People in Insurance: Changing the Conversation (www.macaii.co.uk)

Welcome to Changing the Conversation: The people in insurance.

The brand new, reimagined evolution of The Insurance Broker’s Podcast, brought to you by Macaii Ltd!

In light of the wide array of changes across insurance we have observed recently, we are shifting the direction of the podcast to speak to those in the industry who are doing things differently, having identified a sticking point which they hope to resist against.

This new iteration of the podcast is all about highlighting the people, the passion and the professionalism that drives our industry.

In today’s episode we are very pleased to be speaking with Ajay Mistry, Co-Founder of iCAN! Ajay is an expert in all things networking, and throughout the episode, he offers his advice for approaching industry events, and his insights for maximising your presence on LinkedIn.

Quote of the Episode

“Networking is all-encompassing… it's all about building relationships, and whether that's through stuff after work, whether that's in meetings, whether that's phone calls you're having with colleagues internally – there's so many different types of networking. One thing that's really fundamental is that things are changing; people are more accessible than they ever have been, because of social media and LinkedIn. There are more networks available than ever to join. So, if you’re ever lonely, there's a really quick way to find people.”

Networking has always been closely associated with insurance. It is an inherently people-facing industry. Now, through LinkedIn and other social media platforms, we have immediate access to the very people we could and should be forming promising connections with, There are more networks than ever to join. This can, in one respect, make the prospect of networking feel even more mountainous and daunting than before. On the other hand, digital networking can provide a less pressurised way to get to know a potential contact before meeting them in person. It grants a platform through which an initial layer of trust and connection can be established before that first meeting where it can more organically flourish.

Key Takeaways

For most of us, the prospect of networking is profoundly uncomfortable. It can often feel shrouded by a certain seediness; since there is a ‘business’ element underpinning each conversation you might have at a networking event; it can make the process feel inauthentic. Ajay suggests that it is always key to establish a personal connection first and foremost, and not to worry about the bottom line. A mutually beneficial connection can only ever emerge from any given conversation if both parties are genuinely interested in one another, and demonstrate this by actively listening to one another. If you find yourself lost about how to start a conversation at an event, for example, remember that everything is in context. Talk about the event, or a speaker you just heard from. This provides a springboard from which you can transition into a casual, personal conversation.

Ajay offers five top tips for networking, all of which can help you to forge more organic and authentic connections:

1. What’s the worst that’s going to happen?
2. The world is full of abundance, not scarcity – there will always be more opportunities to network
3. If you don’t ask, you don’t get
4. Have a plan – come to every event knowing what you want to get out of it
5. You’re the product of your systems, not your intentions – if you want to network, put an event in your diary and go to it

Ajay is also an expert in using LinkedIn to effectively distribute your unique message. It provides an excellent form of passive communication, by distributing your message across the homepages of all your connections and empowering them with the choice of whether to engage with it or not. Consequently, regularly posting effectively does the networking for you, even when you’re not in the room. Using LinkedIn to talk about important topics relevant to the industry will clue your connections in to your status as a well-informed and motivated insurance professional.

During the episode, Ajay highlights employee resource groups as a great means of promoting networking within businesses. These are in-house, employee-led groups focused on a specific strand of diversity, be it ethnic minorities, the LGBTQIA+ community, young industry starters, and many more. You don’t have to belong to these groups to network with them, and they can both add an extra layer to one’s job, and facilitate good business in-house and in collaboration with another companies.

Best Moments/Key Quotes

“People feel there's a seediness or dirtiness that comes with the word ‘networking’, but actually, it's just about building relationships for a benefit to yourself or the other person at some point. If you go in with the mindset of ‘I want to help other people’, or ‘How can I give back?’, all of a sudden it changes from a seedy way of doing things to ‘I'm helping actually’ and therefore, ‘I'll give something give forwards and get something back’.”

“It's hard to quantify, but look at the people who have done very well in this industry. They've done it because of networking. The traditional ‘old boys’ networks, yes, they are antiquated in their viewpoints. However, they started for a reason; there's some good best practice there in terms of people have helped each other and now they’re helping each other later on. That cycle is very important. And the more people that get in that cycle, the more that people can move forward.”

“[With LinkedIn] you're giving people the choice of how they want to receive information, if they don't want to receive it, and they don't want to listen, that's their choice. By putting the power in their hands, it's very empowering for them, because they get to choose. When it comes to direct communication, it’s different. Because then you're forcing someone to make a decision.”

Resources

iCAN – Upcoming Events: https://www.i-can.me/events-2

iCAN - Coffee with the CEO: https://www.i-can.me/coffee-with-the-ceo

About the Guest

Ajay Mistry is the Co-Founder of the Insurance Cultural Awareness Network (iCAN), the Founder of Gambit Partners and a board member of the CII Broking Board.

Ajay Mistry: https://www.linkedin.com/in/1ajaymistry/

About the Host

Sarah Myerscough is the Chief Ideas Officer at Macaii, formerly Boston Tullis. She hosts/co-hosts several podcasts and is known for her knack in connecting with people. Sarah excels in bringing out the best for video, podcast, and live events, helping clients showcase the human side of their business.

Sarah is passionate about the evolving dynamics of the insurance industry and enjoys conversing with innovators, trailblazers, and long-term advocates of change.

Website: www.macaii.co.uk

In this episode of Changing the Conversation, we sit down with Mike Keating, CEO of the Managing General Agents’ Association (MGAA), to explore the dynamic world of MGAs and their evolving role in the global insurance landscape. Mike shares insights into the growth and challenges within the MGA sector, the importance of strategic partnerships, and the exciting innovations driving the market forward. We also delve into the MGAA's rebranding efforts and their annual conference, which highlights the theme "The Power of Partnerships." Additionally, Mike discusses the critical role of the next generation in the industry and the importance of attracting young talent to the world of insurance.

Quotes:

"The MGA community is truly global and continues to grow at a very fast pace, with significant developments in the US, Canada, UK, and Australia." Mike Keating

"We've seen excellent insure tech MGAs launching worldwide. However, the challenge often lies in balancing investment in technology with effective product distribution strategies." Mike Keating

"Never take partnerships for granted. Understanding and aligning the objectives of all stakeholders is critical for success in the MGA ecosystem." Mike Keating

"We have a moral obligation to showcase how exciting and dynamic the insurance industry is. From insuring sports stadiums to Formula One, there are endless opportunities for young professionals." Mike Keating

Resources:

Managing General Agents’ Association (MGAA): www.mgaa.co.uk

MGAA Annual Conference: www.mgaa.co.uk/mgaa-conference-2024/

MGAA Podcast - MGA Conversations: https://mgaaconversations.podbean.com/

About the Guest:

Mike Keating is the CEO of the Managing General Agents’ Association (MGAA), where he leads efforts to support and promote the MGA sector within the insurance industry. With a career spanning over three decades, Mike has a wealth of experience in insurance, having held senior roles at various prominent organizations. Under his leadership, the MGAA has grown to represent over 230 members, placing billions of pounds into the UK and Irish markets. Mike is passionate about fostering innovation, building strategic partnerships, and advocating for the next generation of insurance professionals.

About the Host

Sarah Myerscough is the Chief Ideas Officer at Macaii, formerly Boston Tullis. She hosts/co-hosts several podcasts and is known for her knack in connecting with people. Sarah excels in bringing out the best for video, podcast, and live events, helping clients showcase the human side of their business.

Sarah is passionate about the evolving dynamics of the insurance industry and enjoys conversing with innovators, trailblazers, and long-term advocates of change.

Website: www.macaii.co.uk

How can insurance companies better support working parents in the years after they have children?

How should working parents endeavour to maintain a healthy work-life balance, and what practical measures should employers introduce to facilitate this?

Despite the implementation of some measures to mitigate this, having children can be something of a kick in the teeth to working parents. This is particularly true for new mothers who typically suffer the financial burden of potentially sacrificing their career and struggling to return to it later on. These issues, and much more, underpin the work of Jess Heagren, Founder of Careers After Babies, who we are delighted to be speaking with on this episode. Jess shares her personal experience of juggling her former insurance career with motherhood, and her insights into how employers can better support their staff through this challenging transition.

Quote of the Episode

“What does ‘good’ for us look like? It looks like happy, healthy, nurtured children who have one parent around most of the time, but we both get to have professional fulfilment as well. That's our version of ‘good’. That will look different for everybody else. I think all the time we go along with a very traditional societal view of what ‘good’ looks like, which might be, the amazing mum who's baking from home and doing all the art and home-schooling, while her husband goes out to work and earns £200 grand a year. I think that's completely incongruous to today's society, and the way we are as people.”

Ultimately, Jess is keen to reassure working parents that there is no need to strive for an idealised version of their lives, where their work, marital and parental responsibilities are always in perfect equilibrium. Instead, she suggests that parents should identify their own unique idea of what ‘good’ looks like to them, which will vary from couple to couple and family to family. She is sceptical of traditional notions of work-life balance or the gender disparity of mothers remaining at home whilst fathers go to work. Of course, for certain families this may be what ‘good’ looks like to them. However, it should not remain the standard, generalised model for all society to defer to, if we are to address continuing gender inequality in the workplace.

Key Takeaways

Many women in insurance and other related industries spend years building great careers, flying through the ranks and reaching the brink of huge success, only for it all to come crashing down when they have children. Many have to resort to part time work and experience little career progression, or quit their jobs entirely. The support infrastructure within professional services businesses for mothers and fathers alike, is woefully underequipped for modern parenting attitudes and ideas around work-life balance.

For Jess, the pandemic was a key lesson for all society that work-life balance as it currently functions is wholly inadequate for sustaining a happy, healthy workforce. The system is broken. Whilst endeavours to introduce flexible working solutions have been broadly introduced across our industry, there is still much work to be done. There is, however, an appetite from many organisations to put the work in. Workplaces can facilitate change in this regard, and must evaluate the ways in which they cater to working parents, and the support mechanisms on offer for them before and after they have children. There is a financial incentive for doing so also. Not only would such support infrastructure create a more broadly happy workforce, leading to greater productivity and thereby positively impacting businesses’ bottom line; it would also enable great talent to remain in the industry, even if at a reduced capacity for a certain number of years.

It is crucial, Jess argues, that workplaces foster a culture which encourages and enables people to be their true selves. Being authentic to who you are makes one a better leader, and a better individual contributor. The dynamic of living with a work and nonwork version of oneself, and navigating between the two on a day-to-day basis, is extremely psychologically damaging. It upholds a mindset that, in the workplace, one can never really switch off, or have a bad day. Organisations that place employee wellbeing in every regard at the centre of what they do have well-performing, and more loyal employees, leading to better results for the business overall.

Best Moments/Key Quotes

“When you work in insurance, I think because I'd spent my whole career in it, I never realized that that imbalance of women to men was unusual. It's not until you get older, and you get more senior, and you suddenly start to look around and think, ‘Well, hang on a minute. Nobody else in here really looks like me or sounds like me’. And you become increasingly aware of your femininity.”

“If we're to take a positive from the whole pandemic, it's that we all learned that we haven't quite got this work-life balance thing right. Whether we're looking at mental health, whether we're looking at physical health, whether we're looking at caring responsibilities, whether we're looking at general happiness levels, we don't have it right. The system is fundamentally broken because it doesn't enable that.”

“Barristers have one of the biggest gender pay gaps going. The average is 14%. I think theirs is about 29%. For me, there's a very linear relationship… we know that there's very little gender pay gap at 30 and it quadruples by the age of 40. The average age to have a child is 32. It's abundantly clear what happens in that time period to drive gender pay gap and inequality. It all comes down to how well we cater to working parents and how well we're supporting women and having children.”

‘I think we currently live in a time where being the best at everything has a set of expectations with it that aren’t healthy or achievable.’

Resources

Careers After Babies Report: https://www.careersafterbabies.org/careers-after-babies-report

Careers After Babies Accreditation: https://www.careersafterbabies.org/careers-after-babies-accreditation

The New York Times – Millennial Men Aren’t the Dads They Thought They’d Be: https://www.nytimes.com/2015/07/31/upshot/millennial-men-find-work-and-family-hard-to-balance.html

About the Guest

Jess Heagren is the Founder of Careers after Babies and the author of the so-called landmark Careers After Babies report published in 2023 which went viral on LinkedIn. Prior to this, she worked in the insurance industry as a corporate strategist, and in her last insurance position she was a Strategy and Distribution Director in the commercial part of DLG.

About the Host

Sarah Myerscough is the Chief Ideas Officer at Macaii, formerly Boston Tullis. She hosts/co-hosts several podcasts and is known for her knack in connecting with people. Sarah excels in bringing out the best for video, podcast, and live events, helping clients showcase the human side of their business.

Sarah is passionate about the evolving dynamics of the insurance industry and enjoys conversing with innovators, trailblazers, and long-term advocates of change.

Website: www.macaii.co.uk

What responsibility do small insurance firms have to implement sustainable practices, and encourage their clients to do the same? What initiatives can SMEs put in place to cut down on their carbon footprint without compromising their bottom line? Or is a transition towards sustainable efforts ultimately commercially beneficial?

At Macaii we believe that podcasting is the best way to learn, and this episode of Changing the Conversation is a testament to that endeavour. We are thrilled to be speaking with Gillie Fairbrother and Mike Wrathall in a highly engaging and informative episode covering the importance of embracing sustainable practices as an industry, and the practical steps smaller firms can take to do so. This conversation cuts through the buzzwords and vague broad strokes discussions about a need to create change, highlighting the profound responsibility and the various opportunities that sustainability represents for our industry.

Quote of the Episode

“The insurance industry as a whole has a massive role to play in sustainability. It's an investor. It's one of the biggest investor groups in the world. It's an enabler of business. So, whether you're an oil rig or a new wind farm, you need insurance to get that project off the ground. What the insurance industry chooses to insure is what happens, effectively. So, if the industry moves away from insuring so-called ‘dirty economy’ things over a period of time and moves towards insuring new areas that are breaking ground, it can really enable those new areas, new climate technologies to get off the ground, and it can help phase out the other areas.”

When assessing our sustainable responsibilities as an industry, it is key that we examine not only the direct, first-hand carbon footprint of our own businesses, but also those of our clients. By insuring our clients’ businesses, we are effectively interconnected with their sustainable efforts, or lack thereof. By insuring businesses that deploy or harvest fossil fuels, we enable them and must take some responsibility for the damage they cause to our environment. Equally, this presents an opportunity. If we can encourage our clients to transition towards new practices and green technologies, we can precipitate extensive, sustainable change across an array of businesses, industries and economies.

Key Takeaways

As an industry, we have the power to nudge the business community in the right direction with regards to sustainability. We can use policy terms to behaviourally transition clients away from outdated practices, ratcheting premiums up and down in response to sustainable endeavours. Yet, whilst we undoubtedly hold significant power in the sustainability conversation as an industry overall, our economy is primarily comprised of small businesses (99%) which may feel somewhat powerless to contribute anything significant beyond compliance with sustainability regulations. The same is true for small insurance firms. Both Gillie and Mike affirm that firstly, it is key to identify what your business’ exposure is, and identify where to play in the sustainability space. Could your business cover a new or growing area, such as climate tech or wind farms? Can you incorporate sustainable efforts into your policies to encourage good behaviours in your clients?

Ultimately, our industry aims to make its clients’ businesses more viable and successful. If we are to encourage sustainable efforts in our clients, it is key to identify and illuminate the demonstrably positive impact of such practices on their bottom line. There will always be a range of client needs with regards to sustainability, with some simply wishing to comply with regulations, and others aiming to positively impact the planet through their work. Wherever our clients fall on that gradient of ambition, articulating the opportunity for their bottom line will always help to push them up that curve. Not only is sustainability ultimately a profitable enterprise. We are now at a stage economically where sustainable practices cannot simply be considered a tick-box ethical business practice exercise. A failure to implement these broadly across insurance and into the businesses we support as an industry will lead to catastrophic economic consequences in the not-too-distant future. As Mike argues, ‘the only real growth story for the economies and businesses of the century is going to be a sustainable one’.

Mike notes that we ultimately need to create a circular, regenerative global economy which forefronts sustainability. This will be highly reliant on digital connection, supplanted by an array of climate technologies that will become increasingly significant in years to come. In 2018, 9.1% of the world’s economy was circular, but in 2023, this had fallen to 7.2%. We cannot afford to go backwards. Ultimately, the insurance industry will bear the brunt when climate disaster strikes. We have a responsibility and a clear business incentive to be ahead of the curve and encourage our clients towards sustainable practices, today.

Best Moments/Key Quotes

“We [Davies Group] are actually rebranding to responsible business. But I'm very much keeping that in the background. Like our pillars don't change. We've always aligned with people, planet, and our purpose which aligns with ESG. But it's still everything we're doing as a business and our commitments aren’t changing. Let’s just get rid of the noise and get on with the work.”

“We have an opportunity as an industry to drive change. But it's hard for businesses to go ahead of regulation. And are we getting the right regulation?”

‘Digital connection is absolutely essential for the move to anything like a circular economy.’

Resources

Larry Fink’s 2024 Annual Chairman’s Letter - https://www.blackrock.com/corporate/investor-relations/larry-fink-annual-chairmans-letter

The Circularity Gap Report 2023 - https://www.circularity-gap.world/2023

About the Guest

Gillie Fairbrother is the Director of ESG at Davies Group, a professional services business which provides support to the insurance industry.

Gillie’s LinkedIn Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gillie-fairbrother-2723a320b/

Mike Wrathall is an independent consultant working across sustainability and digital. His background is in digital transformation and sustainability strategy, having previously worked in Monitor Deloitte’s sustainability and climate strategy team.

Mike’s LinkedIn Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-wrathall-03880a67/

About the Host

Sarah Myerscough is the Chief Ideas Officer at Macaii, formerly Boston Tullis. She hosts/co-hosts several podcasts and is known for her knack in connecting with people. Sarah excels in bringing out the best for video, podcast, and live events, helping clients showcase the human side of their business.

Sarah is passionate about the evolving dynamics of the insurance industry and enjoys conversing with innovators, trailblazers, and long-term advocates of change.

Website: www.macaii.co.uk

Welcome to Changing the Conversation: The people in insurance.

The brand new, reimagined evolution of The Insurance Broker’s Podcast, brought to you by Macaii Ltd!

In this podcast episode, insurance veteran Bryan Falchuk discusses the need for a fundamental reassessment in the insurance sector amidst changing external dynamics like climate change and supply chain disruptions. Brian argues that traditional cyclicality in insurance rates no longer applies due to shifts in global capital, creating challenges for insurers and customers alike.

He advocates for re-evaluating risk coverage and pricing models to design products that meet today's exposures. Brian highlights innovative solutions like parametric insurance tailored to specific risks such as tornadoes or hail damage.

Additionally, Bryan emphasizes the role of institutions like Lloyd's of London in driving industry-wide change, calling for bolder leadership and operational efficiency.

Drawing parallels between personal development and industry evolution, Bryan encourages resilience and a "how might we" approach to overcome challenges and drive innovation in insurance.

This podcast offers a succinct yet thought-provoking perspective on the future of insurance, urging industry players to adapt to the evolving landscape.

Quote of the Episode

"This is about figuring out a completely new way to address the market. It's not just a cycle; it's a shift. Capital doesn't work the way it used to. It's not just a pot of money in one place anymore; it's totally fungible, moving around globally. So when macroeconomic factors like climate change, supply chain disruptions, or labour shortages affect risk and its costs, capital just keeps flowing. We're in a conundrum where insurance is neither affordable to buy nor to sell at a market-clearing rate. That's the fundamental shift—it's not temporal."

"We need to not tinker; we need to start afresh. We've iterated on policies forever, but we must stop framing ourselves in the old world. We need to ask: What is the exposure? What are the core coverages needed today? Building coverage fit for the actual exposure is crucial. Then, we must reassess how we analyse risk and price for it. Just raising rates won't fix fundamentally broken risk analysis and pricing models."

Key Takeaways

Shift in Insurance Dynamics: The interview highlights a fundamental shift in the insurance industry, moving away from traditional cyclicality to a new paradigm driven by global capital fluidity and macro-economic factors like climate change and supply chain disruptions. This shift challenges traditional approaches to risk analysis, pricing, and coverage.

Need for Fresh Perspective: There's a call for a fresh perspective in insurance, advocating for a departure from tinkering with existing policies towards a complete reassessment of exposures and coverages. This entails designing coverage tailored to modern risks and leveraging better data and processes to analyse and price risks accurately.

Embracing Adaptability and Innovation: The industry's response requires flexibility and innovation, both in creating and adjusting coverage to meet evolving needs and in operational leadership to drive efficiency and effectiveness. Embracing a mindset of resilience, learning from failures, and persisting in the face of challenges is essential for personal and industry-wide progress.

Resources

Bryan Falchuck - https://bryanfalchuk.com/

Bryan Falchuck LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/bryanfalchuk/

Insurance Evolution Partners - https://insurance-evolution.com/

About the Guest

Bryan is a best-selling author, speaker, and life coach who has overcome major adversities to achieve success. Bryan has drawn lessons from his experiences to inspire others to succeed.

His book "Do a Day" has earned praise and awards, including the Literary Titan's Silver prize and 5-star ratings from book reviews. His upcoming book, "The 50 75 100 Solution: Build Better Relationships," focuses on fostering happier, healthier, and more supportive relationships.

As a sought-after speaker, Bryan addresses topics such as success, motivation, culture, and innovation at various events. He tailors his presentations to suit both large and small audiences, drawing from his extensive experience and expertise.

With nearly a decade of coaching and mentoring experience, Bryan helps individuals and corporations achieve their goals across different aspects of life. He believes in a holistic approach to coaching, addressing leadership, health, career, relationships, and more to inspire overall success.

About the Host

Sarah Myerscough is the Chief Ideas Officer at Macaii, formerly Boston Tullis. She hosts/co-hosts several podcasts and is known for her knack in connecting with people. Sarah excels in bringing out the best for video, podcast, and live events, helping clients showcase the human side of their business.

Sarah is passionate about the evolving dynamics of the insurance industry and enjoys conversing with innovators, trailblazers, and long-term advocates of change.

Website: www.macaii.co.uk

In this episode of the Changing the Conversation, we are thrilled to be speaking with Phil Denman, Co-Founder and CEO of four-section MGA, Capacity Insights! In conversation with Macaii’s Sarah Myerscough, Phil explains his philosophy for establishing partnerships with experts external to the insurance industry, and how these can help us to keep apace with customer interests and regulatory demands.

Is it possible for any insurance company to address customer desires without delegating any tasks to external experts? As we rapidly transition towards digitisation, how do we keep an eye on the unintended consequences of new digital practices, particularly with new regulatory measures to consider? Having established what your company is good at and what your customers want, how can you align both of those propositions?

Quote of the Episode

“I see this modern, fast moving insurance market that we work in being a sort of an ecosystem of partnerships. Whether that's technology, whether that's people providing parametric claim settlement, or data services, whether that's partnering with different claims providers where we can. Instead of trying to be everything to everybody, being a leader in the delivery of high-engagement, subscription-type services, as a fully regulated entity, with all of the cost and rigour and robustness that comes with that. We may be compartment with people for some of the faster-moving engagement services, certainly in terms of digital health, digital assistance, digital claims services. We will come outside of our own organisation and partner with people for that, for that engagement layer.”

Phil suggests that the insurance market today will flourish or flounder on account of how quickly and effectively we can partner up with and incorporate the insights of experts external to our industry. Particularly with regard to technological proficiency and digital services, it is key that we can provide a platform that is easy and user-friendly whilst also mitigating any potential unintended consequences to satisfy the regulators. It’s impossible for us to be experts at everything, and outsourcing certain processes to people who can provide those areas will, Phil argues, be the differentiating factor that eventually keeps some companies afloat, and leaves others in the dust.

Key Takeaways

Our buying cycles have been completely reoriented by the high-speed nature of the Amazon business model and others of its ilk, fuelling an ‘I want it yesterday’ mentality underpinned by getting products quickly, with as little administrative hassle as possible. Yet, insurance is a complicated product. Phil suggests that delivering a such a simplistic customer journey necessitates a significant amount of complex work and technological expertise. Great products, he notes, are complex products, masked with a veneer of ease and simplicity from the client’s perspective. To facilitate this, Phil argues, it is essential that we begin to collaborate more with digital partners who can provide the expertise you might not have in-house.

‘We can’t be everything to everyone,’ Phil notes, and as such developing such partnerships will become a core means by which our industry can begin to meet these aforementioned customer expectations. Capacity Insights themselves have made many changes in this regard. Phil notes that the company has re-engineered its product process to begin with customer needs, and with regulatory expectations in mind, thereby deploying a 360-degree view of the various levels that products need to deliver on.

Data management is a crucial aspect of delivering a smooth customer journey. While we have access to more data than ever, its oversaturation can often prove a hindrance rather than a help. Phil argues that data should be perceived as a pillar of support rather than an illuminator in determining customer outcomes. The need to carefully navigate the use and implementation of data perfectly exemplifies Capacity Insights’ partnerships-based business model. The company has recently signed a contract with an external actuarial consultancy providing data storage and analytics. This brings huge benefits to a business of Capacity Insights’ size. The company simply wouldn’t have been able to build a data warehouse and insight function internally with nearly the same functionality, let alone the extensive cost considerations. Phil considers outsourcing in this manner to be a theme that will become increasingly significant across insurance in years to come, particularly with regard to AI. To keep ahead of the curve, insurance companies must remain nimble, highly technically proficient, and empowered by technology, which can be externally provided.

If you’re an intermediary in the UK or Europe looking to deploy medical, dental, travel or personal accident insurance, consider getting in touch with Phil, whose contact details are linked below!

Best Moments/Key Quotes

“We are constantly challenging ourselves to say, ‘What is it that we are good at?’”

“I'm not even sure the experts in AI are truly experts in tomorrow's AI. It is such a complex, fast-moving sector that I just question whether, in the future, we will all be the experts of all that we survey. We're starting to see, being the entity that we are, we will have to partner with people who can provide these areas that we're not experts in.”

‘Great products aren't simple products; great products are actually complicated things that are delivered in a way that makes them feel simple.’

“And I think the global giants, who obviously are a massive force, in our online marketplaces, I think they will have as many challenges as we do, just at a different scale. Maybe their desire to partner for what they might see as core functionality around technology, AI engagement, there may be less desire, less corporate appetite, and a greater inner inertia to try and be that jack of all trades. They're trying to be experts across this huge gambit of technical proficiencies, which I think will be hugely challenging for them, just as it is for our business.”

Resources

Capacity Insights: https://capacityinsights.co.uk/

About the Guest

Phil Denman has worked in and around the schemes market for thirty years. He is the Co-Founder and CEO of Capacity Insights, a four-section MGA underwriting travel, medical, dental, and personal accident claims.

