Bright Grey 'double' at National Business Awards for Scotland
Bright Grey, a specialist protection business providing flexible menu plans, has scooped two awards at The National Business Awards for Scotland. Bright Grey won both The Business Innovation of the Year Award the Best Use of Technology in Business Award.
Bright Grey won the awards for its interactive quote and apply system, which has been designed to give quicker and more detailed plan decisions. Bright Grey became the first UK protection provider to develop its own expert underwriting system when it was launched in March 2008 following 18 months of research and development.
Bright Grey developed the system as part of its continued investment in e-commerce. It was developed in response to the need to help reduce the overall application processing time and save valuable time at point-of-sale for advisers.
Bright Grey’s innovation was delivered through a belief in internal business innovators combined with the right technical input. To clinch both awards Bright Grey beat competition from companies such as the Forestry Commission and Standard Life.
Roger Edwards, Proposition Director at Bright Grey said:
“This is awesome news for Bright Grey and for our own team of experts who built our online expert underwriting system from scratch. Interactive quote and apply has been very popular with advisers since we launched it earlier in the year, saving us over £1million in licence and processing fees and halving the average time taken to put business on the books."
David Barr, E-Market Trading Manager at Bright Grey added:
“We're delighted to have won at the National Business Awards for Scotland. At Bright Grey we try to create an environment where our people can innovate and show thought leadership through the propositions we take to market.”
Royal London Group is a specialist financial service provider. Its businesses focus on those sectors of the market that value premium propositions, operating through a number of brands:
- Scottish Life – UK pensions market
- Bright Grey – UK protection market
- Scottish Provident – UK protection market
- Phoenix Life Assurance Limited – provides life and pensions products to Abbey’s national branch network
- Scottish Life International – offshore investment markets
- Scottish Provident International - offshore investment markets
- RLAM – fund management
- RLAS – life and pensions administration
- Fundsdirect / Ascentric – funds supermarket; Wrap Platform
Royal London is the largest mutual life and pensions company in the UK with Group funds under management of £32.4 billion. Group businesses serve around three million customers and employ 2,750 people. Figures quoted are as at 30 June 2008, prior to the acquisition of Scottish Provident’s new business capabilities (in respect of individual life protection business) and of Phoenix Life Assurance Limited.
