of the 11th, 12th and 13th July, managing to speak to many clients and meet some new ones. The show hosted 3 live music stages (which included a live set by Suzi Quatro) and a massive display of American cars, trucks, bikes and motorhomes.
The MCE team v Europe's largest American lifestyle show
26.06.03
MCE Finalist - British Insurance Awards 2003
MCE was nominated as Personal Lines Broker of the Year at the British Insurance Awards, hosted by Post Magazine, and presented at a glittering awards dinner at The Royal Albert Hall in London on 9th July 2003.
The Personal Lines Broker of the Year is one of the awards that British brokers are likely to fight strongly for as they recognise excellence and the importance of improving standards right across the industry.
Julian Edwards, responsible for business development at MCE said: 'The British Insurance Awards are known as the 'Oscars' of the insurance industry and have increasingly come to represent the gold standard for service and quality excellence. Reputation through quality, and particularly through customer service, remains a key focus for MCE. These awards help to raise standards and showcase those new higher standards to both the industry and our customers.'
British Insurance Awards
16.06.03
MCE Main Sponsor at the 2003 American Auto Club Summer Nationals
The weekend of the 14th and 15th June saw England's largest American car show descend on Billing Aquadrome, Northampton. The excellent weather made way for one the best ever attended shows with some 6,000 plus cars recorded.
MCE Sponsors 2003 Auto Club
25.05.03
MCE proud members of the General Insurance Standards Council
MCE have become proud members of the General Insurance Standards Council (GISC), the UK watchdog established to set, monitor and enforce standards in all areas of general insurance, including fair treatment of our customers.
For further details on GISC and what it means for you please visit http://www.gisc.co.uk/
23.04.03
MCE appoints Bimal Patel as team leader
Wellingborough-based insurance provider MCE has appointed Bimal Patel as Motorcycle Team Leader.
Patel joins from Norwich Union where he was responsible for evaluating the success and progress of training courses, designing and implementing new personal lines products and preparing and presenting new projects to maximise the company's risk free income.
MCE Director Michael Edwards comments: 'We are pleased that Bimal has agreed to join our successful and growing motorcycle insurance team. I am confident his leadership skills and experience will prove invaluable in helping MCE to grow its portfolio of personal lines products in the motorcycle insurance sector.'
Bimal Patel - Motorcycle Team Leader
15.03.03
MCE Sponsor John Jackson
MCE confirmed their passion for grass roots bike racing by becoming a main sponsor for John Jackson of Rovic Racing Team.
MCE Sponsor John Jackson
15.03.03
Wellingborough-based insurance provider MCE increases staff numbers
MCE is to increase its staff numbers by 25% during the first quarter of 2003. Building on the foundations of the record success achieved in 2002 MCE is looking to bring more than a dozen new staff to its offices in Wellingborough to handle the company's impressive sustained growth.
As phase one of the company's new three-year plan, MCE expects to strengthen its position as a specialist insurance provider by incorporating new part and full-time employees, ranging from new trainees to experienced and highly-qualified insurance advisors over the next four to eight weeks.
All new employees will undergo a specially tailored MCE training programme, while recruits under the age of 25 will be placed on the Insurance NVQ.
MCE director Michael Edwards commented:
'Following recent structural changes experienced by other insurance companies in the Northants area, MCE is fortunate that so many experienced and qualified insurance professionals will be joining the company to take us to new heights in 2003.
'We experienced a magnificent year in 2002, increasing staff numbers significantly, achieving record financial growth and receiving the recognition of our peers in the insurance industry when MCE won the national Small Insurance Broker of the Year award. Our plans for 2003 are no less ambitious.'
As part of the company's plans for growth in 2003, the dedicated team of sales advisors in MCE's motorcycle insurance department will be expanded with the introduction of new full and part-time sales professionals. The company's insurance renewals department will also benefit from the arrival of several new team members, bringing a wealth of experience learnt at two of the UK's leading insurance providers. And MCE's newly established Dealer Support Unit will report a 50 per cent rise in staffing levels as a direct result of the unit's success over the last quarter of 2002. MCE's Customer Services and Home & Car Department will also be bolstered to ensure that service standards are maintained at a consistently high level.
