UK Insurance Broker Marketing Leaderboard 2026: Simply Business, Swinton, Everywhen

Last Updated on October 12, 2026

Simply Business scores highest of the five UK insurance broker brands compared, at 6.9 out of 10 on the Whito leaderboard.

Opinion and analysis. Whito read every brand below by hand on 12 October 2026, using publicly visible activity only. Each channel is scored 0 to 10 against fixed anchors, set out under How we scored, so a score describes what we could see on the day, not the quality of the service. Brands cannot pay to appear or to change a score. Where a figure is not published, we say so.

You might expect the biggest broker names to win search. They do not. In 10 UK searches for broker and business insurance terms, branch pages from firms such as Marsh Commercial, PIB, Coversure and Jensten took many of the local results, and Swinton, Everywhen and Gallagher appeared in none.

Simply Business scores highest at 6.9, on the strength of an online compare-and-buy journey, the strongest email programme of the five and about 200 Google ads by domain in the last 30 days. Swinton follows at 6.0, with the only published price on the board, ‘Car Insurance from as little as £190’, and a stated basis for it.

Howden scores lowest at 4.7, despite the largest review base on the board, 4.8 from 76,738 Trustpilot reviews. Its site links to no social channels, shows no FRN on the homepage and lists two different phone numbers on the same page.

The leaderboard

Average is the simple mean of the seven channel scores, rounded to one decimal place. Read 12 October 2026.

Company verdicts

Simply Business, 6.9

Simply Business scores highest of the five at 6.9. Its About page says it started in 2005, protects over one million small businesses across 1,500 trades and has been owned by Travelers since 2017. The website lets a business compare and buy quotes online in minutes and shows its FRN and company number. Email scores 8, the highest here: a monthly newsletter, a renewal reminder with a £25 gift card, a referral programme and free calculators. Paid scores 10, with about 200 Google ads by domain and 38 active Meta ads. It appeared in 2 of 10 searches. Its clearest gap is reviews: Trustpilot shows 4.2 from 8,251 with 5 of the latest 20 replied to, while its About page quotes a 4.6 Feefo rating.

Swinton, 6.0

Swinton scores 6.0. Its website scores the full 10: online quotes for car, home, van and more, saved-quote retrieval, an FRN and company number in the footer, and a headline price, ‘Car Insurance from as little as £190’, based on 10% of new customers between 1 December 2025 and 31 May 2026. Reviews score 8, from 4.3 across 49,445 Trustpilot reviews with 16 of the latest 20 replied to. Paid is strong, with about 200 Google ads by domain. The ‘In The Know’ signup and My Account area support email. Its clearest gaps are search and positioning: swinton.co.uk appeared in none of our 10 searches, and the homepage line, ‘a wide range of insurance products’, says little about why to choose it.

Everywhen (formerly Towergate), 5.0

Everywhen scores 5.0. The name is new: Ardonagh Advisory, the UK platform of the Ardonagh Group, rebranded as Everywhen in May 2025, and towergateinsurance.co.uk now redirects to everywhen.co.uk. Paid scores 10, with about 200 Google ads by domain and 11 active Meta ads, and the brand had three or more independent news mentions in the 90 days to 12 October 2026. The new Trustpilot profile has 114 reviews at 3.6, with 15 of the latest 20 replied to. The site has many personal, business and sector pages and a quick-quote form, but no prices or FRN. Its clearest gap is email: no newsletter, lead magnet or account signup was found, and it appeared in none of our 10 searches.

Gallagher, 4.9

Gallagher scores 4.9. Trade press reported in December 2024 that its agreed purchase of AssuredPartners would cement its position as the largest broker in the UK. Its UK site is built for larger buyers: service and industry pages, a ‘Connect with an expert’ route and a substantial insights library, including a workforce benchmark drawn from 341 organisations. Social scores 7, helped by a recurring video series and a cyber podcast. Trustpilot shows 4.6 from 8,227 reviews, but none of the latest 20 has a reply. Paid is modest, at 71 Google ads by domain and no Meta ads found. Its clearest gap, for a small business arriving cold, is the lack of an online quote, prices or an email signup.

Howden (Howden Insurance, formerly A-Plan), 4.7

Howden scores 4.7. The A-Plan name was retired when its branches took the Howden brand in October 2023. Its review base is the largest on this board, 4.8 from 76,738 Trustpilot reviews, though none of the latest 20 shows a reply. It is also the strongest of the five in search, with howdeninsurance.co.uk in 3 of 10 results through a business insurance guide and branch pages for Bristol and Glasgow. Paid activity is heavy at about 500 Google ads by domain. The homepage claims 51% of clients saved an average of £402 switching at renewal, from sample data for December 2025 to June 2026. Its clearest gap is owned channels: no social links, no marketing email signup, no FRN on the homepage and two different phone numbers on one page.