Phil’s LinkedIn Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/phil-denman-38188a9/

About the Host

Sarah Myerscough is the Chief Ideas Officer at Macaii, formerly Boston Tullis. She hosts/co-hosts several podcasts and is known for her knack in connecting with people. Sarah excels in bringing out the best for video, podcast, and live events, helping clients showcase the human side of their business.

Sarah is passionate about the evolving dynamics of the insurance industry and enjoys conversing with innovators, trailblazers, and long-term advocates of change.

Website: www.macaii.co.uk

In this episode of Changing the Conversation, we dive deep into the world of mergers and acquisitions (M&A) in the insurance industry with Glenn Hirchfield, founder of ALJ Consultancy. Glenn shares his extensive experience in M&A, offering valuable insights for both buyers and sellers in the insurance market. From the importance of cultural fit to the role of technology in valuations, Glenn provides a comprehensive overview of the current M&A landscape and offers advice for those considering selling their business.

Quote of the Episode:

 "There is a flawed assumption that people are only interested in how much they can get for their business. And it's rarely, if ever, true that that's the primary driver for people." Glenn Hirchfield

Key Takeaways:

• The importance of cultural fit in M&A deals 
• The value of honesty and transparency in the selling process 
• The role of advisors in navigating the M&A landscape 
• The impact of technology on business valuations 
• The significance of soft skills and personal factors in M&A decisions 

Best Moments/Key Quotes:

"Be yourself. Say things as they are about your business, because if you do the opposite and try and pretend that you are something that you're not, regrettably it gets found out." 

"Please don't go into selling your firm thinking it's going to be easy. There are times when it's horrendous." 

"We see life-changing amounts of money often getting into the hands of people that have lived quite frugally and who have really devoted their entire career to building up something." 

Resources:

ALJ Consultancy website https://www.aljconsulting.com/

About the Guest: Glenn has over 30 years in financial services, with a vast network of senior contacts and experience from AIG, ACE, and senior UK broking roles. As CEO and founder of ALJ Consulting, he specialises in originating, structuring, and executing deals in the US and European insurance markets. He is also an operating partner at Apollo Global Management.

With deep expertise in M&A consulting and private equity, Glenn helps clients achieve strategic goals, providing tailored financial services and technology solutions. He assists private equity firms pre- and post-deal and helps sellers find buyers.

Glenn's capital-raising experience offers clients valuable M&A insights. He aims to deliver discreet, value-added services for client success in today's fast-paced market. Glenn is married with three children, is active in his local church, and enjoys golf and cricket.

About the Host

Sarah Myerscough is the Chief Ideas Officer at Macaii, formerly Boston Tullis. She hosts/co-hosts several podcasts and is known for her knack in connecting with people. Sarah excels in bringing out the best for video, podcast, and live events, helping clients showcase the human side of their business.

Sarah is passionate about the evolving dynamics of the insurance industry and enjoys conversing with innovators, trailblazers, and long-term advocates of change.

Website: www.macaii.co.uk

How can ethical business practices and a focus on fairness shape a company's culture and success?

What role does mentorship play in fostering the next generation of business leaders?

In this episode of Changing the Conversation, we're delighted to speak with Donna Scully, co-owner of Carpenters Group, about her journey in building an ethical business and her passion for mentoring young entrepreneurs.

Donna shares insights from her 30-year career in the insurance industry, discussing how she and her business partner John shaped Carpenters Group around core values of fairness, customer focus, and employee wellbeing. She reflects on the challenges and rewards of running a business with strong ethical principles, and how this approach has contributed to the company's growth and positive reputation.

Quote of the Episode

"We wanted to be really good at what we did, and we want to try and be proud of what we did and the way that we did it. And the way that we achieved it."

For Donna, success in business isn't just about financial results – it's about building something you can be proud of, treating customers and employees well, and making a positive impact. This philosophy has guided Carpenters Group from its early days to its current position as a major player in the insurance industry.

Key Takeaways

Donna emphasises the importance of investing in people and technology to deliver excellent customer service. She discusses how Carpenters Group has maintained its commitment to fairness and ethical practices even as it has grown to over 1,500 employees. Key elements of their approach include:

• Focusing on customer needs rather than short-term profits
• Investing in technology and training to improve service delivery
• Cultivating a no-blame culture that encourages innovation and problem-solving
• Promoting diversity and providing opportunities for career growth
• Balancing business needs with employee wellbeing and work-life balance

Donna also shares her perspective on mentoring, drawing from her own experiences of being supported in her career and her current efforts to guide young entrepreneurs. She stresses the value of taking opportunities, continuous learning, and developing both technical skills and emotional intelligence.

Best Moments

"I think for me and John, our view was, well, if you do it well, there's always room for you and there's always a place. So, we're going to give it a go."

"We try to run a no blame culture. I mean, I'm sure people... would say that's it's not perfect, but, you know, you try to say, you know, we get things wrong."

"One of the things I've always done since I was young and I don't remember not doing this, is I take every opportunity that comes. So, if someone says, do you want to try that? I'm in."

"Everything is about relationships. Everything is about communication. When you have bad relationships with bad communication, it doesn't matter how smart you are, you won't solve problems."

Key Quotes

“I felt like sometimes the customer focus was a bit lost and for me, one of the things that John and I decided early on was that we wanted to be really good at what we did, and we want to try and be proud of what we did and the way that we did it and the way that we achieved it. And what's funny is. You make money.” Donna Scully

“When something goes wrong, I think instead of going, oh my God, I need to lie on the floor and drink six bottles of wine and scream. I go, how are we going to fix this?”  Donna Scully

“Thank God I'm not bad at my job because I'm so bad at other things. But then, that, that keeps your feet on the ground. You can't be great at everything.” Donna Scully

“Someone having that belief in you is very powerful.” Donna Scully

About the Guest

Donna Scully is the co-owner of Carpenters Group, a leading provider of insurance and legal services in the UK. With over 30 years of experience in the industry, Donna is known for her commitment to ethical business practices and her advocacy for diversity and inclusion in the workplace. She is also passionate about mentoring young entrepreneurs and supporting various charitable causes.

About the Host

Sarah Myerscough is the Chief Ideas Officer at Macaii, formerly Boston Tullis. She hosts/co-hosts several podcasts and is known for her knack in connecting with people. Sarah excels in bringing out the best for video, podcast, and live events, helping clients showcase the human side of their business.

Sarah is passionate about the evolving dynamics of the insurance industry and enjoys conversing with innovators, trailblazers, and long-term advocates of change.

Website: www.macaii.co.uk

What is the Insurance Museum and who is it for? Can it help to reconstitute public perceptions of the industry and to educate children and young people about what we really do?

Given the rapidly evolving nature of our industry today, it’s easy to forget that our work rests on the shoulders of a centuries-old legacy rooted in the heart of London. The founders of the Insurance Museum intend to cultivate a renewed interest in this history and heritage amongst both industry professionals and the general public. In today’s episode of Changing the Conversation, we are thrilled to be speaking with Howard Benge, Director of the Insurance Museum, about the project’s creation, its intentions, and long-term ambitions.

Quote of the Episode

“When I first came into this [project], the first thing that that really hit me was how much sandstone, how much history there is. The history and heritage of the insurance sector is so broad and so deep.”

The Insurance Museum was established as a charity in 2020, with the intention of becoming a physical space in London SE3 to tell the global story of insurance from its birthplace. During his research for the project, Howard uncovered an immense array of fascinating material charting the expansion and development of Lloyds and the industry more generally, into what it has ultimately become today. Matching the primarily digital nature of insurance itself in 2024, the museum currently uses digital platforms (linked below) to bring the history of the sector to life.

Key Takeaways

The Insurance Industry aims to be inclusive in its outreach, and be suitable both for insurance professionals and the general public: anyone with an interest in the interest, but particularly children and young people. To this effect many components of its digital presence are targeted towards this demographic, with the intention of unlocking an early interest in the insurance industry. Howard notes that roughly 36% of us have chosen our career by the age of seven. The proportion of those children who would consider insurance as their future profession is slim to none – most likely do not know what insurance is, nor the profound extent to which it underpins the global economy.

Thus, the museum aims to inspire, educate, and in the long term, support the industry’s recruitment efforts, by making insurance a career that is actively chosen rather than one that it simply fallen into. If we can positively reinforce children or young people’s interest in insurance, we can begin to shift the tides regarding our industry’s ongoing reputational crisis.

To do so, the museum aims to explain the multifaceted nature of our industry through explorations of an interesting angle. Every child in England is taught about the Great Fire of London at the ages of 6/7, thus providing an ideal springboard with which to explore the importance of insurance, and the applications of numerous subjects through it. Howard emphasises that it is key to emphasise how insurance infiltrates everything we do – it is a fundamental, if typically unseen, facet of our daily lives, which is a very exciting prospect for children to consider. Meanwhile, amongst young adults, Howard suggests a need to tap into their interest in inequality and injustice. For example, presenting the industry from the angle of how the big insurers aim to tackle climate change could facilitate engaging discussions which may enlighten young people about a career they hadn’t previously considered or known about.

The museum ultimately intends to cultivate a deep level of engagement in insurance; to make it fun and compelling for young people, and also enriching and informative for older people and insurance professionals seeking to learn more about the history of their industry. It will not be a museum of policies and fire marks, but an inspiring space where stories are told.

Best Moments/Key Quotes

“The reason for the existence of the insurance museum… is to inspire and educate and support the recruitment process; bringing the really young kids to make insurance a career you choose, not one that you fall into.”

“What do we do with insurance today? When we grow up. we all have insurance. In fact, you could even extend that to ‘Insurance underpins our lives. From the moment you're born, you're covered by insurance.’”

“Don't think of it as a collection, but more of a space… that’s all about engaging. A real deep level of engagement, whether that is just having fun, understanding a bit more, spending valuable time, trying to understand other people's opinions. All of that…. It's going to be museum where we're going to tell all the stories: marine, aviation, fire, life insurance. We're going to look at those difficult stories as well… it’s a place where we’re going to celebrate insurance, and promote insurance, and get everybody in.”

Resources

The Insurance Museum: https://insurance.museum/

Insurance Museum – Fire Insurance Exhibition: https://insurance.museum/fire-insurance-gallery

Insurance Museum – Dr Nicholas Barbon: https://insurance.museum/rising-from-the-ashes/part-2#section-67442620

About the Guest

Howard Benge is the Director of the Insurance Museum, appointed in 2021. He has worked as a heritage professional for 25 years; in nine of which he took up several roles for the City of London Corporation, managing the Guildhall Library, various museums, Billingsgate Roman House and Baths, and the City of London Police Museum, amongst many others.

Howard’s LinkedIn Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/howard-benge-87a3092/

About the Host

Sarah Myerscough is the Chief Ideas Officer at Macaii, formerly Boston Tullis. She hosts/co-hosts several podcasts and is known for her knack in connecting with people. Sarah excels in bringing out the best for video, podcast, and live events, helping clients showcase the human side of their business.

Sarah is passionate about the evolving dynamics of the insurance industry and enjoys conversing with innovators, trailblazers, and long-term advocates of change.

Website: www.macaii.co.uk

What are ‘fronting’ and ‘hybrid fronting’? How do they differ? And what unique opportunities can these solutions afford MGAs and the wider UK insurance market?

In this episode of Changing the Conversation, we are thrilled to be speaking with Paul Jewell, CEO of Bridgehaven Insurance, the first hybrid ‘fronter’ in the UK. At the forefront of this alternative distribution solution’s introduction to the UK market, Paul is well-placed to discuss the disrupting influence of fronting, having already made a sizeable impact across the pond in the US. He elucidates why fronting presents such a powerfully unique and profitable option to MGAs, and its benefits to the wider market.

Quote of the Episode

“Simplistically, [fronting] is just a term for capacity or an insurance solution… An insurance company acts on behalf of somebody else, usually a single, or multiple reinsurers. it’s very common for international companies, [such as] Pepsi Cola, a US-based company who may want an insurance solution in the UK, but they may have their own insurance solution provided by a US company. So, what they do is they have a ‘fronting partner’, a ‘fronter’, in the UK that ‘fronts’ for that business, i.e., issues the insurance policy, and they reinsure back to the US under the master agreement. That’s traditional fronting. It’s most common for multinationals and those types of organisations.”

Fronting is a hugely beneficial market solution, enabling multinationals to streamline their insurance provisions to ensure a continuity of cover across the various markets they operate in. Equally, this presents a big opportunity for those insurers, namely MGAs in the UK, who can provide this solution, as it grants them access to unique capacity derived from alternative markets they wouldn’t otherwise have operated within.

Key Takeaways

Hybrid Fronting slightly differs from the traditional approach outlined above. In contrast to the Pepsi example, in which the fronting company would reinsure 100% back to the US, a hybrid fronter would retain a variable amount of that risk themselves. Thus, through this model, the insurance company issuing the policy retains risk to their balance sheet. Furthermore, the hybrid fronting model is more focused on underwriting profit. Fronting for Pepsi and issuing a policy to reflect their US-based cover is a matter of compliance, as you’re not allowed to issue American policies in the UK. Meanwhile, a hybrid fronter retains some amount of that risk, so premiums and claims stay in the UK with that insurance company. Thus, hybrid fronters can benefit from hugely diversified portfolios, and a focus on profitability through partnership with a broad range of reinsurers.

Paul anticipates that fronting and hybrid fronting will become an increasingly powerful disruptor in the UK market. He argues that MGAs are particularly well-suited to operate in and benefit from this space by providing unique services and distribution in a more flexible and agile manner to traditional insurers, which aligns with the aims of prospective fronting partners such as Bridgehaven.

Additionally, he suggests that reinsurers themselves can also benefit from this type of distribution. If a reinsurer has relationships in other jurisdictions, and wishes to provide capacity to a particular customer group in an alternative market whilst remaining compliant in the UK, a partner can front for and retain risk on their behalf. Paul also notes that captives may be interested in this solution, particularly given the government’s recently asserted interest in making the UK a jurisdiction of choice for those subsidiaries.

Paul anticipates that many more fronters are likely to emerge in the UK in the next few years. The profitability of this approach has enormous potential in bringing new, diverse capacity to the UK market. He dismisses the notion that hybrid fronters will compete with one another for this capacity; by contrast, the disruption they will cause to the broader market through this solution will more powerfully hit the traditionally big insurance players.

Best Moments/Key Quotes

“MGAs are growing at a much faster pace than the traditional insurance sector because they're providing unique services, unique distribution, unique products, they're meeting customer demands, they're much more flexible and agile... So, we feel that over time, the hybrid fronting solution will actually be a quite an interesting disruptor for the UK market in providing different solutions that will fit some of the partners in the UK, particularly MGAs, which is growing space.”

“We have a dedicated model that supports MGAs. We are not attracting or targeting customer groups directly. We don’t service brokers directly, we only support through MGAs, so there’s a reduced conflict of interest.”

“I think hybrid fronting can bring alternative capital [and] advantages from additional commission profit shares. I think it gives much more flexibility to enable [MGAs] to grow the alignment of interest because there's reduced conflicts of interest with other distribution. I also think there's a potential better of transparency… Each party sees the same level of information. There’s no mystique.”

“Talk to us or talk to other fronting partners directly. There's nothing wrong with direct engagement. We don't have a prescribed way of doing it. The only thing I would encourage your listeners to understand is that there is a process to go through. Often, there needs to be things like business plans, data sharing, and information… [so] they need to be prepared for the conversation.”

Resources

Bridgehaven Insurance: https://www.bhvn-ins.com/

About the Guest

Paul Jewell is the CEO of Bridgehaven Insurance, with 35 years’ experience across various roles both UK-based and internationally.

About the Host

Sarah Myerscough is the Chief Ideas Officer at Macaii, formerly Boston Tullis. She hosts/co-hosts several podcasts and is known for her knack in connecting with people. Sarah excels in bringing out the best for video, podcast, and live events, helping clients showcase the human side of their business.

Sarah is passionate about the evolving dynamics of the insurance industry and enjoys conversing with innovators, trailblazers, and long-term advocates of change.

Website: www.macaii.co.uk

Why does the insurance industry continue to be plagued by a reputation that it is untrustworthy, exploitative and profit centric? What can we do internally and via our communications with the public to reorient this perspective and thereby foster a healthier relationship between customers and insurers?

An array of deep-rooted psychological factors continue to inform negative public attitudes towards insurance. The ramifications of these are multifaceted – active pursuit of a career in the industry is a rarity, hence our current recruitment crisis, and there are generalised misconceptions of what we really do. In this episode of Changing the Conversation, we are very pleased to be speaking with the prolific Sam White: entrepreneur, podcast host, and CEO of Stella Insurance! Sam dispenses her wisdom regarding the need for better communication both within insurance teams internally, and between the industry overall and the general public.

Quote of the Episode

“Everything is about relationships. Everything is about communication. When you have bad relationships with bad communication, it doesn't matter how smart you are, you won't solve problems because you'll be sat in a siloed box, and you won't be able to get engagement from other people. So, that piece around getting people to tap into their emotions and then communicate from a position of emotionality and not rationality [is crucial].”

For Sam, we must identify the emotional crux behind every issue our customers may face. Historically, insurance communications have been characterised by a tendency towards clinical, ‘rational’, thinking, which fails to acknowledge and respond to the real issues at hand. As a people-facing industry, we must embrace the human side of what we do. Thus, in our external engagements with the general public, it is paramount that we recognise when we make mistakes, and the efforts we are implementing to correct them.

Key Takeaways

As a frequent guest on Morning Live and BBC Radio 4, Sam uses this public platform to try and bridge the gap between presiding misperceptions of our industry, and what we really do. She argues that more people need to follow her lead and explain how the industry is responding to public frustrations and demands in universal terms. She notes a defensive tendency on behalf of the industry at large to avoid taking accountability of our failings. Sam suggests that, if we can openly acknowledge the errors we make as an industry, people may be more willing to listen as we strive to address and overstep them.

Using the public platform in this way to alter public perceptions of insurance may also facilitate our recruitment efforts. To get future generations engaged with the notion of a possible insurance career, we need to cultivate excitement, thrusting insurance into the mainstream. For example, Sam has partnered with former Married at First Sight cast member Jules’ shapewear brand – every time a customer purchases a Stella Insurance policy, they will receive an item of shapewear. This subtly draws insurance into the mainstream and creates a positive association for Stella and the industry overall. Sam is wary of the insurance industry’s efforts to communicate with the public about what we do. These are typically sallied by an alienating rhetoric only comprehensible to those already in the industry, which has no resonance for the general public.

Sam’s championing of the human side of insurance is not only geared towards our need to alter our public perception. She argues that the mass exodus of top talent from FTSE 100 companies is entirely unsurprising, and attributes it to toxic, dehumanising work environments which fail to recognise the psychological impacts of blame culture and dictatorial hierarchies. For Sam, the culture in corporate insurance environments is scaffolded by a clinical proclivity towards profit above all else, de-sanctifying the psychological safety of team members. Ultimately, people are finding themselves unwilling to continue working in such environments irrespective of how much they might be paid. As an industry we must learn how to foster psychologically safe environments, particularly as the next generation of insurance professionals, who have entirely different expectations regarding wellbeing in the workplace, begin to rise the corporate ladder.

Best Moments/Key Quotes

“I want us [as an industry] to be much more engaged with the public. When the BBC comes to me and asks me for comment, one of the most common things they say is, ‘We couldn't get anyone else to speak’.”

“I think people want to understand what's going on. I think if we can open up that conversation and be a bit more open to the criticism, then we'll do a lot better generally.”

“We do have a big job to do to make insurance a bit more fun, and sexy, and interesting. Despite the fact that it is in so many different areas, it has a really negative association with it. We're not coming together enough as an industry to go, ‘Okay, how do we tackle that?’”

“What I see in these large corporates is over the last couple of years, they've been under massive pressure… People have got to a point where they've gone, ‘I don't care how much you pay me, you cannot pay me enough to go into an environment where my humanity is completely ignored, where I get screamed at by somebody who has no emotional regularity’.”

“When you're under stress and you've got lots of stuff going on, that's when most teams have less contact, less communication. Everybody goes off into their silos. That's the exact opposite of what should be happening. That's the time that you have to double down on spending time together, on understanding each other, on having the hard conversations, because that's where you get to a better space.”

Resources

Human Business with Sam White Podcast – https://www.deezer.com/us/show/445082

book – about tribal instincts. you have a tribe of people that are like you – and a natural distrust of people that are not like you. hierarchies that are accepted and self-hierarchies that are not.

I Am (2010) – dir. by Tom Shadyac

About the Guest

Sam White is the CEO and founder of Stella Insurance, a financial services business offering insurance products tailored to women's needs. Sam is the co-host of BBC Radio 4’s ‘Toast’, and a regular on BBC One Morning Live, where she shares her insights into the current state of the insurance industry.

Sam’s LinkedIn Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/samwhiteentrepreneur/

About the Host

Sarah Myerscough is the Chief Ideas Officer at Macaii, formerly Boston Tullis. She hosts/co-hosts several podcasts and is known for her knack in connecting with people. Sarah excels in bringing out the best for video, podcast, and live events, helping clients showcase the human side of their business.

Sarah is passionate about the evolving dynamics of the insurance industry and enjoys conversing with innovators, trailblazers, and long-term advocates of change.

Website: www.macaii.co.uk

How will Insurtech continue to reshape the industry in the coming years?

What factors, material and psychological, continue to curtail the insurance market from innovating at a steadier pace?

In this episode of Changing the Conversation, we are thrilled to be speaking with Insurtech trailblazer Ed Gaze! Whilst Insurtech is having a substantial impact on the wider market and facilitating innovation more broadly, many insurance businesses remain steeped in archaic traditional processes. Ed argues that this, along with considerable red tape around gaining capacity and distribution for new ideas, drains momentum from the market’s efforts to innovate. Ed suggests that businesses that wish to do so must assemble diversely minded teams who share a unanimous passion for experimentation and are motivated by the prospect of trying new ideas and alternative approaches.

Quote of the Episode

“I think, generally, we need to get everyone on better data. The better the data, the easier it is to move and change things, and understand what's going on. But the core thing [behind fuelling innovation] is having people [who are] motivated to make change happen and are not motivated to hold back. Sometimes we can be a bit risk averse. Insurers are in the business of risk, but they're also super risk averse. Trying to help them take a bit more measured risk in certain places would be really helpful.”

Ed observes that insurers’ attitude towards risk is somewhat oxymoronic – whilst we work to manage and evaluate the risks of our clients, we are very reluctant to take any risks to assist in this process. He notes that while there is a general need across the industry for greater access to and examination/implementation of data, the primary obstacle curtailing innovation is one of attitude.

Key Takeaways

The insurance industry is steeped in history, and as such, it is underpinned by an array of seemingly cemented processes. The digital revolution poses a significant challenge to this, as other financial services transition to data-first approaches, so too must insurance. Innovation is also often stymied by a reluctance to justify change. Profitable businesses may see no reason to innovate given their present success, and non-profitable businesses may lack the necessary funds to try something new. As such, for innovation to become more firmly cemented, there needs to be motivation within a given business to pursue change.

Ed notes that innovation must be underpinned by a passion for new ideas, a motivation to pursue them, and a no-judgement attitude towards mistakes when they happen. Innovation should be allowed to unfold quickly and fluidly, so that lots of new ideas can be tested and embraced or abandoned in quick succession. It’s key, therefore, to get the right people on board in a business, who are all motivated in the same way.

However, Ed highlights that diversity of thought is also crucial with regards to innovation. This can manifest in many different ways – for example, people from different cities or countries may therefore have contrasting life experiences, for example. Alternatively, people who studied radically different subjects at college or university will be equipped with unique skillsets and knowledge. When placed in a team of uniquely minded people, all inspired to innovate, great new ideas and approaches will emerge. Innovation, ultimately, is about applying ideas in new ways that are commercially viable. A diversely minded team will be far more equipped to pursue this end than a room of people who have all vaguely pursued the same path in life.

Ed’s long-term vision for the future of insurance is to make it easier for Insurtechs to innovate and for innovative ideas within corporates to be tested. There are considerable roadblocks to quick experimentation of ideas from capacity and distribution. Ed’s fast-paced approach to innovation is underpinned by a desire to learn more – even if an idea fails, so much can be gleaned from the attempt, hence why innovation in insurance is never wasted effort.

Best Moments/Key Quotes

“Sometimes if you don't give yourself a deadline and you just let things tick along, you just don't get that kind of drive to finish it. When we're all so motivated and pushing and working hard to do it, we then get that passion across to the other people within the insurer that need to approve it.”

“Culture is hugely important. You take a person in one business who's not able to get stuff done, put them in another business – same person, same skills – and they could be super successful because of the culture, because of people being willing to listen to what they've got to say, or being willing to experiment and learn.”

“Innovation is about applying the applying ideas in new ways that are commercially valuable. Innovation isn't necessarily about creativity. It's not about creating something brand new, necessarily. It's about taking things that are right there already, and applying them in a new way. And doing it in such a way that's commercially valuable.”

Resources

Innovative Risk Labs: https://www.innovativerisk.co.uk/

JustParent: https://www.justparent.co.uk/

About the Guest

Ed Gaze is a paragon of Insurtech innovation. Having managed the Lloyd’s Lab for four years, Ed has since become the CEO of Innovative Risk Labs (IRL), a broker which helps to launch new Insurtech MGAs in the UK. He is also the CEO of JustParent, the UK’s first parental leave insurer.

About the Host

Sarah Myerscough is the Chief Ideas Officer at Macaii, formerly Boston Tullis. She hosts/co-hosts several podcasts and is known for her knack in connecting with people. Sarah excels in bringing out the best for video, podcast, and live events, helping clients showcase the human side of their business.

Sarah is passionate about the evolving dynamics of the insurance industry and enjoys conversing with innovators, trailblazers, and long-term advocates of change.

Website: www.macaii.co.uk

Has the Consumer Duty really changed the insurance landscape to protect customers’ best interests? Are any poor practices still slipping through the cracks? What changes can we implement as an industry to maintain a rich ecosystem of knowledge even as people retire?

In this episode of Changing the Conversation, we are thrilled to be speaking with Donna Robertson, Managing Director of Squared Insurance Brokers! She discusses the challenges of balancing personal responsibilities with your career ambitions, and how the industry needs to reformulate its approach to hybrid and remote working solutions. Furthermore, Donna is deeply interested in treating clients fairly. She elucidates her frustrations with the Consumer Duty which, she argues, has failed to institute many practical changes for customers.

Quote of the Episode

“Although there have been the technology advancements, I wouldn't say on a whole that the industry has evolved very much. I think we're still getting caught out by practices that we should have left in the dark ages. I know that the AFC are doing a huge piece on Consumer Duty. Has it actually changed anything in the landscape? I would say probably no, other than not selling GAP insurance anymore. I wouldn't say there's been other changes. The changes that I would like to see are on a more practical level.”

For Donna, beyond the more superficial shifts to our working practices and the transmission of data, generally our industry is little more efficient or accommodating to clients than it was when she began her career 25 years ago. She argues that clients continue to be subjected to unfair treatment via various unsavoury practices (notably in motor fleet and liability insurance) that need to be struck out.

