Openwork wants 4,000 advisers on board by 2012
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Openwork says it is aiming to have 4,000 intermediaries on its books by the time the Retail Distribution Review hits the market at the end of 2012.
The network, which grew out of insurance firm Zurich in 2005, is made up of 812 businesses that account for 2,500 business writers.
But Paul Shearman, mortgage proposition director for commercial development at Openwork, says that although 4,000 advisers by 2013 is the target, quantity will not be allowed to supersede quality.
The network is looking for advisers who offer a broad range of products rather than just mortgages, which he describes as a relatively low margin product for the group.
Shearman says: “Mortgages on their own are not attractive to us - we are looking for more broadly based sellers.
“The days of earning an income from mortgages alone are long gone. Selling a wider package is now essential for both individual sellers and the network to survive.”
Openwork has a number of estate agencies, of which six or seven are starting to offer pensions.
And across the network it has a penetration rate of 50% for protection and general insurance, with some 200 firms in Openwork earning £25,000 annually from GI sales and at least 50 earning £50,000.
But the network is keen to ensure that more of its brokers follow this lead. To promote the launch of its new GI panel it has produced a range of marketing literature to help advisers sell the product.
The panel is made up of Halifax and Uinsure as well as existing providers Zurich, Cardif Pinnacle and Paymentshield.