What the channels show

Local search belongs to branch networks

Howden appeared in 3 of 10 searches, mostly through branch pages for Bristol and Glasgow, and Simply Business in 2, through answers to public liability and quote questions. Swinton, Everywhen and Gallagher appeared in none. Town searches for Manchester, Leeds, Bristol and Nottingham were led by branch pages from networks such as Marsh Commercial, PIB, Coversure and Jensten. A page per branch matters more here than brand size.

Prices and online quotes are rare

Swinton is the only brand to publish a price, ‘from as little as £190’, with its basis stated. Simply Business and Swinton both offer online quotes, while Everywhen, Howden and Gallagher rely on quote forms, phone lines and expert contact. The two brands with full online journeys score 9 and 10 for website, and the other three score 6. Buyers comparing cover online meet the difference straight away.

Rebrands reset reviews

Everywhen’s new Trustpilot profile has 114 reviews at 3.6, while the old Towergate profile, read on 12 October 2026, showed 3.3 from 1,839 with replies mentioning the move to Everywhen. Howden kept a profile of 76,738 reviews at 4.8 after A-Plan became Howden in October 2023. How a rebrand handles its review history shapes what a buyer sees on the first day of the new name.

Replies split the field

Swinton replied to 16 of its latest 20 Trustpilot reviews and Everywhen to 15. Simply Business replied to 5. Gallagher and Howden, with 8,227 and 76,738 reviews, showed no replies in their latest 20. Replying lifts the reviews score on this board, and the brands with the most reviews are among those replying least. A short reply to each review is one of the cheapest fixes available.

Key lessons for any insurance broking business

Build a page for each branch

Howden’s Bristol and Glasgow branch pages appeared in local searches, as did branch pages from other broker networks. Give each office its own page with its address, one phone number, the team who work there and the lines of cover it handles for local customers.

Publish a price with its basis

Swinton states that 10% of new customers paid £190 for comprehensive car cover between 1 December 2025 and 31 May 2026. A dated, honest price example for your most common policy tells a buyer what to expect without overpromising, and shows how the figure was worked out.

Run a renewal reminder signup

Simply Business collects email with a renewal reminder and a £25 gift card after purchase. Insurance renews every year, so asking for a renewal date and an email address is the most natural signup a broker can offer, and it brings the customer back at the right time.

Answer the questions buyers type

Simply Business appeared in search with pages answering questions such as whether public liability insurance is compulsory. Short, plain answers to the questions your customers already ask you on the phone can earn the same visibility, and they help a buyer understand the cover before calling.

Show your FRN and one phone number

Simply Business and Swinton print their FRN in the footer. Howden, Everywhen and Gallagher did not show one on the homepage, and Howden showed two different phone numbers on one page. Consistent regulatory and contact details are the cheapest trust signal there is.

Steal this playbook

Five moves from this leaderboard, ranked by return on effort.

1. Print your FRN and a single phone number. Three of the five showed no FRN on the homepage, and Howden showed two phone numbers on one page.
2. Reply to your reviews. Gallagher and Howden replied to none of their latest 20, while Swinton replied to 16 and scores 8 for reviews.
3. Add a renewal reminder signup. Simply Business scores 8 for email with a reminder and a £25 gift card; Everywhen and Gallagher score 0.
4. Publish a dated price example. Swinton is the only brand with a published price and the only one to score 10 for website.
5. Build branch and town pages. Howden’s branch pages helped it to 3 of 10 searches, the most on this board.

The evidence behind the scores

One line per channel, as read on 12 October 2026. Review figures change daily; these are the numbers on the day we looked.

Simply Business

• Social 6: Links to Facebook, X, YouTube, LinkedIn, Instagram and TikTok from the site footer.
• Website 9: Compare-and-buy online quotes in minutes, policy sign-in, FRN and company number shown; no ‘from £’ prices on the homepage.
• Email 8: Free monthly newsletter, renewal reminder signup with a £25 gift card, referral programme, customer account and free calculators.
• SEO 5: 2 of 10 UK web searches returned simplybusiness.co.uk in the top ten, plus 1 point for its Knowledge Centre.
• Paid 10: Google Ads Transparency Centre (UK, last 30 days, domain simplybusiness.co.uk): about 200 ads. Meta Ad Library (UK, active ads naming the brand): 38. Read 12 October 2026.
• Reviews 6: Trustpilot 4.2 from 8,251 reviews; 5 of the latest 20 have a company reply (2+3+1).
• Brand 4: Same name everywhere and a clear positioning line on the homepage; no long-running asset, named staff or three recent independent news mentions found.

