AWARD OUTCOME
What happened
Leicestershire County Council has awarded a single-supplier insurance contract for its academies and maintained schools insurance scheme to ZURICH INSURANCE COMPANY LTD.
Published outcomeThe published contract record is active, with a stated signed date of 14 October 2026, a start date of 19 October 2026 and an end date of 31 August 2030.
Market significanceThis is a £3.5 million gross direct award for insurance services. The Council states that market engagement found only one insurer willing and able to quote, indicating no effective competition for this specific requirement.
AWARDED SUPPLIERS AND LOTS
1 supplier record analysed
ZURICH INSURANCE COMPANY LTD
99% confidenceAward 1 · Lots 1 · 3500000 GBP · Active
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Award 1 names ZURICH INSURANCE COMPANY LTD as supplier; the supplier identity is verified against GB-COH company number BR000105. The £3.5 million contract value is recorded for contract 1 linked to award 1.
LIFECYCLE
Award or contract stage
Procurement status
99% confidenceComplete
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Tender status is recorded as "complete".
Award status
99% confidenceActive
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Award 1 is recorded with status "active".
Contract status
99% confidenceActive
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Contract 1 is recorded with status "active".
Contract conclusion
99% confidenceSigned contract recorded
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Contract 1 includes dateSigned: 2026-10-14.
VALUES
Published values explained
Contract value
99% confidence£3,500,000 gross
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Contract 1 records amountGross of 3500000 GBP and amount of 3500000 GBP.
Value allocation
92% confidenceOne contract and one supplier are recorded
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Contract 1 links to award 1, which names one supplier. No separate lot value is published.
TIMELINE
Procurement timeline
Award date
99% confidence2 October 2026
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Award 1 records award_date: 2026-10-02.
Contract signed
99% confidence14 October 2026
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Contract 1 records dateSigned: 2026-10-14.
Contract details notice published
99% confidence14 October 2026
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The Contract details notice (097100-2026) has datePublished: 2026-10-14.
Contract start
99% confidence19 October 2026
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Contract 1 period startDate is 2026-10-19.
Contract end
99% confidence31 August 2030
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Contract 1 period endDate is 2030-08-31.
SCOPE
What was awarded
Requirement
99% confidenceInsurance scheme for academies and maintained schools in Leicestershire
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The procurement description states: "Insurance scheme for academies and maintained schools in Leicestershire."
Service category
99% confidenceInsurance services (CPV 66510000)
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Award item 1 carries CPV 66510000, described as "Insurance services".
Delivery region
96% confidenceLeicestershire (UKF2)
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Award item 1 lists delivery address region UKF2.
Lot structure
98% confidenceOne published lot (Lot 1)
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Tender and award records identify only lot 1; no lot title or description is published.
PROCEDURE
Procedure and competition
Procedure
99% confidenceDirect award
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The tender record specifies procurementMethod "direct" and procurementMethodDetails "Direct award".
Direct-award rationale
99% confidenceThe Council states that only one insurer was willing and able to provide a quotation after broker-led market engagement.
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The published rationale says the appointed insurance broker conducted market engagement and confirmed that only one insurer was willing and able to quote.
Competition assessment
99% confidenceNo effective competition stated for this specific requirement
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The published rationale states: "there is no effective competition available in the market for this specific requirement."
Procurement legal basis
97% confidenceProcurement Act 2023
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Tender legalBasis is identified as UKPGA 2023/54.
CONTRACT TERMS
Published contract terms
Term
99% confidence19 October 2026 to 31 August 2030
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Contract 1 period runs from 2026-10-19 to 2030-08-31.
Above-threshold status
99% confidenceAbove threshold
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Contract 1 records aboveThreshold: true.
Performance metrics
90% confidenceNo agreed metrics published
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The contract record states "noAgreedMetricsRationale": "Insurance Contract for Academies / schools offered via the council."
Extension options
99% confidenceUnknown
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Information not supplied in the published notice.
COMMERCIAL VIEW
Commercial observations
Market access signal
98% confidenceThe requirement was awarded on a single-supplier basis following market engagement, according to the Council.
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The direct-award rationale attributes the outcome to only one willing and able insurer providing a quotation.
Commercial scale
96% confidenceThe published £3.5 million gross value covers the full recorded contract rather than a separately priced lot.
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A single contract value is published, while lot 1 has no individual value.
DATA QUALITY
Gaps and source limitations
Record chronology
99% confidenceThe source record contains a 2025 pipeline release and later 2026 award and contract releases.
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Release history lists a pipeline notice dated 23 May 2025, followed by award/contract-tagged notices dated 2 and 14 October 2026.
Supplier verification
99% confidenceSupplier identity verified
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The supplied verification record confirms ZURICH INSURANCE COMPANY LTD matched by company number BR000105.
Lot detail
99% confidenceLot title, description and individual lot value are not published
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Lot 1 is listed without a title, description or value.
Competition detail
98% confidenceBid count and evaluation detail are not published
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The notice provides a market-engagement rationale but no bid count, scoring or evaluation breakdown.
SOURCE DATA LIMITATIONS
Information not supplied in the published notice
- Lot 1 has no published title, description or individual value.
- Information not supplied in the published notice: tender submissions, bidder numbers, pricing breakdown, evaluation scores and award-comparison detail.
- Information not supplied in the published notice: extension, renewal, termination and break provisions.
- The market-engagement outcome is stated by the Council; underlying engagement evidence is not published in the supplied data.
- No agreed performance metrics are published.
MARKET THEMES
Relevant award themes
Leicestershire Academies Insurance SchemeLeicestershire County CouncilZURICH INSURANCE COMPANY LTDinsurance servicesdirect awardpublic procurement
COMMON QUESTIONS
About this award
Who won the Leicestershire Academies Insurance Scheme contract?
ZURICH INSURANCE COMPANY LTD won award 1. Its identity is verified against Companies House number BR000105.
What is the published contract value?
The contract record states a gross value of £3,500,000.
Why was the contract directly awarded?
The Council states that broker-led market engagement found only one insurer willing and able to quote, leaving no effective competition for this specific requirement.
When does the contract run?
The recorded contract period is 19 October 2026 to 31 August 2030.
ProcuraAxis award analysis supplements, but does not replace, the official award notice, contract data or procurement documents. “Awarded” does not by itself prove that a contract has been signed.