Ascend Broking Group has launched Ascend Life, a protection division offering life and income protection solutions to individual and corporate clients.
Led by Kristian Breeze (pictured), the division’s services include life cover, critical illness and income protection.
But Breeze told Health & Protection a key focus of the division will be delivering tailored solutions for consumers and large corporates, as well as using the firm’s London market relationships to accommodate distressed life cover cases that may fall outside standard underwriting appetite.
Natural extension
“Protection is a natural extension of our existing advisory capabilities,” Breeze explained.
“We have seen increasing demand from both individual clients and corporate partners seeking integrated solutions that combine traditional insurance with longer-term protection planning.
“The launch of Ascend Life allows us to meet that demand with a dedicated focus while leveraging our established broking infrastructure and market relationships.”
In terms of how the division will benefit the business, Breeze added: “With Ascend Life, we can deliver a fully structured and specialised offering, providing consistent expertise across individual and group markets, as well as accessing specialist London market facilities for complex or distressed life cover cases.
“It allows us to deliver a seamless, end-to-end solution for clients, consolidating protection into a core strategic focus.”
Steady, organic growth
In terms of year one targets, Breeze revealed the division will pursue organic growth rather than any acquisitions.
“Our priority in year one is to establish a strong foundation, building a sustainable pipeline of individual, SME and corporate clients,” he continued.
“We are targeting steady, organic growth while ensuring quality of advice and service delivery.
“The focus will be on developing long-term relationships and securing our position as a trusted protection partner within consumer and business markets.”
Elaborating on expected growth of the division, Breeze added this will be “measured and strategic”.
“We will expand the team organically as client demand increases, ensuring that every hire adds value and maintains the division’s agility,” he continued.
“Leveraging our market access and broking expertise, we will enhance our footprint in both retail and corporate protection markets, with a particular emphasis on building bespoke solutions for complex and high-value cases.
“Our ability to adapt at speed, without being constrained by excessive layers of hierarchy, will be a key driver in scaling the division efficiently.”