How Insurance Brokers Find New Business Clients in 2026

The UK commercial insurance market is worth over £80 billion in gross written premiums, and a significant portion of that business flows through brokers. Yet for many independent brokers and regional firms, finding a steady stream of new business clients remains the single biggest challenge.

The traditional methods still work — but they're increasingly being supplemented (and in some cases replaced) by data-driven approaches that let brokers reach businesses at the exact moment they need insurance. Here's a practical guide to what's working in 2026.

The timing advantage: why new companies matter most

Every newly incorporated company in the UK needs insurance. Not eventually. Not someday. Immediately.

Depending on their sector and activities, a newly formed company may require:

Employers' liability insurance is a legal requirement for any company that employs staff — fines for non-compliance start at £2,500 per day. This alone makes every new company that plans to hire a warm prospect for an insurance broker.

The critical insight is timing. A company that incorporated yesterday is far more likely to engage with a broker than one that's been trading for six months and has already sorted its insurance. The window of opportunity is narrow — often just days or weeks.

Traditional approaches: what still works

Referrals and word of mouth

Referrals remain the highest-converting lead source for insurance brokers. A recommendation from a trusted accountant, solicitor, or existing client carries enormous weight. The best brokers cultivate these referral relationships deliberately, maintaining regular contact with a network of professional partners.

The limitation is scale. Referrals are unpredictable and difficult to systematise. You can't control when they arrive, and relying solely on them creates feast-and-famine revenue cycles.

Networking and trade events

Industry events, trade shows, and local business networking groups (BNI, Chamber of Commerce, FSB) provide face-to-face opportunities to build relationships. They're particularly effective for brokers who specialise in specific sectors — attending a construction industry expo, for instance, puts you in a room full of potential clients.

The downside is time commitment. Networking requires consistent attendance over months to build the trust needed for conversion. It's a long game.

Introducers and partnerships

Some brokers build structured referral arrangements with complementary businesses. Accountancy firms are the classic example — they serve the same client base and encounter insurance needs regularly. Formation agents, solicitors, and business consultants are similarly well-positioned.

These partnerships can be lucrative but take time to establish and require ongoing relationship management.

Data-driven approaches: the modern playbook

New company incorporation data

This is where the biggest opportunity lies for insurance brokers in 2026. Over 2,500 new companies are incorporated at Companies House every working day. Each one represents a business that needs insurance — often urgently, and often without an existing broker relationship.

The data available for each new incorporation includes:

• Company name and number
• Director name(s)
• Registered office address
• SIC code (industry classification)
• Date of incorporation

This is enough to craft a targeted, personalised outreach. You know the director's name, you know their industry, and you know they just started a business. A short, professional letter or email introducing your services — specifically mentioning the insurance types relevant to their sector — will land at exactly the right moment.

How to access new company data

You have three options:

Option 1: Companies House directly. The Companies House website and API are free to use, but they don't provide a simple "show me today's incorporations" feature. You'd need technical skills to query the streaming API and process the results into a usable format.

Option 2: Bulk data download. Companies House publishes bulk data products, but they're enormous files requiring significant processing. Not practical for most brokers.

Option 3: Use a data service like NewCo Data. Services like NewCo Data do the heavy lifting for you. Every new incorporation is pulled daily, enriched with director details and addresses, classified by sector using SIC codes, and delivered to your inbox as a filtered report. You specify the sectors you want — construction, professional services, hospitality — and receive only the relevant leads.

Making outreach work

Having the data is only half the equation. The quality of your outreach determines your conversion rate. Here are the principles that work:

Be specific. Don't send a generic "we do business insurance" letter. Reference their industry: "As a newly incorporated construction company, you'll likely need public liability cover, employers' liability insurance, and potentially contractor all-risks cover."

Be timely. Reach out within the first week of incorporation. Every day you wait, the likelihood of conversion decreases — both because they may have already chosen a broker and because the urgency fades.

Be helpful, not salesy. New company directors are often overwhelmed. Position yourself as a guide who can explain what insurance they actually need (and what they don't). This consultative approach builds trust far more effectively than a hard sell.

Follow up. One touchpoint is rarely enough. A well-structured sequence — perhaps an initial letter, followed by an email a week later, then a phone call if you have a number — dramatically improves response rates.

Sector targeting: where to focus

Not all new companies represent equal insurance opportunities. The highest-value sectors for insurance brokers tend to be:

Construction companies alone account for approximately 8% of all new incorporations, and they have some of the most extensive insurance requirements of any sector. If you specialise in construction insurance, that's roughly 200 new prospects per week from incorporation data alone.

Combining traditional and data-driven methods

The most successful insurance brokers don't choose between traditional and modern approaches — they combine them. A practical strategy might look like this:

• Foundation: Maintain strong referral relationships with accountants and solicitors for warm introductions
• Daily pipeline: Use new company data (via NewCo Data or similar) to identify fresh prospects each morning
• Brand building: Attend 2-3 sector-specific events per year to build credibility and network
• Digital presence: Maintain a professional website and Google Business Profile to capture inbound enquiries

The data-driven approach fills the gap that traditional methods leave — it provides a consistent, predictable, daily flow of qualified prospects rather than relying on the irregular rhythm of referrals and networking.

Key takeaways

Every new company needs insurance — employers' liability alone is a legal requirement. Timing is everything: reaching new companies within days of incorporation dramatically improves conversion. Traditional methods like referrals and networking remain valuable but can't be scaled predictably. Data-driven outreach using new company incorporation data provides a consistent daily pipeline. Sector targeting using SIC codes lets you focus on the highest-value prospects. The brokers winning the most new business in 2026 are the ones who combine both approaches.