Landau Manson Name Change Press Release
Following the acquisition of Landau Manson in 2009, Alan Turner Ltd is pleased to announce that the general business of Landau Manson will now trade under the Group’s main broking name of James Hallam.
The Hotel scheme Gauntlet will continue to trade within the Hospitality & Travel Division headed up by David Noble as will the Arnold Fisher brand.
As part of this reorganisation, the Paddington office of Landau Manson has closed and staff relocated to James Hallam’s City and Watford offices.
Any questions or further information please contact Jackie Knight Group Marketing Manager on 020 7977 7880.
Challenge
David Noble is passionate about hotels & serving the hotel industry. He is managing director of Landau Manson & Partners, whose Gauntlet brand has
been pioneering risk management services in the sector for more than 20 years.
When David & his team decided to expand the business, they knew they’d have to take their tried & tested service online. But it was a big gamble. They risked running up huge development & infrastructure costs. And if the venture failed, they risked damaging their established brand. What they needed was a cost effective & reliable solution to breakdown the barriers of e-commerce. This was a gauntlet Sirius Web Services was happy to take up.
Gauntlet has long been associated with well-managed hotels. "We don’t care if a hotel is 2-star or 5-star," says David, "as long as they take risk management seriously."
The company has worked with leading insurers to come up with exclusive products for the hotel industry: policies with wide wordings & lots of embedded covers, for a range of properties. But risk management is about more than just products. Gauntlet performs risk audits, writes business continuity plans, & offers health & safety & HR consultancy for its clients.
The Gauntlet approach is clearly working, as business is booming. Gross written premium for hotels has increased by 500% in the past five years, & now stands at £8 million. The company has also expanded outside of London, opening offices in Edinburgh & Harrogate.
But towards the end of 2005, David & his team conceived a much more ambitious strategy.
"We were delivering a fantastic face-to-face service to some of the biggest hotel groups in the country," David explains, "but we wanted to do something similar for the smaller hotels. Of course, we wouldn’t be able to get out & see all of them several times a year. So it became clear we’d have to offer the Gauntlet service on the web."
Solution
David spoke to his existing back-office system provider, & a couple of other software houses. But none could offer a cost-effective solution to going online. Then he met Sirius at an insurance industry dinner for the Prince’s Trust.
"These guys were as passionate about technology as I was about hotels, which was a very good sign," recalls David. "What’s more, they were the only ones who could offer us exactly what we wanted. Not only could they build the website, they could supply a back-office system to connect directly to it, & host our whole business remotely on their own servers. This was a solution that really hit the mark."
David signed up within a month.
Benefits
Remote hosting & a new back-office have brought real benefits. "It’s made us think more carefully about what we do. We’ve made changes to the way the business works, & our efficiency has gone up ten-fold."
The e-commerce website will launch shortly.
The key feature of the site will be the Rapid Premium Indication function, allowing a hotelier to get an indication of premium cost & cover quickly & easily. "Insurance is a simple matter - but people can make it very complicated if they want to," says David.
The hotelier first completes some basic questions about their property & their business - which takes no more than two minutes. They immediately receive a premium indication. If they like it, they then fill in a proper risk management questionnaire. It’s made easy with drop-down boxes & doesn’t take more than ten minutes. Alternatively, they can pick up the phone to go through it.
Once done, the Sirius back-office system picks up the information & sends it on to the insurers. The turnaround is about 24 hours. Gauntlet confirms the terms with the client - 90% of which are normally unchanged from the indication - & the client is free to buy the cover there & then. The back-office system can print out or email all the policy documentation.
If clients don’t want to use the web, they don’t have to. It’s all about giving them a choice. David says: "I’m sick & tired of the lack of service nowadays - from the banks, utility companies, internet service providers. People have forgotten about service, but that’s not something we’re going to do."
The future
David believes commercial lines business will be increasingly transacted online, & niche brokers in particular need a cost-effective & robust way to address this demand. "At the moment, people don’t buy insurance cover with a premium of over 5,000 online - but that will certainly change within 18 months. The web has shaken up personal lines insurance, & commercial lines is a natural progression."
Landau Manson has big plans now. Hotels are just the start. With a flexible e-commerce platform in place, they will look to widen their reach within the leisure & hospitality sector.
"What we have to do is give the client the service they want - not the service we want. The technology Sirius has deployed lets us do this - quickly & cost-effectively."
Fast Facts
Customer profile
Gauntlet, from Landau Manson & Partners, has been pioneering risk management services in the hotel industry for more than 20 years.
Challenge
To take their tried & tested service online - quickly, cost-effectively, & with a minimum of risk.
Solution
Landau Manson appointed Sirius to build the website, supply a back-office system to connect directly to it, & host the company’s whole business remotely on Sirius’s own servers.
Benefits
- Remote hosting & a new back-office have helped the company boost efficiency ten-fold.
- The website’s Rapid Premium Indication function will allow a hotelier to get an indication of premium cost & cover quickly & easily.
- Straight-through processing from website to back-office to insurers.
- A flexible e-commerce platform ready to take on more business in new markets.