Key Takeaways

A key area of concern highlighted by Donna which Consumer Duty has failed to address pertains to motor fleet insurance. She argues that it is very difficult for clients to switch their cover provider as the holding broker can retain the client’s information for a five-day period before releasing it, and thereby limit their options. This can create very challenging circumstances for business owners. For example, Donan cites an incident from within the last six months when she was approached by a client who had been put on an extension by their existing broker, and the terms of their cover had increased from £100,000 to £400,000. They had only two days to find an alternate solution, and the holding broker refused to release the confirmed claims experience to the client. Thus, the client was unable to get a hold of their own data to pursue alternate cover. Given that they had a fleet of over 100 vehicles, and the business couldn’t function without insurance, the client was forced to accept these terms, a deeply compromising position given the cost-of-living crisis. Insurance brokers should never be adding to the problems of clients, but the current state of motor fleet insurance effectively facilitates, or even encourages this.

Donna suggests that this cynical type of poor broking practice is becoming much less common, but the onus is on the FCA and other broking institutions to intervene and prevent further client mistreatment. Donna empathised deeply with this client and their powerlessness in this predicament. This is exemplary of what previous guest Sam White terms ‘right brain’ thinking. This is an empathy-led, creative approach more typically associated with women, which the industry would hugely benefit from a more active incorporation of. As a people-facing industry, everything we do is reliant on relationships rooted in trust, which Donna’s empathetic approach is more likely to honour than purely analytical, numbers-led ‘left-brain’ thinking.

Yet, due to the industry’s current flexible working infrastructure, it is incredibly difficult for women with children to balance this responsibility with their career ambitions. There are countless tales of women forced to leave their workplace as it failed to offer part time, remote, or flexible working solutions. While the pandemic led some companies to become more accommodating in this respect, there is still much work to be done. This departure of talent constitutes a significant loss of knowledge for the industry.

This is accentuated by the rapidly aging nature of the insurance workforce. As people retire, swathes of knowledge are further detracted from the industry. Donna advocates for new apprenticeship programmes to create a new foundation of insurance knowledge, but argues that the age limit for such schemes should not be capped. What if someone wants to try a new role or industry in their forties or fifties? These schemes would enable us to bring in such people and let their prior experience and expertise facilitate new ideas and alternative decision-making.

Best Moments/Key Quotes

“Just because you've got children, you still have your own career goals that you want to get. And it would blow my mind that I would speak to some women, and they’d say, ‘well, I've had to leave this workplace because they can't offer me part time or flexible working’. And what a loss! What a loss of that knowledge and talent.”

“[Our industry] is built on relationships and you build that trust with your clients. It can be a numbers game, but I do believe it's much wider than that. It's getting to know clients, and know what's going on in their world, to be able to then service them properly.”

“I think a lot of men have the stronger voice, and we [women], think that we don't have an opinion, or we don't have a good enough opinion. But women can sometimes look at it and see a different perspective, and see other things that maybe the other side, the more analytical brain, isn't seeing. So, speak out more often, your thoughts are good, and you might come up with something that nobody else has thought of.”

“If somebody wants to start a new role in their 40s or 50s, they've got transferable skills. So, let's make it easier for businesses and bring them in, especially when we know we’re going to have that loss of talent at the other end.”

Resources

Squared Insurance Brokers – https://www.squaredbrokers.com/

About the Guest

Donna Robertson is the Managing Director of Squared Insurance Brokers, which she launched in late 2019. She has 25 years of industry experience, and advocates for greater flexible working accommodations and fairer treatment for clients.

About the Host

Sarah Myerscough is the Chief Ideas Officer at Macaii, formerly Boston Tullis. She hosts/co-hosts several podcasts and is known for her knack in connecting with people. Sarah excels in bringing out the best for video, podcast, and live events, helping clients showcase the human side of their business.

Sarah is passionate about the evolving dynamics of the insurance industry and enjoys conversing with innovators, trailblazers, and long-term advocates of change.

Website: www.macaii.co.uk

We are very pleased to be speaking with Gary Burke, Founder of Rabbits From Hats, about the distinction between transformation and change, and how businesses can smoothly implement transformation projects. In conversation with Sarah Myerscough, Gary highlights the importance of adopting a ‘horizontal view’ of change if transformation projects are to achieve their intended goals for a given business.

Quote of the Episode

“Companies look at this stuff far too narrowly, far too vertically. They really need to just pause and look sideways, so they get more of a horizontal view. The organization does not exist in a bunch of disparate silos. It's all connected.”

When contemplating transformation projects, Gary postulates, it’s very easy for business leaders to view their organisations in terms of their composite parts, rather than as a cohesive whole. This misperception can lead to disaster; if a given transformation is not considered on a broader, company-wide basis, certain considerations may be left forgotten. As such, throughout the episode, Gary emphasises the need for a ‘horizontal’ view of change which considers how it might affect the business from every conceivable angle.

Key Takeaways

Gary pinpoints two fundamental issues typically encountered when insurance businesses implement transformational change:

1. A lack of understanding about what transformation will involve
2. Insufficient capability and expertise to deliver it

For Gary, both of these issues are generally derived from there being no overarching, wholesale, holistic view of the business and its innerworkings. This is further underpinned by a common misconception that ‘change’ and ‘transformation’ are functionally synonymous. Businesses adopt small-to-medium-sized change projects all the time, be it the adoption of a new software or the restructuring of a team. Such projects can impact how the business operates, hopefully to drive efficiencies, but without fundamentally altering it. Conversely, transformation projects impact the business at every conceivable level. As such, to tackle a transformation project with the mindset of a change project can never be successful.

Gary suggests that the senior leadership team must set the tone for how the company must behave throughout the transformation process. If several groups, perhaps with conflicting views and ideas, are to be involved in this process, a collective consensus on the intended outcome of the transformation project must first be reached. This establishes a base goal which everyone across the company can defer to. Subsequently, each team can collaboratively work backwards from this goal, to understand the key things needed to achieve it. Once the points of uncertainty about the nature of change have been smoothened over, this can be a non-contentious process – what will be the most effective way to achieve this transformational outcome given the resources held by the business?

To determine the success of a transformation project, a wide array of metrics must be consulted. A holistic approach to measuring success must also be adopted. This must be derived, first and foremost, from the baseline of what the business already has, prior to the implementation of the project. The success of transformational change can only be understood by reference to how the business previously used to function. There is a lot of hesitance, particularly in insurance, to attempt transformation projects. Gary argues that there is no empirical evidence to suggest that such programs inevitably lead to failure. Instead, he suggests, businesses must always understand in detail what exactly they are getting involved in by undertaking them, and consider how their innerworkings will be fundamentally altered as a result.

Best Moments/Key Quotes

“As long as you know the outcome, then that's the thing to focus on. The technology is an enabler. It enables you to do something in the best way possible, the most efficient way possible. So, as long as you can agree what needs to be done, then you can have conversations about how it needs to be done.”

“If an organization's doing anything, the whole point of doing it is for a reason. The specific outcome that you want from doing the stuff you're doing. So, if you've got a dozen people or a dozen different groups involved, you should be able to all agree on the outcome you want.”

“Calling something that's quite small… a transformation project gives the wrong impression, because it creates the idea that transformation is easy; you just do this and this and this. So ‘transformation’ is badly used [as a term].”

“There's a lot of stuff that companies can do and should do themselves to put themselves in a really much better position to actually start any transformation, rather than getting an army of consultants in from day one. The things that they [consultants] ask to be done, the organization should be able to do themselves at a fraction of the cost. They are just not aware that they are good things to do beforehand.”

Resources

A Transformation Lens: The Savvy Business Leader's Approach to Transformational Change by Gary Burke

Rabbits From Hats: https://www.rabbitsfromhats.co.uk/

About the Guest

Gary Burke is the Founder of Rabbits from Hats, a transformational change advisory and consulting firm. He has been working on projects in this space since the mid-90s, primarily in insurance but also in other sectors. In the last decade he has been focused first and foremost on general insurance and the London market, and in 2023, his book ‘A Transformation Lens’ was published.

Gary’s LinkedIn Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gary-burke-transformational-change/

About the Host

Sarah Myerscough is the Chief Ideas Officer at Macaii, formerly Boston Tullis. She hosts/co-hosts several podcasts and is known for her knack in connecting with people. Sarah excels in bringing out the best for video, podcast, and live events, helping clients showcase the human side of their business.

Sarah is passionate about the evolving dynamics of the insurance industry and enjoys conversing with innovators, trailblazers, and long-term advocates of change.

Website: www.macaii.co.uk

In this episode of 'People in insurance: Changing the Conversation,' Glenn Marshall discusses his extensive career in the insurance industry, starting from his early attempts to become an electrician to his eventual success in underwriting. Glenn recounts his journey through various companies and mergers, the challenges faced including significant claims, and the ultimate establishment of his own firm, Gem Underwriting Agency.

Highlighting the impact of relationships and technology in the insurance sector, Glenn shares his insights on entrepreneurship, the importance of sticking to one's expertise, and the satisfaction of working with family. The episode concludes with a special segment featuring the host's daughter, Isabel, who interviews Glenn about starting a business as a young entrepreneur.

Quote of the Episode

"Stick to what you know,  basically, don't get too big for your boots."

Key Takeaways

• Persistence is crucial in entrepreneurship: Glenn faced multiple challenges and setbacks but continued pursuing his goal of running his own business.
• Relationships are vital in the insurance industry: Glenn's success has been built on long-standing relationships with a core group of brokers.
• The importance of adapting to technological changes: Glenn recognizes the need to incorporate AI at some point and rating engines to stay competitive and satisfy capital providers.
• Work culture is changing: The shift towards remote work presents challenges in team cohesion and training, especially for smaller companies.
• Personal touches can make a business unique: Glenn named his company after his parents' sweet shop and incorporated family elements into the logo.

Best Moment

• Glenn sharing the origin of his company name, "Gem Underwriting

 “I haven't got a middle name, so it's definitely not my initials. I was born and grew up in a place called Tilbury, and my mum and dad ran a sweet shop called The Gem. I always said to my mum, if I ever own my own business, that's what I'm going to call it."

Key Quotes

"’John (Murphy) would always give you enough rope to hang yourself. Unfortunately I did that a couple of times, but each time he had my back, thankfully."

"You think you are reasonably good at what you do and to prove to yourself that you are I think you need to work for yourself, for your own satisfaction, your own mentality."

"It's best to try as many different facets of what you want to do as possible."

About the Guest

Glenn Marshall's career in the insurance industry began in 1986 at Michael Payne Syndicate 386 @ Lloyds, a renowned name in the insurance sector. Over the years, Glenn has held various senior roles in Lloyd’s liability syndicates and managing general agents (MGAs), accumulating extensive experience and expertise in the field. His journey is marked by a consistent rise through the ranks, reflecting his deep understanding of the insurance landscape and his ability to navigate its complexities effectively.

Throughout his career, Glenn has been involved in various facets of the insurance industry, gaining a wealth of knowledge and building a strong professional network. His roles in senior positions at different Lloyd's liability syndicates have given him a broad perspective on the market, allowing him to develop a keen insight into the needs and challenges faced by brokers and clients alike.

Website: www.gemuw.com

LinkedIn: Glenn Marshall | LinkedIn

About the Host

Sarah Myerscough is the Chief Ideas Officer at Macaii, formerly Boston Tullis. She hosts/co-hosts several podcasts and is known for her knack in connecting with people. Sarah excels in bringing out the best for video, podcast, and live events, helping clients showcase the human side of their business.

Sarah is passionate about the evolving dynamics of the insurance industry and enjoys conversing with innovators, trailblazers, and long-term advocates of change.

Website: www.macaii.co.uk

In this episode of 'People in Insurance: changing the conversation,' Lucy Hodgson, a director at Eastwood Insurance Brokers, discusses her dual identities, her deep-rooted career in the insurance industry, and her commitment to community involvement.

Inspired by her father, Lucy's journey in insurance started early, and she now leverages her experience to mentor and lead, especially through her work with the Rotary Youth Leadership Awards (RYLA).

The conversation explores the importance of giving back, the evolving landscape of training and insurance, and the need for adapting to modern challenges while fostering young talent and the need for the insurance industry to innovate its training approaches to balance flexibility with effective skill development.

Quote of the Episode

“If you ask the right questions, or ask, just ask questions, sometimes it doesn't need to be the right questions, just ask questions. Have an interest in somebody and it's amazing what you'll find out. You can then cater for them individually.  Ask questions and make sure you're really listening to the answers.”

Key Takeaways

• The importance of early exposure to the insurance industry: Lucy Hodgson's experience of visiting her father's workplace as a child and the impact it had on her career choice suggests a need for more initiatives to bring children into insurance workplaces and promote the industry as a career path.
• The power of leadership development programs: The Rotary Youth Leadership Awards (RYLA) program that Lucy directs demonstrates the significant impact structured leadership experiences can have on young people.
• Lucy discusses the challenges of training new insurance professionals in the post-COVID era of remote work. She highlights the importance of maintaining hands-on, interactive learning experiences and the value of in-person interactions for developing skills and confidence.

Key Quotes

“I fell into insurance and then they laugh.  Well don't just laugh, say I fell into insurance, but this is my career, this is who I am, this is what I do, these are the people I meet. Talk about it, tell a story of being an insurance person.”

“I think over the next 10 years, technology is going to continue to, you know, move forward so, so quickly. I'm already feeling that I'm starting to get out of touch with some of it, to be honest.  So, How I see the future is really, it's almost doesn't really matter what I think. I think it's about what do these young people think. We've got to give them the opportunity now to, to start having their say about things because the one thing I've noticed really is that they do think very, very differently.”

About the Guest

Lucy Hodgson, a director at Eastwood Insurance Brokers in Huddersfield, joined the company in 2006. Based in Huddersfield, she has significantly contributed to the firm's reputation for prioritising client-specific, independent insurance solutions.

 Lucy has built a notable career in the insurance industry, inspired by her father, who introduced her to the field as a child. Her extensive experience is complemented by her community involvement, notably through her role as the Course Director for the Rotary Youth Leadership Awards (RYLA).

She is also a vocal advocate for brokers engaging in community initiatives, enriching their personal and professional lives.

https://eastwoodinsurancebrokers.co.uk/

About the Host

Sarah Myerscough is the Chief Ideas Officer at Macaii, formerly Boston Tullis. She hosts/co-hosts several podcasts and is known for her knack in connecting with people. Sarah excels in bringing out the best for video, podcast, and live events, helping clients showcase the human side of their business.

Sarah is passionate about the evolving dynamics of the insurance industry and enjoys conversing with innovators, trailblazers, and long-term advocates of change.

Website: www.macaii.co.uk

In this engaging episode of 'Changing the Conversation,' Sarah interviews Suneeta Padda, the founder and managing director of PADDA Consulting, a London-based regulatory compliance firm. Suneeta shares her remarkable journey from aspiring chef to an award-winning consultant, detailing her experiences with arranged marriage, raising children, career shifts, and her significant roles in the insurance industry.

She discusses the challenges and triumphs of starting her own business and highlights her dedication to promoting diversity and inclusion within the industry. Suneeta also provides valuable insights into balancing professional and personal life, drawing from her own story of resilience and determination.

Quote of the Episode

"I would not want a job because I'm an Asian woman. I would want the job because I'm the best for that job."

Key Takeaways

Suneeta Padda's journey from aspiring chef to successful compliance consultant offers valuable insights for both personal growth and organisational development. Her experiences highlight the importance of resilience, cultural awareness, and inclusive practices in today's business world. Some key takeaways from her interview include:

• Resilience can come from facing cultural and personal challenges from a young age
• Diversity without inclusion can lead to high attrition rates in organizations
• Family values can be successfully integrated into business practices
• Open communication and education are crucial for advancing diversity and inclusion in the workplace
• Starting a business can be lonely, but building a community of like-minded entrepreneurs can help
• Balancing work and personal life require creative solutions and efficient time management

These lessons from Suneeta's career underscore the need for a holistic approach to business leadership that considers cultural backgrounds, personal experiences, and diverse perspectives. By embracing these principles, individuals and firms can foster more inclusive, innovative, and successful environments.

Key Quotes

"I'm helping people who are coming into our insurance market and broader afield with those aspects of that integration into the workplace and it's okay to be yourself. It's okay. You hear a lot of firms saying, bring your whole self to work. How much of that is actually true?"

"I don't seem to be able to compartmentalise any of it, but both a blessing and a curse. But it really feels much more prevalent in the conversations I'm having in the cultures that businesses are trying to foster. And I think it's a really good thing."

"Diversity without inclusion would naturally lead to a high attrition rate. Because if you don't feel included somewhere, why would you want to stay?"

About the Guest

Suneeta Padda is the Managing Director and founder of Padda Consulting, a London-based firm specialising in regulatory compliance for the insurance industry.

Established in 2012, Padda Consulting serves diverse clients globally, including brokers and insurers. Suneeta is also committed to promoting diversity and inclusion in the industry and mentors’ women from non-traditional backgrounds.

They recently won the London Market Consultant/Advisory Supplier of the Year award.

You can find Suneeta on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/suneetapadda/

https://padda-consulting.co.uk/

About the Host

Sarah Myerscough is the Chief Ideas Officer at Macaii, formerly Boston Tullis. She hosts/co-hosts several podcasts and is known for her knack in connecting with people. Sarah excels in bringing out the best for video, podcast, and live events, helping clients showcase the human side of their business.

Sarah is passionate about the evolving dynamics of the insurance industry and enjoys conversing with innovators, trailblazers, and long-term advocates of change.

Website: www.macaii.co.uk

In this episode of 'People in Insurance,' host Sarah Myerscough sits down with Becky Glover from Yutree Insurance. Becky shares her unique journey from co-founding Elizabeth Rose Wines to becoming a Financial Director, navigating both the worlds of finance and entrepreneurship.

The conversation delves into her rapid career progression, balancing non-traditional educational paths, and the importance of leveraging social media and personal branding. Becky also offers insights on supporting women in the workplace and the significance of celebrating professional milestones with the same enthusiasm as personal life events.

Quote of the Episode

“You can have it all, but you can't do it all. And neither should we expect people to do it all.”

Key Takeaways

• "You can have it all, but you can't do it all." This powerful statement encapsulates Becky's philosophy on work-life balance, especially for women in the workplace. The importance of building robust support systems and delegating tasks both at work and in personal life.
• Becky's journey from leaving school at 17 without A-levels to becoming a Finance Director at 29 demonstrates that there are multiple routes to success. Becky advocates for apprenticeships, continuous learning, and proactively seeking opportunities.
• Technology and adaptability are crucial for business growth. Drawing from her experience in the tech sector, Becky highlights the importance of embracing technology, particularly in traditional industries like insurance. Becky highlights how technology and AI can improve efficiency, employee satisfaction, and overall business performance.

Key Quotes

“You can have all of that, but you won't do all of it yourself. So, start delegating some bits out, at work, if you get to a senior position, you're not expected to do that senior position at all. and do all of the roles underneath it. So why is it that in the home, we still expect ourselves to do the senior position and do everything underneath it that we used to have time for.”

“Always say to people, businesses are just a group of people hopefully doing the same thing in the same direction to grow that business and to make it more valuable. So, what are you as an individual bringing to the table?  So, for young people, it should be amazing for them to go and get some work experience somewhere, doing something interesting for them.”

About the Guest

Becky Glover is the Finance Director at Yutree Insurance, and she is known for her rapid career progression and significant contributions to the finance sector. She left school at 17 to pursue a direct path into finance, completing her AAT and ACCA qualifications through an apprenticeship. By 29, she became a Finance Director, demonstrating her ambition and strategic learning. Becky advocates for diversity in finance, serving on various boards such as AAT and GENCFO, and actively promotes the use of technology in business operations​.

LinkedIn profile - https://www.linkedin.com/in/beckygloverfmaatfcca/

Becky co-founded Elizabeth Rose Wines!!

Yutree Insurance is a specialist insurance broker and underwriting agency based in the UK. The company provides a range of insurance solutions tailored to the needs of businesses and individuals. They specialise in offering insurance products for commercial enterprises, including liability insurance, property insurance, motor fleet insurance, and professional indemnity insurance.

Yutree also operates as an underwriting agency, designing and distributing insurance products on behalf of insurers. This dual role allows them to offer bespoke insurance solutions tailored to their client's needs.

About the Host

Sarah Myerscough is the Chief Ideas Officer at Macaii, formerly Boston Tullis. She hosts/co-hosts several podcasts and is known for her knack in connecting with people. Sarah excels in bringing out the best for video, podcast, and live events, helping clients showcase the human side of their business.

Sarah is passionate about the evolving dynamics of the insurance industry and enjoys conversing with innovators, trailblazers, and long-term advocates of change.

Website: www.macaii.co.uk

This podcast episode of 'People in Insurance, Changing the Conversation' Sharon Brown takes the role of host, with guests Richard Dudley, and Chris Park discussing the intersection of the insurance industry with dementia awareness and research efforts.

The conversation explores the mission of Insurance United Against Dementia (IUAD), initiated in 2017 to leverage industry collaboration for funding and awareness in partnership with the Alzheimer's Society. Key topics include an explanation of dementia and its impact, the importance of early diagnosis, and personal stories that highlight the challenges faced by individuals and families affected by the disease.

The discussion also touches on the insurance industry’s fundraising efforts, having raised nearly £10 million, and future goals with IUAD 2.0 to further support Alzheimer’s research institutes and public awareness. The podcast advocates for continued industry support, citing recent developments in treatments like Lecanemab and the need for increased awareness and investment in dementia research globally.

It encourages people to participate in initiatives such as the 'Insurance Day for Dementia' to sustain the momentum against this largest killer disease.

Quote of the Episode

"Research will beat dementia." - attributed to the associate director of research at the Alzheimer's Society

Key Takeaways

• Dementia is caused by diseases that physically damage the brain, with Alzheimer's disease being the most common cause.
• Early diagnosis of dementia is crucial for providing proper care, support, and potential treatment.
• The insurance industry, through IUAD, has raised nearly £10 million to support the Alzheimer's Society and dementia research.
• IUAD funds have supported the UK Dementia Research Institute and crucial services during the COVID-19 pandemic.
• The insurance industry is well-positioned to support dementia causes due to its collaborative nature and reach.

Key Quotes

“If you've met one person with dementia, you've met one person with dementia. And this program really shows that you've got people of very different ages, different backgrounds, different demographics, and showing different symptoms and signs of dementia.” – Chris Park

“People are dying from it, and I think that we need some education, some experiences shared on that dying process so it's not quite as scary for people when they have to watch their loved ones go through it.” – Sharon Brown

“it's the beginning of the end for dementia. The researchers in the field will learn from Lecanemab and they'll learn from these other trials, and we’ll get to a point where the treatments are going to be able to be administered more easily and will be more cost effective and will have also made more of a journey in diagnosis.” – Chris Park

“In fact, it's probably the biggest killer in the world. One in three people who are born today are going to develop these diseases: one form of dementia or another.  And the amount of money and attention that is placed on trying to solve that challenge is ridiculously small when you compare it to some of the other bigger killers.” – Richard Dudley

About the Guests

Chris Park

Chris is the Development Board Lead at Alzheimer’s Society. Leading a small team that work closely with ten senior members of the Insurance industry – who have the objective to raise vital funds for Alzheimer’s Society projects and awareness of the impact of, and support for, people affected by dementia.

Chris and his team work with individuals and organisations from the wider industry under the leadership of the award-winning Insurance United Against Dementia (IUAD) campaign and senior level volunteer board members. Chris also works with senior figures in the sporting world, who have similar aims, ambitions and motivations to support the cause.

A passionate fundraiser and relationship manager, Chris has worked in the charitable sector for over ten years. Including over 6-years at NSPCC and a 3-year term acting as a Trustee for disability cycling charity, Wheels for Wellbeing. This time in the charitable sector following on from his roles within not-for-profit organisations within the sport for development, and inclusion, space.

Richard Dudley

Richard joins BMS In December 2024 as Group Broking Director after a long career at Aon, where he was most recently responsible for driving Aon’s customer focussed strategy with respect to the challenges and opportunities presented by climate change. Prior to this appointment Richard led Aon’s London Market wholesale and specialty insurance business, having spent the years before this in Aon Reinsurance. He has worked in the London market for his entire 30yr career.

He is also a working member of the Council of Lloyd’s. He previously served on the LIIBA Board, as Chair between 2020 and 2022, and as a member of the London Market Group board.

About IUAD

Since 2017, the Insurance United Against Dementia (IUAD) industry led campaign has raised over £9.6mn in partnership with Alzheimer’s Society. This incredible fundraising effort has provided funds to drive crucial support services to give help to people affected by dementia when they most need it, but also powered pioneering dementia research investments of Alzheimer’s Society, helping to provide hope for a future where dementia no longer devastates lives.

About the Guest Host

Sharon has over 30 years of insurance experience and a proven track record in creating and delivering insurance schemes and products, sales and marketing strategies, and robust business infrastructures. In a previous role as chief sales officer for a large independent Lloyd’s insurance broker, she developed original sales and distribution models for clearing banks, insurance companies, MGAs, and insurance brokers. Prior to this, she was a sales and marketing director. Latterly Sharon ran an MGA specialising in commercial After the Event dispute insurance. She executed a strategy to revitalise the business and the brand, redefine distribution channels and create new business opportunities. Sharon is currently working on some exciting projects with colleagues in the insurance industry.

Sharon has a particular interest in advancing inclusivity in the insurance industry by embracing diversity, specifically by inspiring females and promoting a multi-generational and multi-cultural workforce. Sharon was named as a woman of influence in 2018 by Insurance Business magazine and was nominated in three categories for the Insurance Times Women in Insurance Awards 2020: Insurance Woman of the Year, Role Model of the Year, and Trailblazer. In 2021, Sharon was named on the IB UK Elite Women list.

She is a passionate supporter of Alzheimer’s Society, a cause that is especially close to her heart. Sharon is a keen amateur horsewoman and regularly competes in local equestrian events. She has two adult children and a menagerie of animals.

This episode of the podcast captures a candid and insightful conversation featuring Sarah Myerscough, Chief Ideas Officer at Macaii and Sharon Brown cert CII, Director MGAA, Director, Consultant, CEO, NED, Founder, and Angel Investor.

Sarah and Sharon switch roles in this unique episode where host becomes guest as Sharon is in the hot seat asking the questions! Sarah shares some humorous lessons from her past business ventures, including the importance of logistics planning and researching potential business names.

They delve into Sarah's journey in the insurance industry, including the foundation of Macaii (formerly Boston Tullis) with her father, overcoming personal challenges such as her stroke, and navigating turbulent times including family health crises and the COVID-19 pandemic. The conversation highlights the importance of diversity, culture, and tech innovations in insurance, along with the power of authentic storytelling through podcasts. They also discuss effective marketing and sales strategies, team dynamics, and the personal growth Sarah has experienced through her career and family life.