MCE Headquarters
01.02.03
New specialist insurance scheme launched for classic car owners
Wellingborough-based insurance provider MCE has launched a Classic Car Scheme providing discounted insurance premiums to classic car owners. MCE (formerly MC Edwards) has built a team of classic car experts whose knowledge and experience enables the company to provide a hassle-free value-added service to classic car enthusiasts across the UK - at the best price possible.
Julian Edwards, Business Development, MCE comments: 'Classic cars owners are passionate about their vehicles and MCE is passionate about providing a first class insurance service to customers - we really believe that we have something special to offer.
'We've done our homework on the classic car market, and we have the expertise to offer classic car owners the best insurance service at the best price. Recently voted Small Broker of the Year in the Insurance Times Awards - the 'Oscars' of the insurance world - we have built up a strong reputation for providing a high-quality specialist insurance service.'
MCE's scheme offers the following benefits to classic car owners:
- No forms to complete
- Instant cover
- Expert specialist insurance advisers
- Open 9am - 7pm Monday to Friday, 9am - 4pm Saturday
- Available throughout the UK
- Easy payment by direct debit
- Technical assistance 365 days a year
- Total security with every policy
To find out more, call MCE on 0870 90 90 911.
27.01.03
Scooter culture set to take hold in London
Low-cost insurance costs and Congestion Charge exemption will lure Londoners onto two wheels, says specialist insurer MCE
London's streets could soon be buzzing with the sound of Vespas, Peugeots and Piaggios, as the capital vies with Rome to be the centre of the scootering world. Reduced ownership costs and low-cost insurance are getting Londoners out on two wheels.
With public transport already at full stretch, the introduction of congestion charging on 17 February will have many Londoners thinking about alternative forms of transport. Congestion-charge-exempt scooters are set to see sales rocketing. Sales were already up 27 per cent year on year in London alone, and scooter dealers are expecting to do a very brisk trade over the coming weeks.
Londoners who have not previously considered the option may be pleasantly surprised at just how little it costs to buy, run and in particular insure a scooter. According to specialist scooter insurance provider MCE, recently voted small insurance broker of the year, annual premiums can be as little as £55 - the same cost as two weeks' congestion charges. That's a fraction of the average car insurance premium in the capital - and a scooter gets you across town roughly three times as fast.
MCE's Julian Edwards comments: 'A brand new scooter - giving 110 miles to the gallon - can sell for as little as £850 (half the price of a zones1-6 season ticket), with good-quality second-hand bikes available for several hundred pounds less. In the crowded cities of Japan now they are introducing stripped down hi-tech scooters selling for just a few hundred pounds, and the UK will be heading that way too.'
Edwards is convinced that London will see continental levels of scooter use within months as the effects of the Congestion Charge kick in. 'To those who argue we don't have the climate for it, I say look at Germany. Scooter ownership there is significantly higher than in the UK and the weather is no more reliable there. It has never been cheaper to insure your bike and the cost-benefits of scooter ownership look irresistible now the Congestion Charge is coming into force.
'Contrast the ease of buzzing around town on a scooter with the hassle of running a car in the capital today or getting anywhere by tube. A scooter is flexible, manoeuvrable, easy to park, fuel-efficient and runs reliably. It's little wonder today's commuters are switching to a cheaper and chicer form of transport. How long will it be, I wonder, before London's Trafalgar Square takes over from the Trevi Fountain as the scooter rider's spiritual home?'
