AXA PPP and Bupa have come out top as providers offering the most potential PMI value through affinity partnerships, Finaccord has reported.
But the research and consulting company showed brokers still accounted for the majority of affinity relationships in the non-life insurance industry.
Finaccord's data showed across a total of 2,650 organisations surveyed - for PMI, car, home, travel and pet insurance - 1,473 affinity programs were organised with one or more external providers; distributors underwrote or brokered propositions themselves on an internal basis in a further 155 cases.
The majority - 55.6% - of the 1,473 externally-organised schemes were arranged with a single, external broker and a specific underwriter was identifiable in 232 of these cases.
Moreover, 26.7% was set up directly with a single underwriter with no broker involvement and 17.7% was based on other operating models including; aggregators, captive brokers or underwriters, multiple external brokers or underwriters.
Alan Leach, director at Finaccord, said: "While the aforementioned figures underline the fact that brokers hold the most affinity relationships in terms of their outright number, the rankings of the top two providers suggest that major underwriters are generally more successful in securing the most valuable deals."
Leach: "While the initial 'gold rush' in affinity and partnership marketing began over a decade ago in the UK and while alternative distribution systems, most notably aggregators, have since brought about enormous changes to the playing field, this continues to be an area of strategic importance for both brokers and underwriters."
He added relationships would change over time as new providers emerged with attractive propositions for particular types of distributor.
According to Leach, there was also "plenty of scope" for brokers to compete for or create niche schemes with small and medium-sized distributors beyond the major brands.