Quote of the Episode

"Every single business exists to sell something. Product service doesn't really matter, but you have to have something to sell, and there has to be someone who wants to buy it. Right? And telling that someone who wants to buy it, what your something is and how it can help them is marketing and sales. And it is literally that simple."

“I couldn't pick one. I learned something from every single podcast I do. And I've got a little book where I write down what it is that I've learned.” Sarah

Key Takeaways

• Sarah Myerscough trained as a barrister and worked as an asylum lawyer before entering the insurance industry.
• Sarah has faced numerous personal and professional challenges while building her business, including family health issues, the COVID-19 pandemic, and suffering a stroke herself. Despite these setbacks, she has persevered and maintained her business.
• Sarah has three children, including one diagnosed with autism. She discusses the challenges of balancing family life with running a business, emphasising the importance of flexibility.
• Sarah’s business Macaii's specialises in creating content through podcasts, videos, and event coverage for insurance industry clients. Sarah values authenticity and vulnerability in her interactions, which helps put her podcast guests at ease. She learns something from every interview she conducts.
• Company name origin: The name "Macaii" comes from a Hawaiian word meaning "drawn to the sea," reflecting Sarah's love for the ocean Marketing strategy insights: Sarah discusses the importance of integrating marketing strategy with overall business strategy. She emphasises the need for businesses to understand their target audience and create multiple touchpoints before making a sale.
• Sarah expresses pride in maintaining her family life, marriage, and business despite numerous challenges over the past five years. She sees her resilience as a major accomplishment.

Key Quotes

“Sarah Myerscough is predominantly behind the camera at events, and you've seen Sarah around now I refer to Sarah as the pocket rocket of the industry in terms of the events that we participate in.” Sharon Brown

 “I think just being my authentic self is really important.” Sarah Myerscough

“The reason I came out of law is because I remember going to pick my middle daughter up from nursery and she was two, I think. And I remember having to go in and ask which room she was in. And I thought, Jesus, something's gone wrong here. Something's gone horribly wrong because I’m not being the mum I wanted to be This has to change now.”  Sarah Myerscough

“One was recording a podcast, and my son came in and shot me between the eyes with a Nerf bullet. Which was interesting. And a second one was when my daughter came in sobbing like somebody had just shot her.” Sarah Myerscough

About the Guest Host

Sharon has over 30 years of insurance experience and a proven track record in creating and delivering insurance schemes and products, sales and marketing strategies, and robust business infrastructures. In a previous role as chief sales officer for a large independent Lloyd’s insurance broker, she developed original sales and distribution models for clearing banks, insurance companies, MGAs, and insurance brokers. Prior to this, she was a sales and marketing director. Latterly Sharon ran an MGA specialising in commercial After the Event dispute insurance. She executed a strategy to revitalise the business and the brand, redefine distribution channels and create new business opportunities. Sharon is currently working on some exciting projects with colleagues in the insurance industry.

Sharon has a particular interest in advancing inclusivity in the insurance industry by embracing diversity, specifically by inspiring females and promoting a multi-generational and multi-cultural workforce. Sharon was named as a woman of influence in 2018 by Insurance Business magazine and was nominated in three categories for the Insurance Times Women in Insurance Awards 2020: Insurance Woman of the Year, Role Model of the Year, and Trailblazer. In 2021, Sharon was named on the IB UK Elite Women list.

She is a passionate supporter of Alzheimer’s Society, a cause that is especially close to her heart. Sharon is a keen amateur horsewoman and regularly competes in local equestrian events. She has two adult children and a menagerie of animals.

About the Host

Sarah Myerscough is the Chief Ideas Officer at Macaii, formerly Boston Tullis. She hosts/co-hosts several podcasts and is known for her knack in connecting with people. Sarah excels in bringing out the best for video, podcast, and live events, helping clients showcase the human side of their business.

Sarah is passionate about the evolving dynamics of the insurance industry and enjoys conversing with innovators, trailblazers, and long-term advocates of change.

Website: www.macaii.co.uk

Why is it crucial to curate and maintain a good relationship with your software vendor?

How do you go about selecting the right vendor for your business, and when is the right time to jump ship to a new platform?

Is our industry’s rapid entanglement with AI necessarily fraught with danger, and how can we exploit it to drive efficiency and enhance customer’s buying experience?

As our access to and experimentation with data continues to fuel rapid changes to our industry’s broader infrastructure, it’s high time for many insurers, brokers and MGAs to adopt software to better manage their systems and products. This can feel like a minefield, with an ever-expanding array of Insurtech providers on the market, and with digital transformation projects frequently failing due to miscommunication between customers and software vendors. In this episode, we’re privileged to be speaking with Andre Symes, Group CEO of Genasys Technologies, about how to navigate these risks and curate a collaborative and long-lasting relationship with your chosen software provider. He describes the need for compromise in what will become a ‘corporate marriage’, and also explores the risks and opportunities that AI will present the insurance industry for years to come.

Quote of the Episode

“We need to start appreciating the fact that tomorrow's buyers are not buying insurance in the way that today's buyers are buying insurance… They don't own cars; they don't own homes. They just live in the gig. Unless we start shaping insurance to accommodate that, I think we're going to be disrupted, and we're not going to be disrupted internally. We're going to be disrupted from outside.”

Our industry’s current architecture is contingent on a vision of modern society that is quickly slipping away. With car ownership, house ownership and pet ownership all declining, the next generation of insurance customers will be seeking cover to accommodate for a lifestyle entirely different from that which our industry is currently equipped for. This is accentuated by the advent of new technologies that are certain to radically transform the way we conduct our daily lives; not least self-driving vehicles which already are capable of 0% accident rates. Our industry has always been reluctant to adopt change; but those companies, and indeed sectors which fail to heed the warnings on the horizon are sure to be left in the dust.

Key Takeaways

The technology that will reshape our future has already arrived. For the insurance market to remain sustainable, it must adapt to the advent of AI and incorporate it into our everyday practices. Genasys is already using AI to make its platforms more user-friendly. If its customers, in turn, wish to incorporate AI to enhance their own clients’ purchasing journey, Genasys can facilitate this via an API connection. It is clear that AI and software, more broadly, will be key to building the insurance industry of tomorrow.

However, software should always be an enabler, to allow businesses to function and provide the personal journey that will always remain front-and-centre of what we do as an industry. As such, when beginning a transformation project to adopt a new software for your business, you don’t want to end up stuck with a monolithic platform for the next several years that can’t evolve alongside you. Andre outlines two major steps to take before selecting a software vendor for your business. Firstly, he argues that you must meticulously interrogate the platform’s capability – via demonstrations, proof of concepts, and ideally, access to a digital sandbox. You need an in-depth understanding of what a platform is, and how it can be modified to suit your business’ needs. Secondly, it is also crucial to understand the capital structures of the platform provider. Is it sustainable in the long term – and will they exist for as long as you intend to use the platform?

Selecting a software provider is the first step in what will become, hopefully, a five-to-ten-year long relationship – a ‘corporate marriage’. As such, there must be a culture fit between both businesses before the engagement takes place. Is this vendor a partner willing to have an open conversation about their platform’s capabilities, and how it can (and cannot) be modified to suit your business? Furthermore, when engaging in initial discussions with vendors, you must remember that compromise on both sides will be both inevitable, and key to a sustainable and healthy business partnership.

Best Moments/Key Quotes

“I was at an event recently, and I was listening to a couple of reinsurers talking about the fact that the data that they receive is sometimes 18 months old. If you're working with data that is 18 months old, your modelling is going to be impacted on that. So, what we need to try and do as an industry is get the data to the providers as quickly as possible. Link the platforms up via APIs. Get that data across to the carriers in real time so they can understand what the exposure is, and can understand what the loss ratios are. That way, there’s higher confidence, and with higher confidence comes more capacity.”  

“When you sign up for a platform, you're not doing it for a couple of years. You're doing it for hopefully 5 to 10 years. So that organization still needs to be around in ten years’ time. If they can't carry on raising at the valuations that the previous year raised, they're going to be ripe for acquisition in a couple of years.”

“Genasys currently has 30 customers. And every single one of those CEOs of those customers has direct phone access to me. They phone me up if they've got a problem, or if they want to potentially acquire another business [and see] if can we accommodate it. Having personal relationships with your customers is really important, and you can't do that if you have to scale exponentially. You can't have a CEO-to-CEO relationship with 150 customers. And that's what we want to be in the short term.”

‘Any CEO telling you that they've had a perfect implementation history is lying to you.’

“It's effectively a corporate marriage because, you're going to be partners, a vendor and customer, for ten years. If you want that to be a happy relationship, you have to concede on either side and find a middle ground on implementation, pricing area, functionality, et cetera.”

Resources

Genasys Technologies: https://www.genasystech.com/

About the Guest

Andre Symes is the Group CEO of Genasys Technologies, which develops bespoke end-to-end software platforms for insurers, MGAs, and brokers. During his thirteen years with the company, Andre has overseen its expansion into the UK and US insurance markets.

Andre’s LinkedIn Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andre-symes/

About the Host

Sharon Brown is a Board Advisor to Macaii and Genasys Technologies. She is also a Board Director for the MGAA and CEO of Nutshell Consultancy, which helps business leaders to develop innovative and strategic product distribution. With over 30 years’ experience in the industry across a host of businesses and roles, Sharon is well-equipped to interrogate the major issues and ideas challenging our industry today.

Sharon’s LinkedIn Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sharon-e-brown/

Website: www.macaii.co.uk

Are you concerned about achieving ROI for your business when you attend events? Are you unsure how to maximise the marketing and interpersonal potential of exhibitions and conferences?

In this episode, we’re thrilled to be speaking with new guest Rachael Light, and returning guest Gary Williamson, the Specialty Lines Director and Managing Director of Kingsbridge Insurance Brokers, respectively. Following their fantastic approach to this year’s BIBA conference, Rachael and Gary discuss how to use broker events as a platform to spread your business’ message, in conversation with Boston Tullis’ Sarah Myerscough.

Quote of the Episode

“The insurance broker job isn't just to sell an insurance product anymore. What else can we do? How can we change what we offer, or find partners that can supplement that to really fix issues, rather than just seeing our sole goal as providing an insurance product?”

In the episode, Rachael notes that it’s easy to go into a corporate event with a purely transactional agenda in mind, with the aim of ensuring a return on your marketing investment. However, she suggests that taking an active interest in what your potential clients and prospective partners are finding difficulties with is perhaps of even greater importance. The role of the insurance broker has shed its former, traditional definition; it requires active listening which can subsequently be applied to the offerings of the business. As such, simply having a presence at these events is hugely beneficial to your brand, granting you a focalised insight into the problems faced by various sectors within the industry.

Key Takeaways

Kingsbridge made a big splash at this year’s BIBA conference, with a hearse positioned outside the event in order to spread the message about its new funeral director’s product. They became the talk of the town, immediately spreading the message about their business before attendees had even walked through the door. This exemplifies how important events such as BIBA can provide a key platform for creating buzz around your new products and schemes, enabling you to spread the message about your offerings on a vast scale.

Essential to generating this buzz is the personal element of these events, which is also key to ensuring that your business is remembered after the event. Having a presence at an event is only 50% of the job, the other half involves maintaining the momentum afterwards. In light of this, at this year’s Recruitment Agency Expo in October, Boston Tullis Sarah Myerscough will be joining Kingsbridge and interviewing attendees about what they’re hoping for from the event, the problems they are facing, in order both to generate a breadth of information, and to create some unique, personal marketing.

Best Moments/Key Quotes

“I think at these expos and events and conferences, without probably even consciously being aware of it, you have an agenda. And it's really hard not to filter what's coming back at you through the agenda. It takes a lot of practising and it [involves] being wide open to it, sponging up the information.”

“’How do we get ROI for it? How do we get something back from what we're putting in?’ Ultimately, some of these are quick wins, and some of them are a little bit slower, where you're building relationships. We know that from the insurance sector, that's what this industry is all about. I think these kinds of shows, being out and about, building a presence, building a brand in sectors is a long-term win for us as well.”

“Really building relationships with not just with the end customer, but you know, the different trade bodies, or different groups out there in the sectors that we operate in, to really understand… what are the problems around the corner? What's the next challenge? What are the next issues that those guys are going to face in that industry, to make sure that any products that we launch in that space, or products that we already have in that space, can evolve, to suit the needs of where those industries are going?”

Resources

Kingsbridge Insurance Brokers – https://www.kibl.co.uk/ 

About the Guest

Gary Williamson is the Managing Director of Kingsbridge Insurance Brokers. He has worked in various sales and operational roles at various broking firms, with over 25 years’ experience in the industry.

Gary’s LinkedIn Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gary-williamson-7107082b/ 

Rachael Light is the Specialty Lines Director at Kingsbridge Insurance Brokers, and its responsible for its new schemes division. Rachael previously worked for SEIB Insurance Brokers as a Commercial Manager.

Rachael’s LinkedIn Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rachael-light-dip-cii-71a9969a/ 

About the Host

Sarah Myerscough is the Sales and Marketing Director of Boston Tullis Group. The founder of The Insurance Brokers Podcast, she brings a wealth of marketing experience and a fresh perspective on marketing in the insurance sector. Boston Tullis works with insurance brokers to offer solutions to business development ceilings, particularly in the rapidly developing fields of video marketing and thought leadership.

Website: https://bostontullis.co.uk/ 

Evaluation Link: https://s.bostontullis.co.uk/s/podcastevaluation 

v

How can LinkedIn be used for reaching your target demographic?

What kind of marketing content is most likely to facilitate a return on investment, and how can this be calculated?

In this episode, we’re excited to be speaking with Catherine France, an insurance copywriter who specialises in using LinkedIn to help attract and convert clients. In conversation with Boston Tullis’ Sarah Myerscough, she illustrates how you can target LinkedIn content to your intended demographic, and explains the steps you need to take in order to project a trustworthy and reliable brand presence.

Quote of the Episode

“In terms of sales vs non-sales content, when I'm talking to my clients, and we're building their profile on LinkedIn, we are very much focused on educating, informing, giving value, as opposed to selling. It's probably like the 80-20 rule: 80% of the content we put out is information, and then 20% might be information with a call to action, that's more sales.”

It’s easy to assume that the best way to garner sales through your marketing content on LinkedIn is to directly promote the services and products you offer. However, this is more likely to alienate than entice your ideal client, particularly if they have little to no knowledge of the insurance industry. Catherine suggests that a great way to subtly market your business whilst simultaneously capturing the interest of potential clients is to post educational and informative content, perhaps explaining different kinds of policy or common insurance misconceptions. Prior to doing so, you should establish who your ideal client is, and what challenges they might be facing that you can assist with. How much do they know about insurance? Subsequently, you can target your marketing content towards such individuals.

Key Takeaways

With 875 million people on LinkedIn, all of whom need insurance, the service provides a huge wealth of potential clients that you can attract to your brand. We live in the age of content, and quality posts on your LinkedIn page can be hugely beneficial in capturing the interest of potential clients. However, before you start posting, there are other considerations you should make which will help your content to reach the right demographic.

When it comes to social media marketing, the focus is often always on your content and the engagement it receives, but potential clients’ reception of your posts is often entirely contingent on the initial impression made by your profile. If someone sees your post, the next thing they will likely do is to view your profile, to garner a sense of your legitimacy and trustworthiness as a brand. To optimise this, you should ensure that your contact information is clearly visible. Additionally, you should enable creator mode in order to add a link to your business’ website onto your profile. The ‘Summary’ section effectively serves as your business’ digital shopfront. In 3000 characters, you must explain what you do, who you help, and how. Being overly general in this description can be potentially confusing or alienating; thus, it must contain specific details tailored to capturing the interests of your specific ideal client.

Having optimised your profile, you must also examine your LinkedIn network. Most insurance professionals’ network will be full of insurance professionals. To change this, use search filters to find people in the particular business sectors you would like to connect with. Connect with as many people as possible, but avoid sending them private messages – this is likely to deter them from your brand. Make those connections, and allow those people to view your profile and determine whether they would like to correspond with you or not. This further emphasises the importance of having a well-curated and informative profile.

Subsequently, you can begin to contemplate the type of content you should post. As previously mentioned, deploying educative content, by using simple language and relatable stories from a non-insurance perspective, can be highly lucrative in drawing people to your brand. This enhances your reputation as delivering valuable knowledge. Furthermore, posting a diverse range of content is key. Behind-the-scenes posts shared by company staff often receive the most engagement, as they emphasise the faces behind your brand, thereby humanising the business and further amplifying its trustworthiness.

How do you identify a return on investment with marketing? Post likes and shares can be misleading, as they don’t necessarily correspond with new sales. Catherine argues that the key metric with LinkedIn marketing is profile views, either on personal or company pages. If posts lead to profile views, this means that they are drawing people to potentially want to reach out and ask for help or further information. To facilitate this, posting consistently quality posts covering a diverse range of topics, whilst also targeting your ideal client is essential.

Best Moments/Key Quotes

“The profile really is like having another webpage. If you haven't got a website, then you can use it like a website. Make sure that you've got a banner image, a decent headshot photo, that your headline is clear, saying what you do and who you help.”

“Think about your ideal client, you know, who are they? What are their challenges, what's keeping them awake at night? Then, talk to those people.”

“I think the key metric for a personal page, and probably a company page as well, is that profile view. It's actually who's gone on there and viewed your profile.”

Resources

Catherine France - https://www.catherinefrance.com/

About the Guest

Catherine France is an insurance copywriter, who helps insurance executives create consistent quality content to help them attract and convert their dream clients. This ranges from writing blog posts to social media captions, helping them build their website, and more.

Catherine’s LinkedIn Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/catherine-france/

About the Host

Sarah Myerscough is the Sales and Marketing Director of Boston Tullis Group. The founder of The Insurance Brokers Podcast, she brings a wealth of experience and a fresh perspective on communication in the insurance sector. Boston Tullis works with insurance professionals to build effective communication both internally and externally through podcasting, event reporting, videography, and internal communications facilitation.

Website: https://bostontullis.co.uk/ 

Evaluation Link: https://s.bostontullis.co.uk/s/podcastevaluation 

Peter Clarke’s new venture, Insurercore, is an extraordinary directory of the nation's insurance products, enabling brokers to find exactly what they need and insurers to advertise their appetite and expertise.

Quote of the Episode

“As we turn digital, and everything becomes urgent, you still need to have that person to person conversation, that makes you realise that the other person is competent, taking you seriously as well.”

About the Guest

Underwriter Peter Clarke could see the value of the networks brokers and insurers built up over years but realized how personalised they were. He left the day job and embarked on a mission to make it easier for brokers and capacity providers to find each other. Insurecore, a LinkedIn for the insurance industry, is a fascinating business start-up story and set to see big growth in the coming years.

Connect with the Guest; 

(4) Peter Clarke | LinkedIn

Insurercore

About the Host

Sarah Myerscough is the Sales and Marketing Director of Boston Tullis Group. The founder of the insurance Brokers Podcast, she brings a wealth of marketing experience and a fresh perspective on marketing in the insurance sector. Boston Tullis is a network of industry professionals working with insurance brokers to offer solutions to business development ceilings, particularly in the rapidly developing fields of video marketing and thought leadership.

Connect with the host;

https://www.facebook.com/bostontullis  

https://www.linkedin.com/company/bostontullis/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/sarahmyerscough/

https://bostontullis.co.uk/

HOSTED BY: Sarah Myerscough, Sarah.Myerscough@bostontullis.co.uk mobile: 07821903628

DISCLAIMER: The views, thoughts and opinions expressed in this podcast belong solely to the host and guest speakers. Please conduct your own due diligence.

Have you identified any inefficiencies in your business’ software which delay brokers’ dealings with clients?

What features would you like to see incorporated into broking Insurtech software?

In this episode of the Insurance Broker Podcast, we’re very pleased to be speaking with Nick Jordan, Managing Director of Nuworks Ltd, an Insurtech business providing new digital solutions for the industry. In conversation with Boston Tullis’ Sarah Myerscough, Nick discusses the company’s new software, BrokerCentral, a bespoke platform which aims to streamline the broking experience and thereby facilitate more impactful broker-client interactions. He explains the origins of the software, its various features and how Nuworks hopes to develop it further in years to come.

Quote of the Episode

“Software is there to serve you, you're not there to serve the software. Most software in our industry seems to have this thing where if you want things to work in the way you want it to work, then you have to jump through a lot of hoops, you have to kind of really dig deep into the system, or you have to pay a lot of money to have that functionality provided. With BrokerCentral… we’ve got a really strong focus on customer experience and user interface design, to make it really easy, so that we don't have to give loads of training.”

Much of the software used in the broking sphere today was designed by software developers with little or no understanding of the needs and desires of brokers. As such, many of these platforms are difficult to navigate, with complex interfaces that require a considerable amount of training to master, and with various inefficient design features that ultimately slow down the user experience. The software your business uses must be more of a help than a hindrance to your brokers.

Key Takeaways

BrokerCentral has been built over the course of a decade, with a considerable amount of feedback from various guinea pig businesses to test its effectiveness. The platform ultimately aims to smoothen communication and the transmission of information between insurers and brokers. Thus, BrokerCentral enables you to work more efficiently, and to prioritise finding the best coverage for your customers.

Furthermore, we are now in the age of data. Thus, data accessibility and functionality are crucial to a streamlined insurance service. BrokerCentral locates and logs readily available client data on the behalf of brokers, saving them time by considerably reducing the need for manual data entry.

Nick notes that, unlike other Insurtech products already on the market, BrokerCentral will never be ‘finished’ in a traditional sense. It will always continue to be developed, incorporating feature requests, helping to further smoothen brokers’ journey with their clients. Nuworks seeks to constantly push for further innovation, and therefore the software is not a one-time product but a continually improving service.

He states that the three main benefits of using BrokerCentral are:

1. It allows your team to do more in less time
2. It provides a user experience that you can enjoy rather than endure
3. It enables you to do more for your own customers, instead of being bogged down with manual data entry

If you’re in any doubt, check out the demo linked in the resources below! You can also have a chat with Nick who will be exhibiting BrokerCentral at Stand G31 at this year’s BIBA conference on 11th May!

Nuworks is also providing an offer for any prospective clients at the BIBA conference and listeners of this show! While the company would normally charge a £1000 onboarding fee for the BrokerCentral service to cover the cost of building documents, this will not be charged at all for listeners or BIBA attendees who get in touch.

Best Moments/Key Quotes

“The whole point of BrokerCentral is to is to make it easy for brokers to do their work more efficiently, so that they can free their time up to do the customer service side of things and focus their attention on the things that they're really good at, which is keeping customers engaged and finding really good coverage for them.”

“We basically only ever present a list of questions that are relevant to the insurance that you've selected, and the kind of risk that you've inputted into the system. From that point, if you go to a portal, because all that information is now stored, you can just press a button, and it will just go down each field. And if it knows the information, if it sees a match, it will just enter it for you.”

“’What would probably take a half an hour to an hour before for a more complex risk now takes less than five minutes.”

Resources

Nuworks: https://www.nuworks.com/

BrokerCentral by Nuworks: https://www.nuworks.com/brokercentral

About the Guest

Nick Jordan is the Managing Director of Nuworks, an Insurtech business seeking to identify and facilitate ways of working in the insurance industry. With 10 years’ experience in and around the industry, he is an expert in digital solutions for brokers and insurers.

Nick’s LinkedIn Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nick-j-jordan/

About the Host

Sarah Myerscough is the Sales and Marketing Director of Boston Tullis Group. The founder of The Insurance Brokers Podcast, she brings a wealth of experience and a fresh perspective on communication in the insurance sector. Boston Tullis works with insurance professionals to build effective communication both internally and externally through podcasting, event reporting, videography, and internal communications facilitation.

Website: https://bostontullis.co.uk/ 

Evaluation Link: https://s.bostontullis.co.uk/s/podcastevaluation 

How can brokers better advise clients with deficient cybersecurity architecture? What steps can we and our clients take to raise our cyber resilience and reduce the potential damage of an attack?

Businesses that haven’t suffered a cyberattack are in the minority, or alternatively, they simply haven’t discovered that it has happened yet. Infoprotect reports that 51% of businesses have suffered from a cyberattack or breach in the past year alone. In this episode of the Insurance Broker Podcast, returning guest Brad Fraser, CEO of Infoprotect, speaks about how we can improve the cybersecurity scaffolding that is so crucial for our data-centric industry, within our own businesses and those of our clients. In conversation with Boston Tullis’ Sarah Myerscough, he explains that while we are all potentially susceptible to a cyberattack, we need not cower in fear of this possibility. He outlines a straightforward and systematic approach for improving your cyber resilience, without deploying any of the jargon that often makes such advice inaccessible.

Quote of the Episode

“[Left of bang is] a term that was coined by the military, I think in the Iraq War. It's about being prepared and able to protect yourself before the attack happens. Be aware of your surroundings, have a situational awareness, and make sure that you've taken all the steps, because the last thing you want to happen is an attack to take place, and you're not prepared. Then you have to launch into a survival mode and scramble to get everything sorted out, and you suddenly realise, ‘I didn't do the basics. So, it's about situational awareness. When it comes to cyber, it's really around resilience… Just being resilient, and following the steps that can help you be resilient is so important.”

Much of the advice often distributed with regards to cybersecurity is retrospective, and only applicable after an attack has already taken place. Brad emphasises that to truly minimise the risk of such attacks, we must implement an array of systems and procedures by which they can be warded off. He offers a ten-step plan for building cyber resilience, also outlined in a blog on the Infoprotect website linked below, through which both small businesses and large enterprises can assess the state of their cybersecurity and implement measures for improving it. In doing so, you can ensure that your business and your clients can always remain ‘left of bang’ of any potential cyberattack.

Key Takeaways

When you’re putting out fires in your day-to-day work, it’s easy to overlook good procedures for maintaining healthy cybersecurity, and to allow any deficiencies within your digital infrastructure to go unchanged. Such nonchalance is exactly what cyber attackers aim to identify and exploit when targeting businesses.

Brad asserts that we must take a proactive approach to managing cybersecurity and building cyber resilience. He argues that this must begin with a comprehensive risk assessment of your digital infrastructure, thereby establishing a baseline from which your systems can become more resilient to attack.

Data has become the backbone of our industry, and therefore its secure storage and management is paramount. If our data is compromised in a cyberattack, the fallout will not simply be the loss of money and resources attributed to recovering it, but also the reputational damage of having insufficient cyber resilience. Brad argues that good data security is hinged upon several often underexamined areas of cyber resilience:

• Asset Management – how is your hardware and software infrastructure built to ensure that systems are impenetrable?
• Vulnerability Management – once you have cybersecurity software, are you keeping it up to date? What condition is it in?
• Identity & Access Management – who can access the various systems within your business?

