As the year draws to a close, reflecting on the challenges and experiences faced over the recent 12-month period is always good practice. Of course, it can be tricky to recall all of the events throughout the year, but it’s integral to your development to learn from these retrospective occasions, using them to help shape your future. Here’s our year in review.

2022 saw many changes throughout the insurance industry, especially from a financial point of view. Companies, advisers and customers have all felt the increasing pressure of rising living costs. With property valuations, rent costs and general expenditure climbing to new heights, 2022 will be remembered for years to come.

Have Housing Prices Peaked?

As reported by Rightmove, the housing market has dropped for the second consecutive month, providing hope for the new year for potential home buyers around the country. 

The average property was valued at £371,158 in October, a record high for the UK. However, this figure has now dropped by over £12,000 to £359,137 in December. This offers an optimistic end to 2022 as we look ahead to 2023.

Rising Rates and Private Renting

Over the year, we’ve seen buy-to-let policyholders make important decisions, such as deciding between selling their properties and sticking out the heightened market inflation. As property values have soared, so has the amount people looking to rent living spaces rather than buying outright.

The Guardian have reported that, with many being priced out of mortgage rates, tenant demand increased by 20% compared to 2021, with a 9% fall in property availability. As a result, a more significant gap has formed between the supply and demand of properties throughout the UK, causing ripples throughout the insurance market.

Retention Making a Return

In the early days of this year’s first quarter, profits started to return to the industry following the repercussions of the pandemic. However, companies are starting to see customers renewing their insurance policies, rather than missing out on consecutive contracts. This has filled the industry with hope for the rest of the year in terms of the market trajectory.

In Review: Mortgage Lending Stats Showing Patterns

Reflecting on Q2 of the year, the FCA posted the following findings about the mortgage lending statistics over this period.

• The outstanding value of all residential mortgage loans was £1,648 billion at the end of 2022 Q2, 3.8% higher than a year earlier.
• The value of gross mortgage advances in 2022 Q2 was £77.9 billion, which was £1.0 billion greater than the previous quarter, but 12.6% lower than in 2021 Q2.
• The value of new mortgage commitments (lending agreed to be advanced in the coming months) in 2022 Q2 was 1.7% greater than the previous quarter but 2.6% less than a year earlier, at £83.9 billion.

For more on this, you can visit the FCA’s website here.

Source Insurance

Award Winners!

From a personal standpoint, this year was undoubtedly one to remember for Source, as we were awarded GI / Protection Provider of the Year. Building up relationships for over 25 years, we are thrilled to be recognised for our efforts throughout the insurance industry. We couldn’t have done it without you!

Strengthening our Team

Throughout 2022, we have recruited new and familiar faces at various levels. First and foremost, we saw Malcolm Guest return as Managing Director in October. This is a crucial appointment at a time when Source looks to continue strengthening our proposition. 

Additionally, we appointed Carl Oakes as our Sales Director in February before adding Gavin Judd as our National Sales Manager in October – two fresh faces to enhance our Sales perspective. 

Improving Our Technology

We understand that developing in-house technology is the perfect way to suit our customers’ needs, whether through our website, our quotation platform, or other means of fulfilling the insurance journey. Our development teams have been working incredibly hard to invest time and effort into our systems to ensure they remain at the centre of what we do.

Enhancing our Buy-to-Let Proposition

In October, we also strengthened our Landlord proposition by adding Lexelle’s Rent Guarantee product to our range of insurance policies available. This will ensure landlords are protected with an extra layer throughout these heightened conditions. For more on this, you can view our blog post here.

Source has been helping clients to find their perfect insurance policies for over 25 years, so we know the importance of the insurance-searching process. To help your client find the ideal policy, take a look at our quotation system today – https://bit.ly/3HpTmzu.

References

Rightmove – https://bit.ly/3v1KRU0

The Guardian – https://bit.ly/3FI8xBL

Financial Conduct Authority – https://bit.ly/2Z5JJfU