01.01.03
S.O.S. (Save our Scooters)
You don't have to be a masochist to own a scooter; but there are two obvious reasons why it probably helps. Firstly, scooter owners are much more likely to suffer serious accidents than car owners. And secondly, scooterists stand a much higher chance of making an appearance as the victims of crime statistics when their pride and joy goes missing. Highly organised gangs of thieves see our two-wheeled friends as an easy source of tax-free income. Given this, it is perhaps surprising to learn that a high proportion of the many scooters stolen every year are uninsured against theft.
Scooter theft statistics in the UK make sobering reading for owners and insurance underwriters alike. A huge proportion of the UK's scooters - as many as ten per cent - were stolen last year. To make matters worse, the vast majority of scooters are never recovered.
But, in reality, much of this crime could be prevented if individual owners, manufacturers, and local authorities undertook a few basic security measures to stop scooters being seen as such a soft touch by the organised gangs. Past experience suggests that scooter crime can be - and has been - effectively tackled where there is a real determination to minimise the opportunities for theft. The following examples illustrate the point.
Town centre car parks - particularly in the capital - are a Mecca for thieves. One central London car park recorded 36 bike thefts in a single month - most of them scooters. However, once the car park's owner introduced ground anchors, only three thefts were recorded during the following month. That total is still too high of course, but, clearly, progress is being made. Other measures to improve bike security, such as the introduction of Thatcham-approved immobilisers, keeping scooters under lock and key in a garage, improving alarm systems, and making more effective use of chains can all make a huge difference.
Professional gangs have targeted the scooter market for a number of years now as a lucrative source of revenue. Their methods are crude but effective. Typically, scooter thieves hire an unregistered van, tour a neighbourhood and load 20 to 25 scooters into the rear of the vehicle. Once the van is fully loaded, the scooters will be ferried to the continent and sold on to bike rental companies at £200 to £300 a time, making a profit of five or six thousand pounds for a night's work.
Some unscrupulous rental companies overseas will be only too happy to acquire a virtually new scooter for £300. The bike will then be ridden to death and probably thrown on the scrap heap at the end of the year. The local authorities, regrettably, are sometimes less than rigorous in checking the credentials of these operations. An insurer I know, just back from holiday, told me he had asked the owner of a Spanish bike rental company how the speedometer on the bike he had rented came to be marked in MPH. He was cheerfully advised by the proprietor that this feature had been laid on specially 'to please the tourists!'
Those scooters getting the white van treatment that are not sold to rental companies are often broken down into spare parts. Unfortunately the manufacturers don't tag individual bike parts with an identity number so there is nothing to prevent garages purchasing stolen items and using them to refit second hand bikes.
Preventing scooter theft is nine-tenths common sense. A relatively small initial outlay on one of a range of theft prevention devices can make a big difference. Insurance providers have an important role to play in countering the threat of bike thieves. They should be able to assist their customers by advising them on the latest theft prevention strategies and providing them with useful information on how to make their scooters more secure.
All scooters, for example, should arguably be fitted with Bauer locks, which work in the same way as a chain except that they are integrated into the back of the seat. Scooters fitted with Bauer locks are significantly more difficult to steal, and riders who use them can secure their bikes without having to carry a cumbersome chain around.
Another potentially effective risk management tool involves tagging scooters by brushing or spraying on an adhesive film containing thousands of 'microdot' identifiers. Invisible to the naked eye, these microscopic tags have the vehicle's identification number encoded into them and are applied across as many panels and components as possible (though not the engine, for obvious reasons). Once exposed to a particular frequency of light these reveal a unique code that will help the police identify a bike in the event of a theft.
As well as providing the best cover at the best price, insurance providers can assist their policyholders in material terms. If a scooter owner commits to fitting an approved crime prevention system, then it is only right that they shouldbenefit from discounted premiums and/or a reduced excess in the event of a theft.
At MCE we are looking to persuade as many as possible of our scooter clients that it is in their interests to implement one or more of a range of simple, cheap and effective solutions now available. Criminals are still getting away with their loot far too easily; let's not ignore the weapons at our disposal in the fight to foil the bike thieves.