Swinton

• Social 6: Links to Facebook, LinkedIn and Instagram from the site footer; no X, TikTok or YouTube link found.
• Website 10: Online quotes for car, home, van and more, saved-quote retrieval, ‘Car Insurance from as little as £190’ with its basis stated, FRN and company number in the footer.
• Email 6: ‘In The Know’ signup for deals and tips, My Account for policy documents and renewals, and saved quotes.
• SEO 2: 0 of 10 UK web searches returned swinton.co.uk in the top ten.
• Paid 8: Google Ads Transparency Centre (UK, last 30 days, domain swinton.co.uk): about 200 ads. Meta Ad Library (UK, active ads naming the brand): 3. Read 12 October 2026.
• Reviews 8: Trustpilot 4.3 from 49,445 reviews; 16 of the latest 20 have a company reply (2+4+2).
• Brand 2: Same name everywhere; the homepage line is generic (‘a wide range of insurance products’) and no long-running asset, named people or three recent independent news mentions were found.

Everywhen (formerly Towergate)

• Social 6: Links to Facebook, LinkedIn and YouTube from the site footer; no Instagram, X or TikTok link found.
• Website 6: Many personal, business and sector pages with a quick-quote form; no prices or FRN shown. towergateinsurance.co.uk redirects here.
• Email 0: No newsletter, lead magnet or account signup found on the homepage.
• SEO 2: 0 of 10 UK web searches returned everywhen.co.uk in the top ten.
• Paid 10: Google Ads Transparency Centre (UK, last 30 days, domain everywhen.co.uk): about 200 ads. Meta Ad Library (UK, active ads naming the brand): 11. Read 12 October 2026.
• Reviews 5: Trustpilot 3.6 from 114 reviews; 15 of the latest 20 have a company reply (1+2+2).
• Brand 6: Same name everywhere, a clear positioning line (‘Protection that matters’) and three or more independent news mentions in the 90 days to 12 October 2026; no long-running asset or named people found.

Gallagher

• Social 7: Links to Instagram, LinkedIn, X and YouTube, plus a recurring video series (‘Welcome to the New Cyber Reality’) and a cyber podcast.
• Website 6: Service and industry pages with a ‘Connect with an expert’ route; no online quote, prices or FRN on the homepage.
• Email 0: No newsletter, signup or account found on the UK homepage.
• SEO 3: 0 of 10 UK web searches returned ajg.com in the top ten, plus 1 point for its insights library.
• Paid 6: Google Ads Transparency Centre (UK, last 30 days, domain ajg.com): 71 ads. Meta Ad Library (UK, active ads naming the brand): none found. Read 12 October 2026.
• Reviews 6: Trustpilot 4.6 from 8,227 reviews; 0 of the latest 20 have a company reply (3+3+0).
• Brand 6: Same name everywhere, a clear positioning line (‘Your Trusted Partner for Insurance & Consulting’) and a named leader quoted; no long-running asset or three recent independent news mentions found.

Howden (Howden Insurance, formerly A-Plan)

• Social 0: No social links in the footer, which shows only a Trustpilot badge.
• Website 6: Product pages, a get-a-quote form, phone and branch routes; no prices or FRN, and two different phone numbers on the same page (01993 894 700 and 01527 879 777).
• Email 2: Client portal link only; no newsletter or marketing signup seen.
• SEO 7: 3 of 10 UK web searches returned howdeninsurance.co.uk in the top ten, plus 1 point for its small business guides.
• Paid 8: Google Ads Transparency Centre (UK, last 30 days, domain howdeninsurance.co.uk): about 500 ads. Meta Ad Library (UK, active ads naming the brand): 8. Read 12 October 2026.
• Reviews 8: Trustpilot 4.8 from 76,738 reviews; 0 of the latest 20 have a company reply (4+4+0).
• Brand 2: A clear positioning line (‘Car Insurance, Home Insurance and much more from your local insurance broker’); no social links to compare, long-running asset, named people or three recent independent news mentions found.

How we scored

Who is on the board. Five UK insurance broker brands that consumers or small businesses are likely to meet, chosen for size and reach, spanning models: online SME broker (Simply Business), high-street consumer broker (Swinton), national branch broker rebranded from A-Plan (Howden), national broker rebranded from Towergate (Everywhen) and the largest UK commercial broker group (Gallagher). Brands were chosen for relevance and size, not for marketing strength.