Instilling cyber resilience is not about raising hysteria about the prospect of cyberattacks. Rather, once you’ve got a plan, you become prepared, and able to respond in the event of an incident. Cyberattacks should be assessed and planned for like any other tangible emergency. To facilitate this, it’s key to de-jargonise the conversations happening within this space, so that brokers and their clients alike are able to more easily comprehend the importance of cyber resilience measures, to prevent the worst from happening.

Infoprotect offer a cyber resilience package to help brokers with managing their clients’ cybersecurity. To find out more, visit their website linked below, or contact Brad, who is happy to help!

Best Moments/Key Quotes

“Who has got access to your data? And what do you do with it? Do you encrypt it? Do you keep it in a separate repository? Do you keep it offsite? Do you back it up? What do you do with your data? Your data is so important to your business, and if it is stolen and shared, that's the last thing you want to happen.”

“This is not putting fear into people. It's purely saying, ‘Just be ready for this’. It may or may never happen, and if it doesn't happen, well, that's good, isn't it? Who cares if it happens or not? Let's be ready for it. That's the most important thing.”

‘We need to make the internet and our whole way of communicating over the internet safer.’

“Unfortunately, there's a lot of people out there that are using fear. And they're using jargon and they're using buzzwords and they're saying, ‘You're always going to be in trouble.’ Follow the basics. Get your layers [of cyber resilience], go through those, and you're going to be much better off than people that haven't.”

Resources

Infoprotect – Cybersecurity: https://www.infoprotect.co.uk/cybersecurity/

Infoprotect – 10 Steps to Cyber Resilience: https://www.infoprotect.co.uk/blog/10-steps-to-cyber-resilience/

OpenText – What is Cyber Resilience?: https://blogs.opentext.com/cyber-resilience-definition/

About the Guest

Brad Fraser is the CEO of Infoprotect, an IT solution provider that designs complex technology solutions for clients. He specialises in Cyber Security and Data Backup as well as having a host of experience in security services and managed solutions.

Brad’s LinkedIn Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bradfraserentrepreneur

About the Host

Sarah Myerscough is the Sales and Marketing Director of Boston Tullis Group. The founder of The Insurance Brokers Podcast, she brings a wealth of experience and a fresh perspective on communication in the insurance sector. Boston Tullis works with insurance professionals to build effective communication both internally and externally through podcasting, event reporting, videography, and internal communications facilitation.

Website: https://bostontullis.co.uk/ 

Evaluation Link: https://s.bostontullis.co.uk/s/podcastevaluation 

Are you hoping to start a new business, or have you already begun? Are you concerned about the challenges facing new small businesses and start-ups in the current socioeconomic climate? How will technology reshape the future of our industry, and how can we prepare for that transition?

In this episode of the Insurance Broker Podcast, we are very pleased to be speaking with Janthana Kaenprakhamroy, CEO and co-founder of Tapoly, an Insurtech platform for micro-SMEs and freelancers. In conversation with Boston Tullis’ Sarah Myerscough, she discusses the origins of the business and its progress over the past six years despite the various challenges of COVID and Brexit. She also touches upon how technology is already dramatically altering the insurance market, and how the need for operational efficiency necessitates a greater reliance on the digital streamlining of data.

Quote of the Episode

“I think technology should be and is on everyone's agenda right now. And the reason for that is because there are new regulations coming out that prevent insurance companies from making more money or setting their own prices. So, we are limited in terms of what we can charge the customer [due to] the increase in loss ratios. And therefore, the profit margin for selling insurance today for everyone in the industry is very, very low. And that means that operational efficiency is becoming a big thing. That's the only thing you can do. If you can increase your price, you have to reduce your operating costs in order to maintain the same level of profits, net profit, I mean, and technology can help this.”

As profit margins become increasingly slim in the face of the hard market and the broader evolution of the insurance industry, the elimination of operational inefficiencies is becoming absolutely essential. Our industry’s heavy reliance on data necessitates the use of technology which can identify the necessary information and align it with a suitable policy for prospective clients. The emergence of AI and machine-learning is rapidly improving the accessibility and reliability of this technology, and Janthana suggests that it will soon become a necessity in order for firms to remain competitive.

Key Takeaways

Janthana argues that the future of insurance will be a huge departure from the industry as we know it today. The transition to digitisation will facilitate the accumulation of data, which can enable the progression of machine learning and automation of administrative tasks. She suggests that it may soon be possible to access software that can predict what type of insurance cover, and at what level you should have without any suggestions needing to be made, so long as correct data is inputted.

In establishing and running a small intermediary Insurtech business during Brexit and COVID, Tapoly was repeatedly forced to pivot in strategy. With capacity pulling out during the pandemic, and the retreat of investors who have only more recently begun to return, the business was faced with challenging circumstances. However, Janthana and the company persevered, in the knowledge that they had tapped into a unique area of the market with a good idea. Thus, if your business is facing challenges, you need to give it time, especially if faced with disadvantageous circumstances as Tapoly was.

Furthermore, through the experience of the pandemic, Janthana learned more about the type of person and businesswoman that she is. Having previously believed herself to be an extrovert, she learned to value her personal time, and to recognise that being alone is essential for her to recharge. As such, we should all take the time to be introspective, to learn what types of scenarios refuel us – for some it is being around others, and for others it is to be in one’s own company. A healthy amount of personal time will help you to excel at work.

Best Moments/Key Quotes

“During COVID, we saw a lot of investors pull out of the market, because insurance and Insurtech is probably ranking as one of the riskiest business [types] to invest in. I think the stats are that before COVID, one into two start-ups died in insurance and Insurtech. But during COVID it was nearly 75%.”

“By building a data driven platform that automates most of your processes and reduces the number of man hours, that is the way going forward. That kind of digitization would also allow us to gather, collect and use better data. And that data in future will have even bigger scope for automations.”

“When you start your own company, there isn't really the end of the day. So, I could marathon working for weeks, without even taking weekends off. And during COVID this became apparent. I learned about my personality type. For nearly the entire lockdown, I was so happy not to meet anyone. I was happily working from home without talking to anyone. And that is very unusual. I didn't know that about me. So self-isolation, apparently is my habitat.”

Resources

The Future of Insurance Volume II. The Startups by Bryan Falchuk

Tapoly - https://www.tapoly.com/

About the Guest

Janthana Kaenprakhamroy is the CEO and co-founder of Tapoly, which provides technology solutions for micro-SMEs and freelancers in the insurance industry. She is listed at number 6 in Forbes’ Top 100 Women Founders to Watch.

Janthana’s LinkedIn Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/janthana-kaenprakhamroy-0b73546b/

About the Host

Sarah Myerscough is the Sales and Marketing Director of Boston Tullis Group. The founder of The Insurance Brokers Podcast, she brings a wealth of marketing experience and a fresh perspective on marketing in the insurance sector. Boston Tullis works with insurance brokers to offer solutions to business development ceilings, particularly in the rapidly developing fields of video marketing and thought leadership.

Website: https://bostontullis.co.uk/ 

Evaluation Link: https://s.bostontullis.co.uk/s/podcastevaluation 

How do you make an impact when you join a business? Gary Williamson, newly appointed MD at Kingsbridge Insurance Brokers talks, strategy, niche vs generalist, acquisition and more, in this lively conversation with Sarah Myerscough of Boston Tullis.

Quote of the Episode

“You've got to have a focus, whatever that focus might be. For me, you've got to have a focus to create a clear plan and like I say, that's probably a lot of different steps to get you to whatever that end goal is.”

About The Guest

Gary Williamson has 25 years’ experience in the Insurance industry, in senior roles, in both brokers and insurers. He brings a refreshing take on broker strategy and the routes to rapid growth.

Connect with guest –

Gary Williamson Linkedin

Kingsbridge Insurance Brokers

About the Host

Sarah Myerscough is the Sales and Marketing Director of Boston Tullis Group. The founder of The Insurance Brokers Podcast, she brings a wealth of marketing experience and a fresh perspective on marketing in the insurance sector. Boston Tullis is a network of industry professionals working with insurance brokers to offer solutions to business development ceilings, particularly in the rapidly developing fields of video marketing and thought leadership.

CONNECT WITH SARAH

https://www.facebook.com/bostontullis  

https://www.linkedin.com/company/bostontullis/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/sarahmyerscough/

https://bostontullis.co.uk/

HOSTED BY: Sarah Myerscough, Sarah.Myerscough@bostontullis.co.uk mobile: 07821903628

DISCLAIMER: The views, thoughts and opinions expressed in this podcast belong solely to the host and guest speakers. Please conduct your own due diligence.

Is your organisation using its marketing department as well as it could, or should? Are you unsure how marketing can improve sales in an industry so reliant on face-to-face contact?

In this episode, we’re thrilled to be speaking with Michelle Leach and Verity Blair, co-founders of the Insurance Marketers Group (IMG). The organisation was created in 2010 in order to give insurance marketing professionals the opportunity to meet face to face, discuss ideas, network, and hear from presenters on various topics. In conversation with Boston Tullis’ Sarah Myerscough, they explain how insurance marketing is generally an undervalued and underappreciated element within insurance organisations, and the various efforts being made by the IMG to alter this perception.

Quote of the Episode

“Businesses now understand that it's vital to put the customer at the centre of everything that they do, and that's where marketing comes in. That's where we can influence, where we can share data, where we can really help a business put the client at the centre of everything that it does.”

The role of the insurer has expanded significantly over the last decade, from a policy provider above all else to a communicator and educator, who can offer support and advice to their clients. As customers expect different things from their insurance providers, and customer satisfaction becomes the very centre of their strategies, marketers can offer a wealth of services to boost communication between insurers, brokers, and clients.

Key Takeaways

At Boston Tullis, our primary aim is less to do with clinical, sales-oriented marketing, and more interested in improving communication between customers and insurance providers. The pandemic illustrated that marketing can be highly strategic in securing effective communication between these groups via digital means, given that insurance is typically geared towards face-to-face, personal interaction. This is further accentuated by the ever-increasing importance of data, which can empower businesses to understand their markets better, and how to differentiate themselves effectively in their messaging to customers.

However, while data has pivoted insurance businesses’ ability to achieve ROI from their marketing strategies, there remain aspects of marketing that are intangible, such as the extent to which a particular social media campaign, for example, influenced customers. Perhaps the reason why marketing is so underappreciated, particularly in the insurance industry, is due to this inability to directly correlate improved sales with particular marketing manoeuvres.

Thus, the IMG’s mission is to see marketing represented at board level in every organisation across insurance. In order to raise the profile of marketing in the insurance industry and offer opportunities for up-and-coming marketers, the organisation annually gives a Young Marketer of the Year Award. Additionally, this year, the IMG is also introducing a Marketing Team of the Year Award. The link for nominations, open to anyone you know involved in insurance marketing, which may include yourself, is below. You need not be an IMG member to nominate someone, and anyone working in insurance marketing is eligible to receive either award.

One of the best aspects of the insurance industry is the opportunities for collaboration and communication between peers. If you are an insurance marketer, or you have a marketing department, consider joining the IMG, which can unite you with peers from other companies, enabling you to discuss ideas and evaluate challenges you may be facing. The link to register as a member is below.

Best Moments/Key Quotes

‘Marketing dovetails with sales and that can really make a difference to your output.’

‘Somebody once described [insurance marketing] to me as the pipe work of the business: how far you turn the tap is the sales that come out.’

“Data is really empowering businesses to understand their customer better, to understand what messaging is working, and how you're able to differentiate yourself effectively, and kind of cut through the noise.”

“We've [the IMG] created a mission that we stand behind, and that is to see marketing represented at board level in every organisation across insurance. Because if you're at the table when the strategy is set, then that makes life so much easier for marketing teams.”

Resources

Website: https://imghub.co.uk/

Nominate yourself or someone you know for an IMG Marketing Award: https://imghub.co.uk/awards/

Register to become an IMG member: https://imghub.co.uk/register/

About the Guest

Verity Blair is a co-founder of the Insurance Marketers Group. Her background is primarily in sales, and she is currently the Vice President of Sales at Lextegrity, which provides enterprise data analytics and automation software for compliance and audit professionals at leading global companies.

Verity’s LinkedIn Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/verity-blair-60127411/

Contact Details: verity@imghub.co.uk

Michelle Leach is an award-winning marketing professional who has worked in the insurance and financial services sector for over 25 years. A co-founder of the Insurance Marketers Group, she is also a Senior Marketing Business Partner at QBE Europe.

Michelle’s LinkedIn Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michelle-leach/

Contact Details: michelle@imghub.co.uk

About the Host

Sarah Myerscough is the Sales and Marketing Director of Boston Tullis Group. The founder of The Insurance Brokers Podcast, she brings a wealth of marketing experience and a fresh perspective on marketing in the insurance sector. Boston Tullis works with insurance brokers to offer solutions to business development ceilings, particularly in the rapidly developing fields of video marketing and thought leadership.

Website: https://bostontullis.co.uk/  

Evaluation Link: https://s.bostontullis.co.uk/s/podcastevaluation 

Are your staff all on the same page about your broader business strategy? How do you communicate this on both an individual and a collective basis? How can alterations to your comms process fructify recruitment?

In this episode of the Insurance Broker Podcast, we’re thrilled to be speaking with Phil Kelly, Managing Director of Pro Noctis Group. In the episode, Phil outlines the crucial importance of retaining ‘alignment’ within your business, by ensuring that your various teams and individuals are always aware of and actively contributing towards your company’s strategy. In conversation with Boston Tullis’ Sarah Myerscough, he emphasises that good communication is crucial to the alignment process, and notes that technology can be beneficial in this regard, but only if a channel suitable for your business is utilised.

Quote of the Episode

“The world's forever changing, and I think the way we embrace and engage our people really does pay dividends, if we can align it to what we're trying to achieve and communicate that effectively. More often than not, I think the people within an organisation are an afterthought, it's more ‘strategy first, and then they'll play catch up’. But actually, the biggest challenge to delivering progress or growth [is engaging staff], as part of the decision-making process.”

An organisation only functions through the work of the individuals within it. For Phil Kelly, it is crucial for the people at all levels of a business to be both well-informed about and involved in its decision-making. If you only treat the employees within your business as functionaries facilitating a broader strategy, they will only perform their roles as such. Alternatively, if you can engage your staff with consistent and encouraging internal messaging, repeatedly emphasising your broader goals, they will be more willing to roll up their sleeves when the business inevitably hits bumps in the road. People derive fulfilment and satisfaction from understanding how their contributions are facilitating the mechanism of the business, and focused messaging in this regard will pay dividends in both productivity and staff retention.

Key Takeaways

This form of engaging staff communication will also help with recruitment, a key issue currently facing the insurance industry. Contrary to common misconceptions about Generation Z, young people want to work, but they also want clarity about the nature of their prospective employers – who are you as an organisation? What are you trying to achieve? By communicating this, you can demonstrate to prospective employees what their goals would be, and the broader strategy they would be contributing to, which are key factors by which young people navigate the recruitment process.

Throughout this episode, Phil repeatedly returns to the term ‘alignment’, to articulate how easy it is for various teams to be functioning on splintered or even contradictory conceptions of their business’ overall strategy. It is essential that at every level of the business, there is a consensus of ‘Who are we as an organisation? What are our goals? How are we going to achieve them?’. Once this clear messaging has been delivered at all levels of the business, it becomes more resilient to the unpredictable impacts of external factors, namely the continuing socioeconomic turbulence we are facing.

The key to achieving and delivering alignment within your business is effective and consistent communication. This must be repeatedly reinforced, by ensuring that every team in the business, and every individual within those teams, is always clear on its overall strategy. To keep your staff engaged with this messaging, creating a warm and friendly environment is crucial. A productive office ecosystem in which everyone is engaged creates to a rewarding and collaborative work experience.

Best Moments/Key Quotes

“As human beings, to get the best out of each other, we need to be a feeling that we are cared about, and we contribute, and we get regular feedback, good, bad and indifferent… If we really want to have that ecosystem of wellbeing and looking after each other, and really having a sort of a movement and working towards a goal, that's the type of effective leadership or management we need and that's not the role, obviously, of the CEO. They’re too far removed, but certainly, they should have an understanding with their senior or executive leadership team of what's going on with them rather than everything being transactional.”

“It fundamentally comes down to, ‘How do we have better conversations and create clarity in our messages?’ because that creates alignment.”

“Who are we as an organisation, as a team, what are we trying to achieve? And how do we go about our business? How do we behave and perform? When you get that aligned, you get congruence, and then when you're communicating those marketing messages, those key sales messages or even in the interviews, you're going to attract the right type of talent, and then all of a sudden, then you're going to have people making the right decision to come with you.”

Resources

Pro-Noctis - https://www.pro-noctis.com/

About the Guest

Phil Kelly is the Managing Director of Pro Noctis, a training and consultancy business which helps organisations to align their strategies and streamline day-to-day decision-making. He was previously a professional footballer, before working for 11 years in the RAF as a trainer and educator.

Phil’s LinkedIn Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/phil-kelly-pro-noctis/

About the Host

Sarah Myerscough is the Sales and Marketing Director of Boston Tullis Group. The founder of The Insurance Brokers Podcast, she brings a wealth of experience and a fresh perspective on communication in the insurance sector. Boston Tullis works with insurance professionals to build effective communication both internally and externally through podcasting, event reporting, videography, and internal communications facilitation.

Website: https://bostontullis.co.uk/ 

Evaluation Link: https://s.bostontullis.co.uk/s/podcastevaluation 

What challenges are facing the high-net-worth insurance market in 2023? What key messages to brokers need to communicate to high-net-worth clients? Is the future bright for this sector?

In this episode of the Insurance Broker Podcast, we’re very pleased to be speaking with Jonathan Rouse, founding partner of Protect Underwriting. In this episode, he explains the various challenges currently facing the high-net-worth insurance market as a result of ongoing economic turbulence, and how brokers can help clients in this sector to better understand the cover they are purchasing and the dangers of underinsurance. In conversation with Boston Tullis’ Sarah Myerscough, Jonathan shares his optimistic view of the future for this particular market, reflecting positively on the incoming Consumer Duty and the ever-growing opportunities for brokers and underwriters who operate in this specialist area.

Quote of the Episode

“I think that that communication challenge is the big one we see from brokers. [They ask] how they should engage policyholders in thinking about the correct sums insured that they need. And actually, helping them to evaluate that and make sure the policy is fit for purpose for them.”

Inflation is a significant challenge currently facing the insurance market as a whole. The cost of claims is rising, and consequently, so too is that of insurance cover. Jonathan argues that the onus is on brokers to ensure that their clients are well-informed about the need to provide sufficient and accurate information about their property, so that a suitable policy can be arranged for them.

Key Takeaways

In the high-net-worth market, it is crucial that policyholders’ cover remains aligned with current levels of inflation. The risks of underinsurance can be hugely financially damaging in the event of a claim. However, it can be difficult to navigate these conversations with customers, particularly in the high-net-worth area where policyholders are already paying high insurance premiums.

Jonathan notes that it is essential for brokers to explain to a customer in such a scenario that they need to buy more cover – it is not simply a matter of brokers and insurers asking for higher premium rates – it is in order to ensure that their cover is suitably raised, so that there will be no unexpected shocks in the event of a claim. Thus, it is key during these difficult discussions to reaffirm that you are attempting to deliver what the policyholder needs to continue to protect their property.

Furthermore, to have a productive conversation about policy renewal with a customer, brokers must be confident about the value that they are providing. Customers must be able to recognise the full extent of the service that they are receiving, which also includes advice and education which some clients may need to make better sense of their cover.

Jonathan also highlights the importance of brokers ensuring that they always have up-to-date information about their clients’ property, be it the security measures in place, if any building work is underway, or simply if their assets are increasing. Insurance isn’t a maintenance product, it exists for unexpected events that have been prepared for, but brokers need sufficient information so that protections against potential damages or losses can be built into their clients’ policies.

Best Moments/Key Quotes

“The tricky thing for brokers to explain to a customer is that they're actually buying more cover, or they need to buy more cover. It's not necessarily about insurers wanting more money. It's about making sure that the cover goes up. And unfortunately, the price goes up with that. In difficult economic times, it's a challenging conversation. But I think most policyholders still want to get their insurance in the right way, and they want to be correctly insured.”

“Brokers have to be confident about what they're providing. They're not just providing a piece of paper and a premium attached to it. Part of what they provide is the service and the engagement, and that education piece. They're providing real advice to the customer. And I think a lot of customers get that.”

“I think consumer duty is a good thing… For most of the high-net-worth market, I would say that we're already extremely focused on customer outcomes. But obviously, we've got to make sure that we can demonstrate that, as a board, as a company, around our product governance and the service we provide, we already collect a lot of data to make sure that our policyholders are happy with our product, and that we're providing good value”

Resources

TIBP Episode 87 – The Creeping Effects of Water Damage with Miller Insurance – https://theinsurancebroker.podbean.com/e/087-the-creeping-effects-of-water-damage-with-miller-insurance/

About the Guest

Jonathan Rouse is one of the founding partners of Protect Underwriting, a specialist underwriting business focused on providing service directly to brokers. He has worked in insurance for his entire career of over 25 years.

Jonathan’s LinkedIn Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonathan-rouse-6a30024b/

About the Host

Sarah Myerscough is the Sales and Marketing Director of Boston Tullis Group. The founder of The Insurance Brokers Podcast, she brings a wealth of experience and a fresh perspective on communication in the insurance sector. Boston Tullis works with insurance professionals to build effective communication both internally and externally through podcasting, event reporting, videography, and internal communications facilitation.

Website: https://bostontullis.co.uk/ 

Evaluation Link: https://s.bostontullis.co.uk/s/podcastevaluation 

Whether you work in a large corporate broker, or a small provincial, David Perry has that T-shirt and has some wise words to say about how the SME market is faring.

Quote of the Episode:

“I think that one of the things that we all have to remember about smaller firms is that quite often, the proprietor is the finance director, HR director, health and safety specialist, IT and systems person and has to deal with all of the conduct and compliance as well. And then when he's not, or she is not doing all of those things, has to actually go and sell whatever it is that they're providing"

Resources

Home - British Insurance Brokers' Association (biba.org.uk)

FSB ｜The Federation of Small Businesses | FSB, The Federation of Small Businesses

David Perry - Managing Director - FSB Insurance Service | LinkedIn

About The Guest

David Perry has been round the insurance industry a long time running small and start up brokerages as well as some time with a big consolidator. An inveterate committee joiner, he is incredibly well placed to discuss the issues facing small firms generally, and small brokers particularly.

About the Host

Sarah Myerscough is the Sales and Marketing Director of Boston Tullis Group. The founder of The Insurance Brokers Podcast, she brings a wealth of marketing experience and a fresh perspective on marketing in the insurance sector. Boston Tullis works with insurance brokers to offer solutions to business development ceilings, particularly in the rapidly developing fields of video marketing and thought leadership.

If you would like Sarah to help you develop an integrated marketing strategy, using state of the art concepts, then please book a free 20 min call via Calendly 

CONNECT WITH SARAH

https://www.facebook.com/bostontullis  

https://www.linkedin.com/company/bostontullis/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/sarahmyerscough/

https://bostontullis.co.uk/

HOSTED BY: Sarah Myerscough, Sarah.Myerscough@bostontullis.co.uk mobile: 07821903628

In this weeks’ episode, we are speaking to Justin Ward. Justin is the Director of T&R Direct and has spent the last 34 years in insurance. Justin joined T&R Direct 5 years ago and chats with us today about his journey and thoughts on the current market.

KEY TAKEAWAYS:

• If you’re thinking of using comparison websites, make sure you do your due diligence to minimise risk of fraud etc.

• Communication must be kept at a maximum with existing clients so that they know who they’re insured with and why.

• As a consumer, price isn’t everything. If you buy cheap, the service is going to be poor.

• COVID has changed the world as we know it and there are lots of positives to come from it. We really have to learn to adapt and embrace.

BEST MOMENTS:

‘’In today's world when there's FCA regulations, there's product regulations, there's every regulation under the sun that you can think of that we have embraced.’’

‘’…With aggregation or comparison sites, I won't mention any names but we all know who they are - the big ones and unless you are a well-known product, which we're not, or brand, it does take a bit of time to get on these comparison sites.’’

‘’If you're sharp, and you've got great ideas, and you keep that communication going with the customer – they know that it's not the comparison site that is their insurance broker, it's you/us.’’

‘’…the more focused you can be in terms of who your target is, the more developed you can be in terms of what strategic processes you put in place to bring that business in.’’

RESOURCES:

T&R Direct website: hthttps://trdirect.co.uk/

Justin’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/justin-ward-26313515/

ABOUT THE HOST

Sarah Myerscough is the Sales and Marketing Director of Boston Tullis Group. The founder of The Insurance Brokers Podcast, she brings a wealth of marketing experience and a fresh perspective on marketing in the insurance sector. Boston Tullis works with insurance brokers to offer solutions to business development ceilings, particularly in the rapidly developing fields of video marketing and thought leadership.

If you would like Sarah to help you develop an integrated marketing strategy, using state of the art concepts, then please book a free 20 min call via Calendly 

Website: https://bostontullis.co.uk/

Evaluation Link: https://s.bostontullis.co.uk/s/podcastevaluation

Things are changing in the world of insurance. What can you do to stay ahead of the curve? How can you adapt your business in order to acclimatise to this new landscape, which has been changed forever by big tech companies such as Amazon and Google?

In this episode, we’re thrilled to be speaking with Henry Newby, the Partnerships Director of Superscript, an innovative start-up insurance provider. Superscript recently announced a partnership with Amazon, to provide policies to British SMEs through the Business Prime subscription service. In conversation with Boston Tullis’ Sarah Myerscough, Henry elucidates the significance of simplifying the provision of insurance solutions in accordance with the culture of instant gratification facilitated by the business models of companies like Amazon. He highlights the importance of forming new, mutually beneficial business partnerships with other businesses, with whom you can share data and thereby provide a more streamlined, easily accessible service to your own clients.

Quote of the Episode

‘There is value in having a diversified distribution strategy’.

Henry Newby asserts that business partnerships can create an array of new avenues for broadening product availability, and channels for their distribution. He notes that, while Superscript initially developed on a basis of paid acquisition, forming partnerships with businesses such as Amazon enabled the company to substantially expand its provision of quality cover, and to provide more nuanced solutions.  A particular area which substantially boosted Superscript’s distribution strategy is in its formation of partnerships with companies with data assets, which can be harnessed in order to actively support clients by ensuring that they always have the best possible cover.

Key Takeaways

Throughout the episode, Henry repeatedly emphasises the importance of curating an easy, straightforward customer journey. A key means of doing so, he suggests, is by employing publicly available information about potential clients’ businesses in order to eliminate the need for them to manually input such information.

This principle of streamlining and digitising the quote journey will become increasingly important in years to come. Superscript’s partnership with Amazon permits it, and other companies with similar agreements, to access the data which the tech giant holds about customers, and to use it to pre-fill certain fields within the quote journey.

