Stella targeting £300m motor GWP within years, says Sam White

“We are looking for £10m premium in the first year. In the long term, just in motor, we are looking for £300m, which I know will sound a bit punchy, but I have every confidence that we will deliver on that,” White commented.

Having launched Stella, badged as being “authentically different, and passionately pro-women” in Australia in 2020, White first told Insurance Age last April that she would be bringing the brand to the UK in 2022.

It is currently being incubated through Freedom Services Group and selling via its infrastructure.

Brokers

Unlike Freedom’s MGA Pukka, the plan is not to sell through brokers. Policies are available directly by phone and online including through aggregators.

“We are having conversations at the moment about whether there would be an argument for some strategic partnerships,” White said.

“There would have to be a compelling reason that Stella would co-partner with another brand to distribute via them.

“I wouldn’t rule it out, but it is not the main driver for the business.”

Lines

In Australia, the MGA has recently moved into the pet insurance market.

“Here, pet, travel, home – all those conversations are taking place,” she listed.

The ambition is to launch at least a couple of additional lines within the first 12 months.

“What we are working out is what strategically are the best products to go first with; which ones can we have the most impact on in terms of modifying. Fundamentally, Stella will be a multi-product offering.”

Sales

The Stella motor policies are backed exclusively by Direct Line’s UK Insurance Limited. According to White, sales are going “unbelievably well”.

“We have smashed the targets we were going for. We have several thousand customers already,” she noted.

The business has benefited from learnings in Australia, and the global brand marketing director from the country is also heading up the push in the UK to keep consistency.

“We also bought the tech provider that built the system for us in Australia and have taken on all their tech developers,” White continued, detailing across tech, finance and advisors to the offering there are around 20 people on board.

The idea behind Stella is to start with motor and build relationships and trust with the customer base.

“The vision for it is to be a global financial services brand for women. That is where are heading,” White summed up.

Appealing

She accepted that under European Union directives it is not possible to discount premiums for women “even though they are a better insurance risk”.

White stated: “We are more appealing to women because we have fundamentally designed the product with them in mind.”

This, she set out, meant policy wording, communications and marketing, as well as actions such as giving £5 for every motor policy to the Fly Anyway Foundation, which supports survivors of domestic abuse.

“For the depth of conversation – and I know I would say this because it is my own brand – there is nothing like this in the insurance space,” White insisted.

“We are not just saying ‘buy an insurance policy from us and F-off’, we are saying ‘join us and be part of this movement – and part of the conversation’.”

Price

In her view, a problem in insurance is everyone thinks everything is just about price. Her belief is that provided Stella can deliver a price point that fits then customers will “stay and buy other things from us because they like the way we are connecting with them”.

And White stressed that men are not excluded.

“Some of the best customers we have are men who love what we are doing. They want to hear about the same things the female customer base wants to hear about,” she observed.

The business has not been targeting young drivers and would look for a telematics proposition when it comes to focusing on that sector, White recounted.

“Our sweet spot, where the brand resonates the best from a marketing viewpoint, is the 30-45-year-olds age group,” she assessed.

Marketing

That direct marketing will kick off significantly over the next few months.

“In the UK, we will be doing everything: TV, radio, magazines – absolutely everything we feel is going to get that message out there,” White detailed.

“Digital is a really strong channel for us in Australia, and will be in the UK as well.”

Gender leadership gap

White, who won Broker Personality of the Year at the UK Broker Awards 2022, was one of the commentators who engaged with the launch of Insurance Age’s Broker Diversity Push campaign.

Insurance Age’s exclusive research last month underlined the stark nature of broking’s gender diversity gap in leadership.

A Freedom of Information request to the FCA analysed six key approved senior management functions. It showed that at the end of August women only held 15.7% of the senior management roles across the sector.

A figure that has fallen since 2020, and is below the current low levels set by the FCA-regulated financial services industry.

White said at the time that the gender gap stats were no surprise, but “crushingly disappointing” as she shared her top tips on improving the situation. These included the need for brands to resonate for women.

Sincere

On the launch of Stella, she concluded: “My sincere hope is that the insurance industry embraces the brand as the change that we want to see coming through.

“There isn’t enough women in senior leadership, and how that plays out is in the way they communicate with Joe Public. I’m hoping to bridge the gap on that and make some significant change.”

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