• Social: which platforms the brand links to from its own site, and whether we could see recent posting and video.
• Website: 2 for a brochure page, 4 with a contact route on mobile, 6 with a page per service and a one-step enquiry, 8 with prices or ranges and registration numbers shown, 10 with online booking or an instant priced quote.
• Email: visible capture only, as we did not subscribe test inboxes for this edition. 2 for a bare newsletter form, up to 10 for a loyalty or app ecosystem with personal offers.
• SEO: ten UK searches for this trade, run through a standard web search API on 12 October 2026 (not personalised, no location set beyond the town in the query); we counted how many returned the brand’s own site in the top ten results. 0 of 10 scores 2, 1 to 2 scores 4, 3 to 4 scores 6, 5 to 6 scores 8, 7 or more scores 10, plus 1 for a substantial advice library. The searches: business insurance broker UK; public liability insurance UK; insurance broker near me UK; car insurance broker UK; small business insurance quote UK; insurance broker Manchester; insurance broker Leeds; insurance broker Bristol; insurance broker Glasgow; insurance broker Nottingham.
• Paid: the Google Ads Transparency Centre (UK, last 30 days, by domain) and the Meta Ad Library (UK, active ads whose text names the brand, counted by the advertiser page). 2 for nothing found in either, 4 for active in one with fewer than 10 ads, 6 for active in both or 10+ in one, 8 for active in both with 10+ in at least one, 10 for 50+ Google ads and 10+ Meta ads. Paid describes visible activity, not quality. A low paid score is not a fault.
• Reviews: a fixed formula. Rating (4.7+ scores 4, 4.5 to 4.69 scores 3, 4.0 to 4.49 scores 2, 3.5 to 3.99 scores 1) plus volume (10,000+ scores 4, 1,000+ scores 3, 100+ scores 2, 20+ scores 1) plus replies to the latest 20 reviews (half or more scores 2, some scores 1).
• Brand: five checks worth 2 each: the same name and logo everywhere, one clear positioning line, a distinctive asset used for years, three or more independent press mentions in 90 days, and named people or expertise on the site.

These anchors are fixed for this edition, so the five scores can be read against each other. Boards published before October 2026 used scores relative to the other brands on the board, so compare across boards with care.

Common questions

Which insurance broker brand scores highest on the Whito leaderboard?

Simply Business scores highest of the five compared, at 6.9 out of 10. It offers online compare-and-buy quotes, scores 8 for email with a newsletter and renewal reminder, and 10 for paid activity with about 200 Google ads by domain. Its weakest channel is reviews, at 4.2 from 8,251 on Trustpilot.

Which brand scores lowest, and why?

Howden scores lowest at 4.7. It has the largest review base on the board, 4.8 from 76,738 on Trustpilot, and the strongest search result here, 3 of 10. But its site links to no social channels, shows no FRN on the homepage, offers no marketing email signup and lists two different phone numbers on one page.

How do the five compare on reviews?

Howden has 76,738 Trustpilot reviews at 4.8 and Swinton 49,445 at 4.3. Simply Business has 8,251 at 4.2 and Gallagher 8,227 at 4.6. Everywhen, renamed from Towergate, has 114 at 3.6. Swinton replied to 16 of its latest 20 and Everywhen to 15, while Gallagher and Howden replied to none.

What can a small broker copy from these brands?

Build a page for each branch, as Howden does for Bristol and Glasgow. Publish a dated price example with its basis, as Swinton does. Offer a renewal reminder signup, as Simply Business does. Answer common cover questions in plain pages. Print your FRN and a single phone number on every page.

Do insurance brokers publish prices online?

Rarely. Swinton was the only one of the five with a published price, ‘Car Insurance from as little as £190’, based on 10% of new customers between 1 December 2025 and 31 May 2026. Simply Business and Swinton give online quotes, while Everywhen, Howden and Gallagher rely on quote forms, phone lines or expert contact.

Corrections and right of reply

If your business is scored here and you think we have a fact wrong, email hello@whito.co.uk. We check it against the source, correct it within five working days if we are wrong, and publish your statement alongside if you want us to. Scores are never changed for payment or because a business has claimed a Whito listing. Full route: corrections, right of reply and removals.

Related: all UK marketing leaderboards · Insurance Brokers on Whito

Whito

Whito is an independent UK research publisher. We publish research on how UK businesses are found, trusted and priced: what they cost to market, how their sectors work, and who actually gets recommended. Studies are free to read, every figure carries the date it was checked, and nobody pays to appear.

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