This underpins the importance of nimbility, which is once again the word of the week on the Insurance Broker’s Podcast. Insurers must aim to be flexible in their provision of cover, and in the ways with which they engage with clients, in order to stay ahead of the curve.

A key means of doing so, Henry suggests, is to maintain a more consistent engagement with clients, but in a less arduous fashion than that which accompanies traditional quote journeys and renewal dates. The subscription model of Superscript is simple and automatic, following the same monthly payment principle of many services used by households across the country, such as Netflix , Spotify, or indeed Amazon itself. In doing so, there is both a more consistent dialogue with clients, and the ability to provide them with insight into the continued suitability of their cover, or lack thereof.

Best Moments/Key Quotes

“What Amazon are looking to do is to acquire more businesses to their business prime proposition that it operates as a as a monthly subscription model… Once they've acquired those customers, obviously, they're looking to retain them over the longer term.”

‘We're able to effectively access some of the data that Amazon already holds about that customer and use that to pre fill certain fields within the quote journey itself’.

‘You can see that the cogs changing, you can see the moves going in the direction that you guys are going [towards].’

“We're looking to work with partners who are residing on data assets that we can utilise to improve the customer experience to inform product development, to enhance our pricing and underwriting capability, and also actually to support customers in terms of the ongoing management of their policies with us.”

“We actually think that regular engagement with our customers is a good thing, not a bad thing. And part of that is actually about supporting them on an ongoing basis.”

Resources

The Future of Insurance: From Disruption to Evolution by Bryan Falchuk

The Second Curve: Thoughts on Reinventing Society by Charles Handy

About the Guest

Prior to joining Superscript in 2018, of which he is the Partnerships Director, Henry Newby had 25 years of experience with working for large multinational insurance organisations. He previously worked as the Business Development Director for AXA UK for ten years, and spent 11 years in various roles at AON Warranty Group.

Henry’s LinkedIn page: https://uk.linkedin.com/in/henry-newby-83756b2

About the Host

Sarah Myerscough is the Sales and Marketing Director of Boston Tullis Group. The founder of The Insurance Brokers Podcast, she brings a wealth of marketing experience and a fresh perspective on marketing in the insurance sector. Boston Tullis works with insurance brokers to offer solutions to business development ceilings, particularly in the rapidly developing fields of video marketing and thought leadership.

If you would like Sarah to help you develop an integrated marketing strategy, using state of the art concepts, then please book a free 20 min call via Calendly.

 Website: https://bostontullis.co.uk/ 

Evaluation Link: https://s.bostontullis.co.uk/s/podcastevaluation 

Author, speaker and insurance professional, Bryan Falchuk, has interviewed some of the most innovative Insuretech business in the world today. Fascinating business success stories told with a keen eye to the drivers and issues.

Quote of the Episode:

“It's going to be Armageddon, there will be no agents or brokers. I think that's foolish. Because the reality is, that presumes it's just about market access. And there's nothing else that anyone would ever need, when it comes to buying insurance, which is grossly oversimplifying what risk is.”

Resources

https://bryanfalchuk.com 

Bookstore | Bryan Falchuk

(1) Bryan Falchuk | LinkedIn

About The Guest

Bryan Falchuk is a best-selling author, speaker and consultant to the Insurance industry on the subject of innovation

As well being a TED talk speaker and writing for many prestigious publications, Bryan spent over 20 years in the insurance industry with McKinsey and Co’s insurance practice, as CCO for billion dollar carrier ,and driving growth within an AI enabled Insurtech carrier.

ABOUT THE HOST

Sarah Myerscough is the Sales and Marketing Director of Boston Tullis Group. The founder of The Insurance Brokers Podcast, she brings a wealth of marketing experience and a fresh perspective on marketing in the insurance sector. Boston Tullis works with insurance brokers to offer solutions to business development ceilings, particularly in the rapidly developing fields of video marketing and thought leadership.

If you would like Sarah to help you develop an integrated marketing strategy, using state of the art concepts, then please book a free 20 min call via Calendly 

CONNECT WITH SARAH

https://www.facebook.com/bostontullis  

https://www.linkedin.com/company/bostontullis/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/sarahmyerscough/

https://bostontullis.co.uk/

HOSTED BY: Sarah Myerscough, Sarah.Myerscough@bostontullis.co.uk mobile: 07821903628

DISCLAIMER: The views, thoughts and opinions expressed in this podcast belong solely to the host and guest speakers. Please conduct your own due diligence.

Website: https://bostontullis.co.uk/

Evaluation Link: https://s.bostontullis.co.uk/s/podcastevaluation

Are you looking to expand your client base? Are you struggling to retain a balance between offering niche, specialist policies for specific problems, and more generalized insurance solutions? Would you like to venture into educative marketing for your brokering firm?

In this episode, we’re excited to once again be speaking with Richard Miller and Mark Hicks, senior team members of Arden Insurance Brokers. In conversation with Boston Tullis’ Sarah Myerscough, they discuss the importance of adaptability in the insurance industry, both to acquire new clients and to retain your current customer base. This can be achieved by a bespoke assessment of individual clients’ businesses, in order to acutely identify their particular needs, and accordingly offer insurance solutions to counter any potential problems or risks.

Quote of the Episode

‘The days of an insurance broker just selling insurance policies are long gone’

Richard Miller and Mark Hicks suggest that in order to compete in the current insurance market, you need to deviate your focus from purely supplying policies. Indeed, the role of the insurance broker has expanded substantially throughout the past decade, to encompass a broader, problem-solving approach. By offering solutions catered to the particular problems facing each individual client, you can expand their own awareness of their business’ needs. In doing so, you can solidify both ongoing and new client relationships, built upon a strong foundation of trust.

Key Takeaways

Clients approach insurance brokers to simplify the process of insuring their business or property. Some clients may be inclined to look for the cheapest cover possible, but ultimately, this may be harmful if they ever need to make a claim. In order to avoid the detrimental consequences of insufficient policies or cover incongruous with a client’s needs, it is essential to fully understand the wider needs of the client. By evaluating their business as a whole, you can more accurately provide the cover they need in areas they may not necessarily have considered or accounted for. As such, an educative branch to your business which can assist customers in fully comprehending their insurance needs can render your engagement with them highly mutually beneficial.

As such, educative marketing can be extremely valuable in capturing the interest of your clients. If they understand more succinctly their needs, you can more easily provide the exact cover required. This, in conjunction with strong salesmanship and a genuine desire to help clients, will generate sales and build long-standing partnerships.

Your clients shouldn’t be kept awake at night by fears that their insurance policy is insufficient. The purpose of insurance is to enable them to rest easy. The best way to facilitate this is to fully understand the needs of your client, the nature of their business and the various risks which may threaten it, and which need to be protected against.

‘NIMBILITY’ strikes again! Coined in a previous episode, this term recurs once again on today’s podcast, as Sarah, Richard and Mark discuss the significance of quick professionalism in all dealings with clients, and the ability to respond to their problems efficiently, and provide solutions. The traditional role of the insurance broker has been usurped by a far broader task, as ‘insurance solutionist’.

Know your clients, understand their problems, and diagnose their issues.

Best Moments/Key Quotes

“We are industry and size agnostic, it’s all about providing the solution for the client.”

“There's a room for a boutique, highly experienced broker that has the experience of the larger organisations the same quality of people and capabilities but done in a much smaller family, a nimble, client-centric way.”

“Marketing is extraordinarily important. And I think there's so many different channels with which you can market now, whether that is LinkedIn, whether it's Instagram, whether it's Facebook… whether it's doing podcasts as well… I think it's the way in which you market yourself, which is vitally important.”

“At the end of the day, a buyer, you know, not necessarily buys for the name but buys for the person and what the product is that supports that.”

“We try to deliver the best individual solution to them. It’s not a one-size-fits-all. ‘What's the issue? How can we help you? Can we give you access to the wider market? How can we add that little bit of value that keeps your client?’”

About the Guest

Mark Hicks is the Managing Director of Arden Insurance Brokers, an independent, family-owned broker based in London.

Richard Miller is the Head of Trade Credit, Political Risk and Surety at Arden Insurance Brokers.

Having worked together for many years at Miller Insurance Services and PIB Insurance Brokers, through their longstanding partnership, Mark and Richard have acquired a wealth of experience in the insurance industry and witnessed its rapid development throughout the past decade.

Mark Hicks’ LinkedIn Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mark-hicks-3670617/?originalSubdomain=uk

Contact Mark at 02038575373 or by emailing him at mhicks@ardeninsurance.co.uk.

Richard Miller’s LinkedIn Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/richard-miller-pib/

Contact Richard at 07900541027 or by emailing him at rmiller@ardeninsurance.co.uk.

About the Host

Sarah Myerscough is the Sales and Marketing Director of Boston Tullis Group. The founder of The Insurance Brokers Podcast, she brings a wealth of marketing experience and a fresh perspective on marketing in the insurance sector. Boston Tullis works with insurance brokers to offer solutions to business development ceilings, particularly in the rapidly developing fields of video marketing and thought leadership.

If you would like Sarah to help you develop an integrated marketing strategy, using state of the art concepts, then please book a free 20 min call via Calendly .

 Website: https://bostontullis.co.uk/ 

Evaluation Link: https://s.bostontullis.co.uk/s/podcastevaluation 

How do you get to be the person in the room, or on the zoom, that catches everybody’s attention? Susan Heaton-Wright, creator of the Superstar Communicator methodology, has worked with the CII and global organizations to teach business leaders how to make an impact when communicating. Listen to this fascinating chat with Boston Tullis’s Sarah Myerscough to unlock the secrets of influencing via verbal and non-verbal communication.

Quote of the Episode

“Do you know listening, I believe is a huge superpower. And we know from face to face meetings, you remember those old days when we have face to face meetings, there was this idea that you need to speak, and you needed to be heard. But actually, one of the most important things if you're in a service industry, is listening, and watching to see how the other person says what they're saying.”

Resources

Pole Pole Song: https://youtu.be/tgqAOCtwLOo

About The Guest

Susan Heaton-Wright empowers leaders and teams globally to work and communicate virtually and in real life. She has trained attendees from over 50 countries: regions include EMEA, The Americas and South East Asia. Susan delivers masterclasses, virtual workshops, virtual coaching, workshops and individual coaching for many companies including Astra Zeneca, Microsoft, RBS, Deloitte, AAP, Invesco, Shell, AXA and Quintiles. She is regularly interviewed on BBC Radio Five Live; BBC2, local radios and international podcasts.

In 2020 she was named in the #ialso 100 top inspirational female entrepreneurs with f:entrepreneur and has contributed to articles in Forbes, The Guardian, Huffington Post, Thrive Global, The Scotsman and trade publications.

Connect with Guest –  Susan Heaton-Wright | LinkedIn

About the Host

Sarah Myerscough is the Sales and Marketing Director of Boston Tullis Group. The founder of The Insurance Brokers Podcast, she brings a wealth of marketing experience and a fresh perspective on marketing in the insurance sector. Boston Tullis is a network of industry professionals working with insurance brokers to offer solutions to business development ceilings, particularly in the rapidly developing fields of video marketing and thought leadership.

Connect with Sarah -

https://www.facebook.com/bostontullis  

https://www.linkedin.com/company/bostontullis/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/sarahmyerscough/

https://bostontullis.co.uk/

HOSTED BY: Sarah Myerscough, Sarah.Myerscough@bostontullis.co.uk mobile: 07821903628

DISCLAIMER: The views, thoughts and opinions expressed in this podcast belong solely to the host and guest speakers. Please conduct your own due diligence.

What constitutes a suitable work/life balance? How much does going the extra mile at work facilitate career progression? How much has the pandemic impacted attitudes to work, productivity and flexibility?

In this episode of the Insurance Broker Podcast, we’re very pleased to be speaking with Laura Hancock, Founding Director of Yutree Insurance and Deputy Chair of the BIBA board. In conversation with Boston Tullis’ Sarah Myerscough, she performs a deep dive on a recent BBC article (linked below) which speculates that putting in extra hours and performing additional tasks in order to get ahead in one’s career has transitioned from being the exception to the rule to an employer expectation. Laura argues that there is nothing wrong with putting in additional time and effort at work to get ahead and warns that new attitudes to flexible working facilitated by the pandemic may thwart individuals’ career progression and company competitiveness.

Quote of the Episode

“If you want to get on, you often have to do a little bit more. That doesn't mean the business should expect you to do more, just that if you want to get on, [you should] do a bit more learning. Therefore, taking a step up is just a natural course of events as far as I'm concerned.”

Laura suggests that, particularly for those early in their careers, that stepping up to do additional work is inevitable. If you won’t do it, someone else will, and they will perhaps be more likely to secure the kind of career progression you might be looking for as a result. There is nothing nefarious with taking up the opportunity to show one’s employer that one is going the extra mile; it demonstrates ambition and a drive to succeed, which is beneficial both on an individual and company level.

Key Takeaways

When considering one’s career progression, it is good practice to imagine where you want to be after a certain period of time, then calculate backwards the steps required to get there from the position you are currently in. Invariably, if you want to take lavish holidays, live in a beautiful home, and create a comfortable environment for your future family, that will involve putting in extra time or effort in order to make your achievements visible and recognised at work.

The insurance industry is still grappling with the change caused by the pandemic. Our traditionalist sector has not easily adapted to the notion that people can work from home and businesses can still be successful. While this has proven to be false as a general sentiment, Laura suggests that the servicing issues which brokers are experiencing from insurers can be attributed to the fact that hybrid work models aren’t working as well as they might.

Employees want flexibility, but giving more, or too much flexibility, can create a slump, whereby people become complacent in their positions. Laura argues that it is becoming increasingly important for a balance to be struck regarding flexible working solutions, whereby the community element of office working and the feeling of being valued and accomplished, and achieving progression in one’s career, is not lost.

She suggests that this is particularly crucial with regard to young workers and new graduates, who may be losing a lot by not going into the office on a regular basis. The ability to ask people questions directly as and when is needed is a significant learning opportunity which is squandered by working from home. As such, she argues that there is a duty on behalf of both young new employees and experienced people to be in the office regularly in order to facilitate their learning.

Best Moments/Key Quotes

“Insurers are big companies, they take a long time to move. They're like blind juggernauts hurtling into the sun; sometimes it's very difficult to change their direction. And the pandemic has meant we've all had to change direction, we've had to be more nimble. And we've had to change the way we think, to accept flexible working to accept that people can work from home, that you can trust them to do so. And you can have a successful business with a mix of the two.”

“Now we're doing flexible working, people with experience have a duty to be in the office, not all the time, but in the office around the people who are learning, and people who are learning have a duty to be in the office to hear from those others. I think there's a duty on both sides to accept that you learn by experience, you learn by listening, you learn having mentors, and you just can't replicate that remotely.”

‘We live in the most connected society from a technical sense, and we are more disconnected than we've ever been from a community sense.’

‘There is no shame in wanting to do a bit more to get on to be noticed to be successful.’

Resources

BBC: How going above and beyond at work became required - https://www.bbc.com/worklife/article/20220921-how-going-above-and-beyond-at-work-became-required

About the Guest

Laura Hancock is one of the Founding Directors of Yutree Insurance in Newmarket, a commercial insurance broker with an underwriting business. Laura is also Deputy Chair of the BIBA (British Insurance Brokers Association) Board.

Laura’s LinkedIn Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/laura-hancock-minstlm-2018a99/

Home - Yutree Insurance | Chartered Insurance Brokers

About the Host

Sarah Myerscough is the Sales and Marketing Director of Boston Tullis Group. The founder of The Insurance Brokers Podcast, she brings a wealth of marketing experience and a fresh perspective on marketing in the insurance sector. Boston Tullis works with insurance brokers to offer solutions to business development ceilings, particularly in the rapidly developing fields of video marketing and thought leadership.

Website: https://bostontullis.co.uk/ 

Evaluation Link: https://s.bostontullis.co.uk/s/podcastevaluation 

Ever creative, insurance brokers are always looking for new ways to grow. Stuart Randall and Ian Wainwright’s new venture, Brokerring, introduces the novel concept of book leasing. A really innovative solution for medium sized brokers looking to grow, or smaller ones looking for a glide path to retirement. Hear more about how it works, and how it came into being, in this fascinating conversation with Ian and Boston Tullis’s Sarah Myerscough.

Key Takeaway

So the larger broker doesn't have to find the capital to buy anybody and equally the smaller broker doesn't actually have to sell. What they do is they a lease their client book to the slightly larger broker.

About the Guest

Ian Wainwright has worked for insurers, brokers and consultancies both in the UK and overseas, in an insurance career spanning 40 years. He is a Non Executive Director of The National Security Inspectorate and AGB Risk Control Services. He is also a Fellow of the Chartered Insurance Institute, a Fellow of the Royal Society for Art Manufacturers and Commerce as well as being a member of the Chartered Association of Building Engineers.

CONNECT WITH IAN

Ian Wainwright | LinkedIn

Brokerring Limited - UK's first Broker Consortium

About the Host

Sarah Myerscough is the Sales and Marketing Director of Boston Tullis Group. The founder of The Insurance Brokers Podcast, she brings a wealth of marketing experience and a fresh perspective on marketing in the insurance sector. Boston Tullis works with insurance brokers to offer solutions to business development ceilings, particularly in the rapidly developing fields of video marketing and thought leadership.

If you would like Sarah to help you develop an integrated marketing strategy, using state of the art concepts, then please book a free 20 min call via Calendly 

CONNECT WITH SARAH

Sarah Myerscough | Linkedin

Boston Tullis Ltd

HOSTED BY: Sarah Myerscough

DISCLAIMER

The views, thoughts and opinions expressed in this podcast belong solely to the host and guest speakers. Please conduct your own due diligence.

Evaluation link: https://s.bostontullis.co.uk/s/podcastevaluation 

Do you often find yourself inhibited from making progress by a lack of confidence in your own abilities? Are you unsure of what strategies to implement to improve your self-confidence and maintain it when the going gets tough? What is the correlation between good physical health and mental wellbeing?

In this episode of the Insurance Broker Podcast, we’re honoured to be speaking with Sally Gunnell OBE, champion athlete and holder of Olympic, World, European and Commonwealth titles in 400m hurdles and 400m relay. Sally now gives talks to businesses about positive mindset and productivity, and in this episode she shares her advice for maintaining good physical health and mental wellbeing. In conversation with Boston Tullis’ Sarah Myerscough, Sally explains the importance of setting achievable goals, the power of visualisation, and strategies for combatting and overcoming low self-confidence and negative self-talk.

Quote of the Episode

“The difference between being okay at what I did and actually excelling was around self-belief, belief in your inability, that whole power of visualisation, and mental strength… I often used to say, when I was running, there wasn't a lot between all of us in that final, when it came to technical side of it, or strength or speed, but the mental side was massive. And that's what allowed me to win on those four major championships.”

Throughout the episode, Sally frequently reiterates the power of visualisation as a tool not only for progressing towards your goals, but also achieving them and continuing to excel beyond them. She argues that taking five minutes out of your day to visualise the achievement of your goal, whatever it might be, not only serves as a huge boost to your motivation, but also hardens your resolve and boosts your self-confidence. This emphasises that your success is not just possible, but achievable through continued effort, and thus it serves as a powerful tool for combatting negative self-talk and a lack of belief in your abilities.

Key Takeaways

However, Sally also notes that visualisation cannot be solely focused on achieving the perfect outcome. As with all things in life, and the insurance industry is no exception, you will inevitably encounter setbacks and roadblocks to your success. As such, your visualisation process must include the prospect of these setbacks, but also your perseverance through them and achieving your goal in spite of them.

Yet, we cannot foresee everything that might occur as we strive towards our goals; it is impossible to visualise every possible series of events. Sometimes unexpected setbacks occur. Sally suggests that positive thinking is crucial to persevering through these. It is essential to accept when setbacks occur and issues arise, and to maintain a positive outlook. You cannot allow yourself to lose sight of your goals because of external circumstances you can’t control. As such, you have to learn to trust yourself enough to recognise when you’re facing a tough situation, and continue to keep sight of your goals and identify silver linings that can help you to continue moving forward.

For Sally, goalsetting on both large and small scales is very important to maintaining a positive mindset. In setting yourself small goals throughout your day of things you want to achieve, you will gain a sense of fulfilment upon completing them, giving you the drive and energy to work towards your broader, long-term goals. She also emphasises the importance of not overloading oneself with too many goals at once. Your goals need to be realistic and achievable, and you can’t set yourself too many within a short time frame, otherwise you are effectively setting yourself up for disappointment and frustration, which will counterbalance the otherwise positive impacts of establishing goals for your wellbeing.

Sally offers three main top tips for optimising your wellbeing and productivity:

1. Exercise – frequent exercise is scientifically proven to improve your mental wellbeing through the release of endorphins.
2. Mobility – keeping yourself moving throughout the day, either through stretches, short walks, or brief bursts of exercise will secure long term physical fortitude which cannot be achieved by maintaining a sedentary position all day.
3. Positive mindset – it is key to recognise what you are capable of achieving, and to reward yourself when you make progress towards your goals and ambitions.

Best Moments/Key Quotes

‘Just looking at those little, tiny elements that seem so insignificant around food or sleep or exercise – it all adds up to that bigger picture of how we deal with life and deliver what we're all capable of being able to do.’

‘Knowing what you want to achieve, however big, however small it is, is a massive motivator.’

‘Everybody needs to be active and can be active, whatever ability, whatever shape you are, it's just finding something that you can physically do. And I think that is a very strong piece for your mental wellbeing and optimising your age.’

Resources

Sally Gunnell - https://www.sallygunnell.com/

Whitecalm - https://www.whitecalmvirtual.com/

About the Guest

Sally Gunnell OBE is the only British female athlete to have won all four major sporting titles – Olympic, World Championship, Commonwealth and European. She now works in the health and wellbeing sector as an advocate, sharing her knowledge and experience as an athlete. She gives talks on wellbeing and mindset to businesses, helping them to support the wellbeing of their employees.

Sally’s LinkedIn Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sallygunnell/

About the Host

Sarah Myerscough is the Sales and Marketing Director of Boston Tullis Group. The founder of The Insurance Brokers Podcast, she brings a wealth of marketing experience and a fresh perspective on marketing in the insurance sector. Boston Tullis works with insurance brokers to offer solutions to business development ceilings, particularly in the rapidly developing fields of video marketing and thought leadership.

Website: https://bostontullis.co.uk/ 

Evaluation Link: https://s.bostontullis.co.uk/s/podcastevaluation 

Over the last ten years, the insurance industry has been utterly transformed by an array of technological advancements, but perhaps most profoundly by the amassing of publicly available digital data. It has quickly become apparent that such information can drive business intelligence, which can subsequently drive customer engagement, which in turn drives sales growth. Are you interested in the potential of data collection, analysis, and interpretation for your own business, but unsure of where to start?

In this episode, we’re excited to be speaking with Andrew Yates, Founder and CEO of Artesian, a business intelligence software provider. In conversation with Boston Tullis’ Sarah Myerscough, he explains how data has redefined the buying cycle, the selling cycle, the customer journey, and customer expectations. It is this latter element which recurs throughout the episode, as Andrew explains how businesses must adapt to fulfil constantly evolving customer expectations in light of an increasingly digitised world.

Quote of the Episode

“We've got to be knowledgeable about our customer, we've got to anticipate their need, and we've got to be ready to guide them, but at the same time, there will still value in that interaction if we get that right… there's still no substitute for, you know, getting to know your customer and getting it right.”

Despite his role as a leading digital business intelligence provider, Andrew Yates remains certain that a carefully designed and unique customer journey is essential for maintaining and boosting your sales. He advocates the utilisation of technology for learning all that you can about your potential customer, in order to immediately solidify your reputation as a well-researched and trustworthy business partner. Andrew argues that, given the development of social media and a breadth of online data providers, it is a fundamental expectation of all customers that you should be well-informed about them before even meeting them. Thus, he suggests that using the available technology to acquire and interpret such information is not only time-saving, but can also accelerate your sales.

Key Takeaways

Andrew suggests that the time for data conglomeration software such as that provided by Artesian isn’t in the future – it’s right now. Not only does this technology save time, but it also assists you in fulfilling the expectations of your current or potential customers. Therefore, in order to compete in the market, this type of data collection and interpretation will soon become vital.

However, when you accumulate data, it needs to be carefully condensed and purified. Andrew compares it to crude oil, which only becomes truly valuable once it has been refined. This type of process is offered by services such as Artesian, which will become increasingly efficient in identifying important areas of consideration when forming new customer relationships in years to come. Andrew suggests that this data can become almost predictive, enabling brokers to be well-informed about companies or clients which will soon need to update their insurance, and act accordingly in a manner advantageous to both parties.

Furthermore, this technology is easily accessible for an array of businesses, regardless of size or scope. Everyone can take advantage of it, and indeed, it will most likely become standard procedure across many industries over the next decade.

Best Moments/Key Quotes

“I expect someone that's trying to sell me a product or a service to have done the research on my company or me. I just expect that now… This is the now, it's not the future… you've got to kind of get with it.”

“I remember having a conversation with a gentleman, and he was what you’d call an old school broker. I remember him getting really upset with me about this idea… He said, “We don’t need to do research, we just build relationships.” And of course, he was right. But the beauty of what we do, and how simple we make that and how we make that work on an iPhone, is that anyone can take advantage of it. So, if you’re running a successful regional, even dare I say, kind of lifestyle business, this is for you.”

Resources

https://artesian.co/

Insurance Insider article about the Superscript-Amazon partnership: https://www.insuranceinsider.com/article/2942huwbmlq6oncnfbpc0/amazon-teams-up-with-superscript-to-offer-insurance-to-uk-smes

Artesian-DueDil Merger Announcement: https://artesian.co/artesian-duedil-merger/

About the Guest

Andrew Yates is the Founder and CEO of Artesian, a sales intelligence solutions provider. The company recently merged with DueDil, a business intelligence platform focused on SME onboarding. He previously worked for Cognos, also a business intelligence software company which now a part of IBM.

Andrew Yates’ LinkedIn Profile: https://uk.linkedin.com/in/apgyates 

About the Host

Sarah Myerscough is the Sales and Marketing Director of Boston Tullis Group. The founder of The Insurance Brokers Podcast, she brings a wealth of marketing experience and a fresh perspective on marketing in the insurance sector. Boston Tullis works with insurance brokers to offer solutions to business development ceilings, particularly in the rapidly developing fields of video marketing and thought leadership.

If you would like Sarah to help you develop an integrated marketing strategy, using state of the art concepts, then please book a free 20 min call via Calendly.

 Website: https://bostontullis.co.uk/ 

Evaluation Link: https://s.bostontullis.co.uk/s/podcastevaluation 

Why is water damage so significant in construction sites? Why does it create so many issues for insurers? How can we raise awareness of the prospect of water damage and reduce its incidence?

In this episode, we’re discussing water damage, a rising problem in construction insurance and one of the leading causes for claims in the UK. It has caught the eye of insurers, who are doing all they can to make sure that construction companies recognise the issue. We’re thrilled to be speaking with returning guest Steve Cox and Jason Baston, who work in the construction branch of Miller Insurance. In conversation with Boston Tullis’ Sarah Myerscough, they explain how water damage can create huge litigious and reputational issues for clients, in addition to astronomical costs.

Quote of the Episode

“[Projects are] built on the understanding that there would be this revenue stream attaching to the project as soon as the building was complete and could be opened. And so now we've got this situation where that income is not going to be earned for quite some time [in the event of water damage], potentially a number of years later. And so, there are enormous losses, straight away from the revenue that was intended and part of that financing for the original construction project.”

The costs that can be accrued by water damage are multifaceted and underappreciated. Much like the prospect of water damage itself, it is often not recognised just how significantly this can impact construction companies in many different ways. Water damage doesn’t receive a major profile, and it is generally not perceived as a major incident to the same extent as a fire, for example. This is perhaps due to the fact that it is less visible. As a silent damage event, it doesn’t receive press attention, but can nonetheless be responsible for major losses.

Key Takeaways

Greater awareness of the various consequences of water damage is absolutely essential for both insurers and construction companies alike. When we think of water damage, our minds are often first flung to water ingress - dramatic scenes of floods which only rarely appear on the news. We often fail to think of the water within a building causing damage, but it occurs very often on construction projects, and at considerable costs.

During the episodes, Steve Cox reflects on a series of London fires in the late 1980s and early 90s, after which the insurance industry banded together to create awareness of fire on construction sites, forming the Joint Code of Practice (JCOB) for the prevention of fire on construction sites. This strategy was hugely successful in raising awareness of fire damage, and contributed significantly to the reduction of fire incidence.

A similar strategy unfurled in recent years as water damage became more prominent. A group called Cireg have established a code for water management from a risk management perspective, linked in the resources below. However, this has not (yet) raised the profile of water damage, and it remains a hugely costly problem for insurers and construction companies.

This is particularly significant in light of modern manufacturing processes, namely MMC. When identical units are built off-site, and subsequently put together on-site, if there is a problem with the water management in these individual units, it is replicated throughout the entire building. As such, what might have been a relatively minor water damage incident under traditional construction methods becomes multiplied a hundred-fold.

Best Moments/Key Quotes

“Water damage, through a number of things, whether that be ingress of water onto a site, or into a building, or escape of water within a building, has actually become one of the leading causes for insurance claims in the UK, and certainly for insurance claims in buildings undergoing construction or renovation.”

“On the one hand, the growth towards modular and modern methods has created some fantastic opportunities and improvement in the sector. For water damage in particular, however, it creates this potential for serious losses, where you've got the same cause of loss happening multiple times in a single building, all derived from this module, for example. And that can create enormous losses because it's not just one single pod that's potentially lead to a water damage event, but it's multiplied up.”

“Every project in construction is different. And so, where there are consistent risks, then, of course, insurers will create these blanket umbrella documents that can be applied to a project. But what we tend to see is the risks of each and every project are very unique. That's why it's a specialty. And it requires that risk expertise, our role, working with the employers, the contractors, and of course, the insurers as well, is to create a collaborative exercise where everybody's engaged, everybody's considering the unique risks of that particular project. And then looking at how that project can be de-risked, which is, of course, to the benefit of everybody, because nobody wants to see a loss.”

Resources

Cireg – Managing Escape of Water Risk on Construction Sites: https://cireg.org/uploads/1/0/9/0/109026037/cireg_-_managing_escape_of_water_risk_on_construction_sites__5th_edition_november_2019_.pdf

Cireg - https://cireg.org/index.html

Miller Insurance - https://www.miller-insurance.com/

About the Guest

Steve Cox is the Head of Miller Insurance’s UK Cireg International Construction team, with a prolific career of 41 years in the insurance industry, always handling construction insurance.

Steve’s LinkedIn Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/steve-cox-29b66231

Jason Baston is a construction risk and insurance solutions expert at Miller. He has worked in the property and casualty sector for 20 years, focusing on construction in the last decade.

Jason Baston’s LinkedIn Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jason-baston/

About the Host

Sarah Myerscough is the Sales and Marketing Director of Boston Tullis Group. The founder of The Insurance Brokers Podcast, she brings a wealth of marketing experience and a fresh perspective on marketing in the insurance sector. Boston Tullis works with insurance brokers to offer solutions to business development ceilings, particularly in the rapidly developing fields of video marketing and thought leadership.

Website: https://bostontullis.co.uk/

Evaluation Link: https://s.bostontullis.co.uk/s/podcastevaluation

What are the benefits of networking with MGAs? What is the ‘Meet the MGA Market’ event, and why should you attend?

In this episode of the Insurance Broker Podcast, we’re thrilled to welcome back Mike Keating for his third episode! This time, in conversation with Boston Tullis’ Sarah Myerscough, he discusses the MGAA’s upcoming ‘Meet the MGA Market’ event. It will be held on the 1st of March at the Mercure Manchester Piccadilly Hotel, five minutes from the station. It’s undeniable that the industry is currently facing challenging market conditions. As such, the opportunity to forge new relationships in order to better navigate this turbulence, and thereby continue to provide positive outcomes for customers, cannot be understated. The ‘Meet the MGA Market’ event enables brokers to speak to a vast array of exhibiting MGAs about their product lines and expertise, and to discuss opportunities for partnership moving forward.

Quote of the Episode

“The importance this event cannot be undervalued, because from a broker lens, they have the opportunity to engage with MGAs, they already work with, but also to explore new relationships with MGAs, who are basically showcasing their very wide and diverse specialist product ranges, their service delivery, all these attributes, which MGAs have been doing successfully for many, many years. Given that the association and its members tend to about 90% deal with the broker community, is a fantastic opportunity for those key stakeholders to be in one room to network, to talk about the market, to talk about, from a broker perspective, their customers’ needs.”

Everyone has been struck by the economic challenges currently facing the market. Customers know that there is no cutting corners with insurance, but brokers and MGAs together can work to secure the best outcomes possible within these parameters. As such, the ‘Meet the MGA Market’ event offers a great opportunity for brokers and MGAs to forge new relationships, with which they can strategize to deliver for the customer.

Key Takeaways

At the event, MGAs will be exhibiting, and brokers will be free to take a look around and speak to as many MGAs as they see fit. No one will be corralled into a room and forced to endure endless PowerPoint presentations. The purpose of the event is for brokers and MGAs to network and forge new connections. For Mike, face-to-face networking is crucial to the industry, which is largely contingent upon good communication. He notes that, in previous years, the event has been held online, which was satisfactory but failed to create the same energy and impact as in-person interactions often do. We can now really cherish the opportunity to network in-person and to get the most out of these events. Both Sarah and Mike spoke to a significant ‘buzz’ at the MGAA capacity exchange last year which they both expect to be replicated at the ‘Meet the Market’ event in March.

Don’t miss out! If you haven’t yet booked your ticket, there’s no time like the present. Participant numbers are growing day by day, and MGA members have demonstrated great interest in meeting prospective broker partners. To book your ticket, you can find the link in the ‘Resources’ section below.

Additionally, Sarah will be a roving reporter at the event, so please come and have a chat! We will be recording interviews throughout the day, and would love to hear from you. We want to know why you’re at the event, what you’re hoping to get out of it, the challenges you and your customers are currently facing. We hope to capture the spirit of the event and to fuel and record great conversations!

Best Moments/Key Quotes

‘It's always a fantastic event in terms of bringing MGA members and the broker community together for the benefit, ultimately, of the end customers.’

‘This is all time for the most important people in that room, which are MGAs and the brokers.’

“I think the value of face-to-face networking and events is really an amplified when we couldn't do it as an industry during COVID. I also think that the industry is supporting these events even more than they did pre-COVID, because they now identify and recognise the value of them.”

“The Meet the Market event brings together the MGA community and the broker community. 90% of the association's membership deals with broker distribution. That allows MGAs to both engage with existing broker relationships which they enjoy, but also gives opportunities to showcase their products and their underwriting expertise to brokers who perhaps may not be aware of them.”

Resources

Click here to register for the ‘Meet the MGA Market’ Event: https://meetthemarket2023.eventreference.com/

MGAA – Meet the MGA Market 2023: https://www.mgaa.co.uk/meet-the-mga-market-2023/

About the Guest

Mike Keating is the CEO of the Managing General Agents’ Association (MGAA), having previously held executive positions at AXA, UK General and Claims. Throughout his 35 years’ experience in the industry, he has worked for insurers, brokers and MGAs in both commercial and personal lines markets.

Mike’s LinkedIn Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-keating-230b8424/

About the Host

Sarah Myerscough is the Sales and Marketing Director of Boston Tullis Group. The founder of The Insurance Brokers Podcast, she brings a wealth of experience and a fresh perspective on communication in the insurance sector. Boston Tullis works with insurance professionals to build effective communication both internally and externally through podcasting, event reporting, videography and internal communications facilitation. 

Website: https://bostontullis.co.uk/

Evaluation Link: https://s.bostontullis.co.uk/s/podcastevaluation

Is an over reliance on analytical and logical thinking stifling innovation in insurance? How can we help clients become more emotionally invested in the insurance they purchase, and why should we?

Welcome to the 100th episode of the Insurance Broker Podcast, and the first to be recorded live! This week, we are celebrating this milestone by tackling some big questions with three titans of the industry – Sam White, Peter Blanc, and Steve White! In conversation with Boston Tullis’ Sarah Myerscough, they discuss the dichotomy of ‘left brain’ (analytical, logical) and ‘right brain’ (creative, emotional) thinking. Bemoaning the industry’s general reliance on the former, they highlight the need for emotionally driven engagement with customer needs for insurers and brokers alike to truly innovate. Touching on all the major problems facing the industry today, including new regulatory pressures, the cost-of-living crisis, and recruitment difficulties, each of the guests emphasise how tapping into emotionally driven thinking can provide an alternative perspective from which to understand and tackle these issues.

Quote of the Episode

“Fundamentally, people don't care about insurance. And that's our fault. If we can't get people emotionally invested in what we're doing, then they do just think, [‘I’ll buy] whatever is cheaper’… Somebody will buy a life insurance policy online, just as a kind of, ‘I’d better grab that’. We need to learn how to evolve the product so that we can really get people to understand what they're buying in a digital world, as well as face to face.”

For many people not well-versed in industry jargon and technicalities, an insurance policy is often considered an grudge purchase. Despite the fact that policies are taken to protect their lives and livelihoods if disaster were to strike, there is often an emotional disconnect between the purchasing of a life insurance policy, for example, and an in-depth consideration of the reasons why one needs it. This is becoming increasingly challenging due to the digitisation of the insurance market, by which face-to-face discussions between clients and insurers are becoming eclipsed by the ease of doing it all online. Sam White argues that the insurance industry as a whole needs to improve its external communication in this regard, in order to crystallise in a prospective client’s mind, the potential consequences of taking out a lacking insurance policy, be it for their business, their car, or their life.

Key Takeaways

Increasing the educative role of insurers and brokers could be instrumental to curbing the public’s general disinterest in their insurance policies, and indeed, to reorienting the industry’s reputation in their minds. Communicating with customers on an emotional, rather than purely statistical level could be hugely beneficial to broadening the general understanding of what insurance is and why people need it, which people are often falsely assumed to automatically understand upon becoming adults despite being minimally, if at all, addressed during school education.

Additionally, a greater emphasis on the emotional, human element of insurance could help with the industry’s floundering recruitment efforts. Sam White suggests that emphasising the practicalities of insurance will quickly lose the interest of potential candidates. Alternatively, highlighting the ideology of insurance may be a great way to capture and retain their interest.

Peter Blanc asserts that there should be a moral overlay upon everything we do in insurance, which should assist in the navigation of when to deploy ‘left brain’ or ‘right brain’ thinking. As a result of the cost-of-living crisis, many people are looking to cut expenses wherever they can. In attending to this crisis, there needs to be a balance in both logical and emotional thought. There needs to be a balance in attending to this crisis. A customer’s primary concern may be cost, and using right brain/emotional thinking we may be driven to provide them with a cheaper policy. However, we must also use logical thinking – what will ultimately save the client money long term? If they need to make a claim, will this cheaper policy actually provide the help they need? Peter suggests that ‘we should fundamentally be providing products that enable people to go about their lives without undue risks’.

Best Moments/Key Quotes

“People work for organisations that they want to work for, and that they enjoy being part of. Our job as leaders, I think, has changed enormously over the last few years. It's all about creating an environment where people want to work for us. Employers had the power 10 years ago. I'd say employees have the power now. And that's a much nicer place to be.”

“It's a problem that we haven't quite managed to deal with yet, actually how to communicate to customers in a way that they want to be communicated with. We still just inundate customers with utter nonsense: the renewal invites, the PDF documents with 80 pages that no one is ever going to read. And that's our standard mode of communication with customers, which I think is appalling and needs to change.”

“The big change will be that I think the regulator will expect us to deliver products that are going to work… We have to be talking to our customers truly understand what they need, and then make sure we're doing our job, so that when something does go wrong, they are looked after.”

Resources

The BIBA Pod: https://thebibaconference.org.uk/feed/podcast/

BIBA - BIBA Homepage - British Insurance Brokers' Association

Howden Group - Howden Broking Group - Global Website (howdengroup.com)

Stella Insurance AU - Stella Insurance - Insurance Provider for women in Australia

Stella Insurance UK - Home - Stella Insurance (withstella.co.uk)

Human Business with Sam White: https://www.spreaker.com/show/human-business

About the Guest

Sam White is the Founder and CEO of Stella Insurance, which launched in Australia in 2020 and launched in the UK in November 2022. A pioneer in the insurance industry, Sam is also host of the Human Business Podcast.

Sam’s LinkedIn Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sam-white-093b9b22/

Steve White is the CEO of the British Insurance Brokers Association (BIBA), with an extensive career in the insurance industry. He previously worked for Norwich Union, followed by a 21-year stint at Orion Insurance Company, a few years with the General Insurance Standards Council, and subsequently, the Financial Services Authority.

Steve’s LinkedIn Profile: https://uk.linkedin.com/in/steve-white-437107a

Peter Blanc is the Exec Chair for Howden UK and Ireland, and the CEO of Aston Lark. He founded Aston Lark by merging Aston Scott Group with Lark Group in 2017. The business has completed 56 acquisitions since then, and Peter subsequently sold the business to Howden. Aston Lark now leads the M&A drive for Howden.

Peter’s LinkedIn Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/peter-blanc-0402961a/

About the Host

Sarah Myerscough is the Sales and Marketing Director of Boston Tullis Group. The founder of The Insurance Brokers Podcast, she brings a wealth of experience and a fresh perspective on communication in the insurance sector. Boston Tullis works with insurance professionals to build effective communication both internally and externally through podcasting, event reporting, videography, and internal communications facilitation.

Website: https://bostontullis.co.uk/

Evaluation Link: https://s.bostontullis.co.uk/s/podcastevaluation

Are you concerned about the rising cost of doing business?

Are you unsure about how you can advise and support the small businesses most deeply affected by this crisis?

In this episode, we’re very pleased to be speaking with David Perry, Managing Director of the FSB Insurance Service, about the rising cost of doing business and the role of insurance in confronting and mitigating this crisis. In conversation with Boston Tullis’ Sarah Myerscough, he focuses specifically on how smaller firms struggling with paying their insurance premiums are navigating this crisis alongside the various other political and economic calamities currently unfurling. Furthermore, he explains the steps which both brokers and insurers can take to ease the pressure on small businesses during this period, with reference to a recent report conducted by the FSB which assesses the impact of the hard insurance market on SMEs.

Quote of the Episode

“Our biggest concern is that smaller firms quite often need as much advice as bigger firms, because a lot of them do all sorts of very different things. They just don't do it quite as much as a very large business does. But they still have the same complexities, the same issues to face, and they need to have people to talk to.”

Throughout the episode, David repeatedly emphasises that the size of a business should not impact upon the attention it is paid by insurers and brokers. There is not, and cannot be, a generic, one-size-fits-all approach to tackling problems for small businesses, all of which have their own unique intricacies and issues which should be reflected in their insurance cover. As such, SMEs should be treated as a priority, rather than a sidenote, during the cost of doing business crisis, and must be given sufficient advice and support to ensure that they are paying for appropriate cover.

Key Takeaways

The UK market is predominantly made up of VSMEs, so it’s really important to understand how the rise in premiums and other issues relating to insurance affects this target market. In the recent survey conducted by the FSB (Federation of Small Businesses), 30% of respondents noted that they couldn’t understand their policy. Additionally, one in six had been forced to switch their cover due to availability or price, but they’d had to take a cover reduction.

SMEs and VSMEs are cutting costs in order to pay for their insurance, highlighting a recognition on their behalf of its value and importance. This should be reflected in how brokers and insurers support small businesses, particularly during this period of immense economic turbulence. A key means of doing so would be to streamline the rhetoric of policies and make them more comprehensive to those not literate in more complex insurance jargon.

That being said, insurers must not conflate streamlining with oversimplification. In the episode, David notes that insurers are always trying to keep their question sets down when accommodating e-trade. As such, they’re not always able to get the information needed to equip a business with the right cover. The simplification of e-trade systems can mean that small businesses aren’t always asked the right questions, leading them to be directed to a mid-market or branch team who are generally busier with larger, more complicated projects. Yet, if such clients are advised to purchase a potentially unsuitable policy, it won’t be obvious to them. This possibility of misunderstanding can also contribute to the current PR crisis facing the insurance industry, addressed in a recent episode of the podcast featuring Brett Sainty.

Time is of the essence for SMEs and VSMs, so the simpler the process of insuring them, the better, provided that they are receiving the right advice. Furthermore, small businesses are always evolving. Detailed question sets are needed to tease out the finer details of each business to ensure that the right insurance policy is purchased.

Even as it becomes swamped by other political and economic issues and changes, the conversation around the cost of doing business crisis needs to be kept alive. If you are a small business needing advice and support during this period, the FSB offers a wealth of helpful blogs and articles, linked below.

Best Moments/Key Quotes

“We've done a bit of work on the results [of the FSB report]. And they did show, as we all expected, that the hard market was having its impact on businesses and small businesses. In particular, three out of five of the respondents said that their premium had risen. And over half of those people said it had risen by more than 10%.”

“Even before the COVID crisis, the hot market was sort of kicked off by a bit of a crisis in the PI market. We've been shouting about that since January 2020. And it still seems to be a problem.”

“These are busy, busy people – they've not got a department of people placing their insurance. The person that's buying the insurance is often the same person that's making the stuff or delivering the stuff or building the stuff, and haven’t got time, so the simpler we can make it, the better. And we're all in favour of that, provided that the person that we're talking to is giving the right advice.”

‘In our survey 24% of SMEs were cutting other costs in order to pay for insurance, because they recognise the value of it and how important it is.’

Resources

FSB: https://www.fsb.org.uk/

The FSB Insurance Service: https://fsb-insurance-service.com/

FSB Blogs: https://fsb-insurance-service.com/fsb-insurance-service-blog/

The FSB Survey into the cost of doing business crisis - Report: https://www.fsb.org.uk/resource-report/paying-a-premium.html

About the Guest

David Perry is the Managing Director of the FSB Insurance Service, with 30 years’ business experience and previously holding senior positions in Torlot Foy, Minority Venture Partners, Towergate Insurance, and more.

About the Host

Sarah Myerscough is the Sales and Marketing Director of Boston Tullis Group. The founder of The Insurance Brokers Podcast, she brings a wealth of marketing experience and a fresh perspective on marketing in the insurance sector. Boston Tullis works with insurance brokers to offer solutions to business development ceilings, particularly in the rapidly developing fields of video marketing and thought leadership.

Website: https://bostontullis.co.uk/ 

Evaluation Link: https://s.bostontullis.co.uk/s/podcastevaluation 

Are you concerned about the rapid acceleration of technology implementation across the insurance industry? Are you unsure how new Insurtech solutions can help brokers in delivering for their clients?

In this episode of the Insurance Broker Podcast, we are very pleased to be speaking with Natalie Sankala, Operations Director of TCi Futures. Originally an Insurtech-oriented research and development arm of Thomas Carroll Group, the business has since grown into a subsidiary in its own right, exploring new technology solutions for brokers and developing exciting new platforms for businesses. In conversation with Boston Tullis’ Sarah Myerscough, Natalie discusses the origins of TCi Futures and how it intends to develop, in simultaneity with the increased incorporation of technology across the insurance industry. She highlights the importance of growing your technological understanding and capability for futureproofing your business.

Quote of the Episode

“We have to be led by the changing needs of the clients and customer. And I think that's kind of where we came from – we understand the world around us is changing, and it's changing a lot faster than any of us could have anticipated. So, we have to put those changing needs first. I believe that we're seeing that kind of next generation of decision makers, and we need to understand how and where they want to transact where they want to do business. I'm quite passionate about creating this human centred business, with the digital toolkit so that we can be more efficient, we can automate our processes and really add value to all of our day jobs. So that, you know, we're giving that advice and the human touch where it's most important.”

Natalie notes that TCi Futures aims to be a ‘human-centred business’, armed with a ‘digital toolkit’ to remain atop of incumbent technology trends within the industry. She calls for a similar strategy for brokers, who need to acquire a suitable knowledge and understanding of technology to keep ahead in the market, and to maintain efficiency in their processes in order to deliver the best solutions they can for clients. Even as the industry increasingly incorporates, and becomes increasingly reliant upon technology, Natalie maintains that the customer must always come first in all decision-making, and that technology must be used in order to facilitate the human interactions that remain quintessential to insurance.

Key Takeaways

Natalie highlights that the insurance industry remains traditionalist in many respects, with many legacy systems to deal with. Thus, the opportunities of Insurtech, using new software and technologies to streamline the services we offer as an industry are bountiful and hugely exciting, and do not mean that the prioritisation of customer needs and human interaction need be lost. Technology needs to first and foremost be used to make the deliverance of this service more efficient and user-friendly for customers.

However, it does require brokers to use some different skills, and to acquire new knowledge. Natalie notes that in an Insurtech business, you become not just insurance professionals, but also technology experts. TCi Futures have taken on their first full stack developer, signalling the opportunities for increased collaboration between insurance and technology businesses, enabling a change in mindset about how insurance does and ought to work.

TCi are becoming quite independent from Thomas Carroll Group, and believe that they have a role to play in educating and supporting other brokers through the changes that new technologies will bring in the years to come. Broking is due to transform, and Insurtech platforms and solutions will be at the forefront of that transition.

While most brokers are used to having traditional conversations around business risk, TCi Futures want to broaden this, to explore more generally what’s troubling brokers within their businesses and how, through the use of technology, smart platforms and software, TCi can help. If you’re facing challenges and pain points that could be curbed with technology, get in touch with Natalie today – her contact details are below!

Best Moments/Key Quotes

“What we've realised now is that through technology, and also having the right people around us, that actually anything is possible. So, we can kind of go ahead with that blank piece of paper and put those plans into practice.”

“What I've learned, and kind of the biggest challenge really is that we can come now collide some very different skills. So as an example, we've taken on our very first full stack developer. It allows us to become not just insurance people, but we can now become quite technical in our conversation. So, I think bringing together these very different worlds is very exciting, whilst challenging. We have some mindsets to change.”

“It's about putting our people first. We really have to be listening to our clients, our colleagues, business friends. So, let's remember that whilst the technology is excellent, it's not going to work unless we have the right people around us.”

Resources

TCi Futures - https://www.tcifutures.co.uk/

Thomas Carroll Group - https://www.thomascarroll.co.uk/

About the Guest

Natalie Sankala is the Operations Director of TCi Futures. She has worked with Thomas Carroll for just over nine years, in sales, marketing and development. Through TCi Futures, she aims to disrupt the industry in a progressive way, to broaden the scope of what is possible through technology, by putting time and resources into exploring ways of doing things differently.

Natalie’s LinkedIn Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/natalie-sankala-b8690676/

NATALIE’S EMAIL

About the Host

Sarah Myerscough is the Sales and Marketing Director of Boston Tullis Group. The founder of The Insurance Brokers Podcast, she brings a wealth of experience and a fresh perspective on communication in the insurance sector. Boston Tullis works with insurance professionals to build effective communication both internally and externally through podcasting, event reporting, videography, and internal communications facilitation.

Website: https://bostontullis.co.uk/ 

Evaluation Link: https://s.bostontullis.co.uk/s/podcastevaluation 

Sarah Myerscough and Richard Higham discuss the tricky question of trust in our rapidly changing world.

Quote of the Episode

"Trust isn't random.  It can be managed."

About the Host

Sarah Myerscough is the Sales and Marketing Director of Boston Tullis Group. The founder of the insurance Brokers Podcast, she brings a wealth of marketing experience and a fresh perspective on marketing in the insurance sector. Boston Tullis is a network of industry professionals working with insurance brokers to offer solutions to business development ceilings, particularly in the rapidly developing fields of video marketing and thought leadership.

Connect with Sarah

https://www.facebook.com/bostontullis  

https://www.linkedin.com/company/bostontullis/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/sarahmyerscough/

https://bostontullis.co.uk/

About the Guest 

GSR Podcast host, Richard Higham writes, speaks, consults, coaches and trains on sales performance in a changing world. He serves as Managing Director of SalesLevers and as Chair of Gyroscope International.

Connect with Richard

www.saleslevers.com   

www.gyroscope-international

HOSTED BY: Sarah Myerscough, Sarah.Myerscough@bostontullis.co.uk mobile: 07821903628

DISCLAIMER: The views, thoughts and opinions expressed in this podcast belong solely to the host and guest speakers. Please conduct your own due diligence.

On today's episode, we’re delighted to be speaking to James Willison of Web Connectivity Limited (WCL). James’ background is in management consultancy as well as the Lloyds and London market. He chats with us today about his experience, knowledge and shares his exciting news regarding the future of WCL.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES:

• 2020 was the year that, since beginning, we see the underwriting rooms shut for the first time in its history.

• London, company and Lloyd’s markets have continued to trade whereas 10/15 years ago, the pandemic would have certainly caused a different outcome.

• The pandemic has proved that many peoples’ jobs can be done remotely and from home.

• Placing platforms limited (PPL) is taking the market by storm, judging by recent volumes but they are not the only trading platform to be approved!

BEST MOMENTS:

‘’What's the C Suite, which would require a change in electronic placement, electronic accounting? Is it the CEO? Is it the CFO? Now we actually know it’s COVID!’’

‘’Overnight, all of those face-to-face meetings, all of that placement activity, which would typically happen in the room, people putting wet stamps down on physical pieces of paper had to go… There had to be another way of doing that.’’

‘’…you really want to look at friction in the London market or any market. You start rekeying data, you invariably then introduce errors - it's just a fact of life but actually those errors get lost because there are so many touchpoints exasperated through the process.’’

RESOURCES:

Web Connectivity website: https://webconnectivityltd.com/

James’ Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jameswillison/

ABOUT THE GUEST

James Willison is the Managing Director of Web Connectivity Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of Advisen, based in London. James’ responsibilities include working with clients on the implementation of significant change and business process improvement projects. In addition, James is responsible for lead generation, sales and marketing and account management of many of the world’s largest insurance and reinsurance organisations.

ABOUT THE HOST

Sarah Myerscough is the Sales and Marketing Director of Boston Tullis Group. The founder of The Insurance Brokers Podcast, she brings a wealth of marketing experience and a fresh perspective on marketing in the insurance sector. Boston Tullis works with insurance brokers to offer solutions to business development ceilings, particularly in the rapidly developing fields of video marketing and thought leadership.

If you would like Sarah to help you develop an integrated marketing strategy, using state of the art concepts, then please book a free 20 min call via Calendly 

Website: https://bostontullis.co.uk/

Evaluation Link: https://s.bostontullis.co.uk/s/podcastevaluation

On today's episode, we’re excited to be chatting to Declan Murray, Marketing Business Partner at Willis Towers Watson Networks. We’re talking all things marketing in the insurance industry. You can learn more about how you can ‘up your game’ using the hints and tips Declan provided in this episode and also hear about hot topics such as finding your audience, a niche, paid advertising and social media.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES:

• The insurance industry and marketing is really focused around one day a year… renewals.

• All marketing strategies should be realistic so that you can expect realistic results.

• Pricing is fundamental. With experience comes a professional service and with a professional service comes an appropriate cost.

• Getting to know your audience will be a crucial element to any type of marketing plan or strategy.

• Looking into your competitors isn’t a bad thing – it’s good to understand their stance so you can figure out what you could do better.

BEST MOMENTS:

‘’Quite often, there is an illusion, or perhaps a disillusion, that by doing an individual marketing campaign, the phones will jump off the wall with the vast responses you get. In reality, that doesn’t happen.’’

‘’As long as you know the industry and can create a digital reputation of expertise and excellence, you could very quickly overnight become recognised as a leader or an expert in a particular field.’’

‘’…just get to know your audience, whether it's your existing clients, who you should know already, but your prospects, get to know them too.’’

‘’It is the easiest thing in the world say we provide fantastic service, and my response is, well, you should do because I pay you enough money. Service is an expectation.’’

RESOURCES:

Willis Towers Watson Networks website: https://wtwnetworks.com/

Declan’s Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/declan-murray-8690288/

ABOUT THE GUEST

Declan Murray is the Marketing Business Partner for Willis Towers Watson Networks and provides marketing advice, support and guidance to a network of quality independent insurance brokers across the UK and Northern Ireland. His specialities include identifying and developing marketing campaigns, defining bespoke strategies and providing consultancy services to give tailored advice.

ABOUT THE HOST

Sarah Myerscough is the Sales and Marketing Director of Boston Tullis Group. The founder of The Insurance Brokers Podcast, she brings a wealth of marketing experience and a fresh perspective on marketing in the insurance sector. Boston Tullis works with insurance brokers to offer solutions to business development ceilings, particularly in the rapidly developing fields of video marketing and thought leadership.

If you would like Sarah to help you develop an integrated marketing strategy, using state of the art concepts, then please book a free 20 min call via Calendly 

Website: https://bostontullis.co.uk/

Evaluation Link: https://s.bostontullis.co.uk/s/podcastevaluation

Are you intrigued by how machine learning and AI could soon transform the insurance market?

Are you starting a new business and looking for some inspiration?

In this episode of the Insurance Broker Podcast, we’re thrilled to be speaking with Armin Kia, CEO and co-founder of Driverly, a car insurance subscription service which uses machine-learning software to calculate insurance prices tailored to drivers’ individual habits behind the wheel. In this fascinating conversation with Boston Tullis’ Sarah Myerscough, Armin explains how finding a like-minded team was key to Driverly’s rapid entry to the market and expansion. Furthermore, he explains how the layering of different kinds of data simultaneously can create insurance solutions which fairly and accurately meet the needs of customers, perhaps paving the way for a future of the industry to which data is the key.

Quote of the Episode

“I think customers are open to sharing their data if there is a good value exchange for them. And by value exchange, I don't mean just price. Yes, price is important. But for a case like ours, where everything is built around that data, I think there's a very good reason for collecting the data.”

Driverly works by collecting data about a driver’s behaviour on the road in real time, via an app installed on the user’s phone, which is equipped with highly accurate motion sensors. With the user’s permission, this data is layered with information on weather and road conditions to create a highly accurate profile of a driver’s habits, from which a pricing structure for their car insurance can be built. In this way, the platform more fairly determines how much drivers should be paying for their insurance relative to their ability and safety behind the wheel, and it rewards them for their good driving via vouchers and discounts. Ultimately, the app demonstrates that people are willing to share their data if you can demonstrate that you will use it wisely, and to customers’ advantage and benefit.

Key Takeaways

In its customer-driven approach, Driverly attempts to uproot the conventional manner in which car insurance is sold by using AI and machine learning to calculate the best possible price for customers. As the car insurance market is driven by broad and often misleading demographic data which unfairly represents certain groups, especially young and new drivers, Driverly seeks to fill the gap by calculating prices individually tailored to you.

This flexibility is accentuated by its monthly subscription model. Unlike conventional annual car insurance policies, this grants customers the freedom to cancel their insurance as and when they wish. Yet, this is not only advantageous to the customer. The constant stream of real-time driving data from a user’s phone grants the company flexibility to adjust prices based on this new data as it is received.

The company was founded with three central pillars: Customer, Data, and Technology. These pillars drove the way in which new employees were onboarded, leading to the curation of a well-rounded team of enthusiastic individuals who share the same common vision. As Sarah notes in the episode, finding great people can be a business’ biggest challenge, and also its greatest achievement. Everyone has their own subjective ideas of how things should operate within a business, with their own emotional perspectives and outlooks. As such, to unite a cohesive team, particularly in such a short space of time as Driverly achieved, is a remarkable achievement.

Best Moments/Key Quotes

“I think putting together a team is always a challenge in the startup world. You don't have a big firm and the sort of stability that comes with it. And it's always a leap of faith; even though you're paid, and you're an employee, you're always trusting a startup when you join them.”

“Every single piece of data that we collect is built into the bread and butter of our proposition. So, we use that data to give something back to the customer. We give them feedback on how they drive, we show them their score, in terms of using their phone, acceleration, braking speed.”

“Every feature we have on the app is designed to improve the loss ratio, to improve the risk of customers having an accident, by incentivizing them, and reminding them about how they drive and giving them tips. We have a driver to club where they can compete. So, we get to take the gamification to the next level, by creating some peer pressure to improve driving behaviour as well. So, all of that is designed to improve the loss ratio and improve the claims performance.”

‘If data is at the core of what you do, then you design your processes, your technology, everything around it.’

Resources

https://www.driverly-insurance.co.uk/

About the Guest

Armin Kia is the CEO and co-founder of Driverly, a car insurance platform established in 2021, offering flexible prices on a monthly subscription basis. An entrepreneur making huge waves in the Insurtech world, Armin is well-placed to speak to how technology will soon, and is already, transforming the way we approach and use insurance.

Armin’s LinkedIn Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/armin-kia-16951239/

About the Host

Sarah Myerscough is the Sales and Marketing Director of Boston Tullis Group. The founder of The Insurance Brokers Podcast, she brings a wealth of marketing experience and a fresh perspective on marketing in the insurance sector. Boston Tullis works with insurance brokers to offer solutions to business development ceilings, particularly in the rapidly developing fields of video marketing and thought leadership.

Website: https://bostontullis.co.uk/ 

Evaluation Link: https://s.bostontullis.co.uk/s/podcastevaluation 

How important is marketing for insurance businesses? Can it significantly boost your sales? What is the value of in-house or external marketing content writers and creators?

In this episode of the Insurance Broker Podcast, we’re thrilled to be speaking with the brilliant Lucy Mowatt, founder of bespoke agency Method Marketing. In conversation with Boston Tullis’ Sarah Myerscough, she explains why marketing is generally undervalued in regulated industries like insurance, and highlights five key challenges to marketing insurance products. She emphasises the personal element of marketing content as a potentially powerful means of humanising your brand, and how a combined marketing and sales strategy can create a significant impact in your business.

Quote of the Episode

“[In many insurance businesses] there is not necessarily a strategy from the top-down. So, marketing is more of a reactive activity rather than a proactive activity. There's no consistency with what's happening. Then things happen at the last minute, so it really does feel like there is not enough time to get everything done, because it's not in the plan or there's no time set aside for it.”

Lucy identifies a key problem with the marketing practices of many insurance businesses; that being that there is often a lack of an instructive strategy. It is often left to the last minute, reacting to changes in customer behaviours or broader industry trends, rather than remaining a step ahead. Hence, she argues that marketing must become more cohesively integrated into how insurance businesses conduct sales, and that the results of doing so are often highly fruitful.

Key Takeaways

Both Lucy and Sarah suggest that marketing and sales can hugely complement each other, if done well. However, marketing is arguably often undervalued and under-prioritised in insurance businesses, as it can be considered somewhat wishy-washy, while sales has a direct impact on the business’ bottom line. This is a significant underestimation of the value of marketing, but it must be done well in order to have a sizeable impact. It needs to be consistent, be it through social media posts on a regular basis, blogs uploaded to your website, or e-shot material. You cannot simply send out the same emails or upload the same posts and expect improved sales results. Conversely, your business needs to be constantly trying to expand who is receiving your message, and reiterating and re-expressing that message in new and interesting ways to maintain high engagement and thereby facilitating consistent or improved sales.

Is there a value to content writers? Or is AI-generated content such as that produced by ChatGPT and similar software the future? For Lucy, content writers aren’t going anywhere. The need for well-informed research and editing remains paramount. In a regulated industry, you need to know your sources and to be very careful with the information you put across. ChatGPT, by contrast, uses Wikipedia and other untrustworthy sources to generate ostensibly factual information, which in a regulated sector can be dangerous. Furthermore, the content it produces is collated from blogs, articles and posts that are already in the online ether. As such, it cannot provide any new takes, or offer any original insights or opinions. The human element to good marketing is key – it can be the difference between making and missing a sale.

Lucy highlights five key challenges to marketing insurance:

1. Finding time – for your marketing to make a significant impact, it needs to be a priority within your business, and integrated into your broader sales strategy.
2. Tech integration vs legacy data – CRM data analysis can be hugely beneficial to creating targeted marketing content, but many insurance businesses rely on old technology, and retain huge banks of legacy data. Transitioning to the use of this new software and streamlining your data can facilitate smoother client communications, and enable your marketing to be much more fruitfully focused on your target market.
3. Use of jargon – it is key to make sure that your communications are clear and informative, but the insurance industry deals with concepts and terminology that is often unfamiliar to a layperson, and which can be alienating and confusing if found in your marketing content.
4. Reporting marketing statistics – it is difficult to determine exactly how well your marketing spend is being delivered upon. Lucy argues that the engagement rate of social media posts and the subsequent traffic to your website can be a very strong indicator of good marketing material.
5. Compliance – your marketing and compliance teams need to communicate with each other to ensure that the right message is always being put across to your existing and prospective clients.

Best Moments/Key Quotes

“A lot of times with our clients, what we'll say is, ‘You are the experts in what you do in insurance, but we are the marketing communication specialists. So, if we work together, we can help create something that will speak to the layperson who's not in the industry in a way that they will understand and be able to apply it to their life or their business.’ So, they understand the benefits. Sometimes you don't realise that not everybody knows about a particular term or what a particular term means.”

“If your readers don't get it, you switch them off. A lot of the time, people won't persevere because they don't want to feel like they’re stupid. You lose them at that point.”

“I think the average is something like 3% engagement rate on most social media channels. So, if you can get anything above that, that's fantastic. We've seen like certain posts do 45% engagement rates, or like on a one off, which I think is fantastic. Aiming for 5% or higher, I think is a good aim, and [you can] learn from what works.”

Resources

Solve For Happy: Engineer Your Path to Joy by Mo Gawdat, former Chief Business Officer at GoogleX

About the Guest

Lucy Mowatt is the founder of Method Marketing, a content marketing agency based in Norwich. The agency specialises in working with clients in regulated and compliance-heavy industries, because they have very specific needs around writing articles, website content, and podcasting. Before establishing Method, her previous role was in-house marketing at an insurance broker.

Lucy’s LinkedIn Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lucymowatt/

About the Host

Sarah Myerscough is the Sales and Marketing Director of Boston Tullis Group. The founder of The Insurance Brokers Podcast, she brings a wealth of marketing experience and a fresh perspective on marketing in the insurance sector. Boston Tullis works with insurance brokers to offer solutions to business development ceilings, particularly in the rapidly developing fields of video marketing and thought leadership.

Website: https://bostontullis.co.uk/v 

Evaluation Link: https://s.bostontullis.co.uk/s/podcastevaluation 

Are you concerned about how your business, and the insurance industry as a whole, is perceived by the public?

In this mini episode of the Insurance Brokers’ Podcast, we’re thrilled to be speaking with Brett Sainty, CEO of BLW Insurance Brokers. As a highly experienced and regarded industry professional, Brett is well-placed to discuss the broader public perception of insurers, which he suggests is gravely insufficient. In conversation with Boston Tullis’ Sarah Myerscough, he suggests that the industry is currently facing a significant PR crisis due to an array of circumstances both created by and predating the pandemic, and that this can only be absolved by deeper consideration of the essential needs of customers.

Quote of the Episode

“There's no point in asking chief executives, insurers, or large brokers whether or not there's a PR crisis in the insurance industry. There is. And it's the perception of the customers that we need to be focusing on.”

Brett suggests that the PR crisis facing the insurance industry is irrefutable, and that extensive debate as to whether or not it is happening only delays attempts to resolve it. This must necessarily be rooted, he argues, in a reorientation of public perception of insurers and brokers, which can be achieved, first and foremost, by thinking about the customer above all else.

Key Takeaways

For Brett, the customer service experience offered by the insurance industry is woeful. He suggests that insurance businesses would be well-rewarded, both in the eyes of the public and in the development of the services they offer, by a deeper collective consideration of the customer’s needs.

Too many risks are declared uninsurable, despite the fact that they could be insured at a risk that the customer would be happy with. The industry’s unwillingness to accept more challenging risks that may require some new technical expertise or alterations to certain terms and conditions is halting its ability to recover its public reputation.

The industry’s contribution to society has perhaps never been more vital. In order to encourage entrepreneurial ingenuity, we must return to the basics: the job of insurance is to transfer risk from the balance sheet of businesses.  As rates are inevitably hardening due to challenges from the economy, we need to ensure that, while making an underwriting profit is important, our first priority must be the deliverance of this service, and clear communication with those paying premiums.

Best Moments/Key Quotes

“Have we got a PR crisis in the insurance industry? Yes, we have, and pretending otherwise is just delaying the time that it will take us to fix it.”

“Many of these risks that are declared uninsurable can be insured at a limit that the customer is happy with. So, we've got to work harder that really hard at that, and open our minds to it, and stop moving stuff onto the ‘too difficult’ pile.”

“I think the industry holistically would be really, really well-rewarded if they just paused for a moment, collectively, and thought about the customer.”

“If we're actively encouraging an entrepreneurial spirit in this country, we have to go back to the basis that the job of insurance is to transfer risk from the balance sheet of these businesses.”

Resources

BLW Insurance Brokers - https://www.blwinsurance.com/

About the Guest

Brett Sainty is the CEO of BLW Insurance Brokers, a multifaceted insurance solutions provider based in Essex. Brett has over 30 years’ experience in the industry, and is a board member of BIBA International and the Wholesale Brokers’ Advisory Board.

Brett’s LinkedIn Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brett-sainty-22407b33/

About the Host

Sarah Myerscough is the Sales and Marketing Director of Boston Tullis Group. The founder of The Insurance Brokers Podcast, she brings a wealth of marketing experience and a fresh perspective on marketing in the insurance sector. Boston Tullis works with insurance brokers to offer solutions to business development ceilings, particularly in the rapidly developing fields of video marketing and thought leadership.

Website: https://bostontullis.co.uk/ 

Evaluation Link: https://s.bostontullis.co.uk/s/podcastevaluation 

Is your brokerage fully maximising the support you can give your clients and any changes they have had to make to their process during COVID? Have you had to innovate your business in any way? What relief could you and your clients be eligible for? On today's episode, we’re excited to be chatting to Director of Incentives and Reliefs at Markel, Justine Dignam. Justine is responsible for driving the development, growth and management of the tax incentives and relief division of Markel Tax. She joins us to discuss who, why, how, when and what is R&D Tax Relief and how it applies to the insurance industry.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES:

• There are tangible ways in which insurance brokers and clients of insurance brokers should be looking at their tax position.

• R&D Tax Relief is provided by the UK government and is one of the UK’s most generous tax reliefs.

• There are 6 million businesses classified as UK SMEs and only 60,000 claim enough for R&D Tax Relief – this means a lot of businesses are not aware of this.

• If you’ve recently pivoted your business and you’ve had to develop processes, planning and testing into your development, it’s worth having a conversation about R&D Tax Relief.

BEST MOMENTS:

‘’The analogy that I always work with is a little bit like if you've got heart condition and you went to your GP and said, I really feel that I've got a problem with my heart, you certainly wouldn't expect your GP to say ok, hop on the bed, and I'll take a look - you would expect that they would refer you to a cardiologist to give you specialist advice. That's how we work with our referral partners throughout the UK.’’

‘’Going back to that uncertainty, that's really very important because around that uncertainty is where the R&D kind of development work is incurred.’’

‘’If somebody has had a significant spend on a project where they've had to overcome some technical uncertainties or made advances in processes, then that's definitely worthy of a conversation. We can ascertain whether somebody's got a valid R&D claim within a 10-15 minute telephone conversation.’’

RESOURCES:

Justine Dignam’s profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/justine-dignam-17423b16/

Justine’s email address: Justine.dignam@markel.com

ABOUT THE GUEST

Justine joined Markel in 2014 and has been responsible for leading the strategy and development of introducing tax incentives and reliefs to accountancy partners. Previously she has worked within the professional service and accountancy sector in senior positions and at partner level for many years. She has an Msc in Marketing Management, holds the CIM DipM qualification, is a Chartered Marketer and a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Marketing.

ABOUT THE HOST

Sarah Myerscough is the Sales and Marketing Director of Boston Tullis Group. The founder of The Insurance Brokers Podcast, she brings a wealth of marketing experience and a fresh perspective on marketing in the insurance sector. Boston Tullis works with insurance brokers to offer solutions to business development ceilings, particularly in the rapidly developing fields of video marketing and thought leadership.

If you would like Sarah to help you develop an integrated marketing strategy, using state of the art concepts, then please book a free 20 min call via Calendly 

Website: https://bostontullis.co.uk/

Evaluation Link: https://s.bostontullis.co.uk/s/podcastevaluation

Good mental health is essential to our general wellbeing. Depending on how we manage it, it can be highly conducive, or deeply destructive to our productive output. As we gradually approach the aftermath of a world-changing pandemic, incorporating such awareness into the workplace, and indeed, all areas of our lives, has never been more urgent.

In this special hybrid episode, the worlds of the Insurance Brokers Podcast and Coffee, Calm & Connection merge. We are delighted to be speaking with Adrian Saunders, Commercial Director of Ecclesiastical Insurance, which recently conducted its annual survey regarding mental health within the insurance broker market. In conversation with Boston Tullis’ Sarah Myerscough, he discusses the often-surprising results of the survey, which suggest that while considerable strides have been made towards boosting mental health awareness and support at work, there remains progress to be made.

Quote of the Episode

“If, as most people have been doing, they've been working remotely, perhaps there's that sense of detachment where they don't feel able [to talk about mental health] … There's no observation going on. So, you know, there's probably less of managers actually seeing their teams, and seeing individuals, or being able to pick up any upon any signs, or just asking that question: ‘Are you okay?’”

The experience of the pandemic completely shattered the way in which we work, our general sense of separation between our public and private lives, and the way we engage with others. In forcing us apart for so long, it could be argued that the pandemic eroded much of the progress being made towards greater mental health awareness and support within the workplace. The artificiality of a digital environment with which many of us were forced to acclimatise in order to continue working, while highly productive for some, left others feeling dejected and struggling to cope. Therefore, it is crucial that we understand the profound importance of providing mental health support in the workplace as we emerge from the chaos of multiple lockdowns, and enter 2022.

Key Takeaways

‘Less than half of people [now] feel comfortable talking about mental health in the workplace, whereas, back in 2019, it was actually really pretty high… three quarters of people felt comfortable.”

Since 2019, Ecclesiastical Insurance has annually conducted a survey in order to identify general sentiments towards mental health within the insurance broker market, namely:

• How are people feeling?
• What are the causes of any mental health issues?
• How supported do brokers feel?
• How comfortable are they in talking about mental health at work?

Several intriguing comparisons can be made between this year’s results and of those from 2019, pre-pandemic. A particularly concerning trend noted by Adrian in the episode was a significant drop in colleagues feeling comfortable with discussing mental health in the workplace, despite awareness of it and the provision of support for it reportedly increasing profoundly. Adrian suggests that this could be a result of remote working, due to which it isn’t necessarily as easy to share one’s private thoughts and feelings with a trusted colleague. Perhaps, also, this could be attributed to the pandemic, and our unanimous recognition that someone, somewhere, must have it worse than us, and therefore we may find our own problems folly or insignificant. This couldn’t be further from the truth. Everyone has problems, and they are all important and worth discussing with people you can trust. Therefore, we should endeavour to double down in our efforts to make the workplace a safe environment for employees to share their mental health woes, and from which they can receive valuable and meaningful support and advice.

An additional problem highlighted by the survey was stress being at an all-time high among brokers. This could arguably be caused by our increased inability to separate work from our personal lives.  They have become deeply intertwined, perhaps irreversibly, particularly given the extent to which working from home has continued to prosper even as COVID regulations have relaxed in recent months.

Adrian and Ecclesiastical’s UK intermediary leadership team have just completed their Mental Health First Aid training. If you would be interested in undergoing similar training, Adrian encourages brokers to speak with their account manager about it, or indeed to reach out to him directly.

Best Moments/Key Quotes

“A really worrying trend that came through this time is quite a significant drop in individuals feeling able to talk about mental health issues in the workplace, especially being able to talk about it with their line manager. So, you've got this really interesting thing going on. The businesses are providing more support, there is more awareness. But at an individual level, people are feeling less able to actually talk about it. And when I say a drop, I don't mean just a few percentage points… it's almost a third of a drop since we started the survey in 2019.”

“Myself and the intermediary leadership team in the UK, have all just completed our Mental Health First Aid training. And I think that's really important… If it means that we have one more conversation, or one better conversation, or somebody feels more able to come to any one of us to start that conversation, [then] that has been worth it.”

Resources

Ecclesiastical Insurance – Adrian Saunders’ ‘About’ page: https://www.ecclesiastical.com/bios/adrian-saunders/

Ecclesiastical Insurance – Mental Health and Wellbeing Insights: https://www.ecclesiastical.com/insights/mental-health/

Ecclesiastical Insurance – ‘Work-related mental health issues for brokers are at their highest-ever recorded levels’: https://www.ecclesiastical.com/insights/broker-mental-health/

Men Are from Mars, Women Are from Venus: A Practical Guide for Improving Communication and Getting What You Want in Your Relationships by John Gray

About the Guest

Adrian Saunders is the Commercial Director of Ecclesiastical Insurance. He’s worked in both the company and broker markets, and specialises in developing new enterprises within organisations, and re-engineering existing processes to develop strategy and increase ROL.

Connect with the Guest:

Adrian Saunders | LinkedIn

Specialist Insurance & Financial Services | Ecclesiastical

Ecclesiastical Insurance Group: Overview | LinkedIn

About the Host

Sarah Myerscough is the Sales and Marketing Director of Boston Tullis Group. The founder of The Insurance Brokers Podcast, she brings a wealth of marketing experience and a fresh perspective on marketing in the insurance sector. Boston Tullis works with insurance brokers to offer solutions to business development ceilings, particularly in the rapidly developing fields of video marketing and thought leadership.

If you would like Sarah to help you develop an integrated marketing strategy, using state of the art concepts, then please book a free 20 min call via Calendly.

 Website: https://bostontullis.co.uk/ 

Evaluation Link: https://s.bostontullis.co.uk/s/podcastevaluation 

On today's episode, we’re speaking to Jason Liu. Jason is the CEO of Zywave and has over 20 years’ experience leading multiple high growth software companies across the world. Since joining Zywave in the spring of 2018, Jason has implemented the sales and service models championed in his latest ebook ‘The Sales Revolution’ to build Zywave’s reputation as a leading insurance technology provider.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES:

• Over recent months, insurance agencies have transformed and sellers in the industry have to adopt the latest in sales processes and sales technologies.

• Because of how COVID19 has disrupted the world, the need to move towards best practices around prospecting and digital transformation has now been accelerated.

• The insurance agencies that have embraced digital transformation the quickest are the ones that are being the most successful.

• To stand out from competitors, you need to be adding value and incorporating solution selling into your marketing strategy.

• If you are embracing growth, you really have to embrace the digital and best practices mindset.

BEST MOMENTS:

‘’…I feel like COVID has pushed the world off the edge of the precipice we've been standing on and that's now where the chips are going to lie. So, during that fall, what do we need to be doing to make sure we land on our feet?’’

‘’One common theme in the COVID world is that they are talking about a ‘V’ shape recovery. I think what we see is a ‘K’ shaped recovery and people are talking more about that in the general marketplace.’’

‘’…inevitably, your book of business is starting to be disrupted. You're starting to lose customers at the low end and you are unfortunately going out of business or shrinking, but even now that your best customers are in distress, you have other agencies now who are trying to rebuild their book of business and so now they're trying to go after your top customers and that’s the world we are in now.’’

‘’…they can go to market with tremendous expertise around a specific area of business, whether it be construction or transportation, but they've also now put together very specific carrier relationships and carrier coverage. I think ultimately, that is increasingly how these large agencies are starting to try to differentiate, particularly trying to win the best customers.’’

‘’When you do the math, 57% is now digital. Four to seven people are involved in a digital buying process. Increasingly, you have to rely upon leverage and scale through digital means. Now with COVID, the pendulum is flipped even faster.’’

RESOURCES:

Zywave website: www.zywave.co.uk

Jason’s Linkedin Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jason-liu-a4757812/

Get your free copy of The Sales Revolution Ebook: https://www.insurancesalesrevolution.com/

ABOUT THE GUEST

Jason has 20+ years of experience leading organisations from here to central Europe and back, with a Midwestern flare that Zywave Partners know and love. As Zywave’s CEO, Jason is doing what he loves — facing new challenges head-on and helping companies grow. A modern-day adventurer, Jason has run with the bulls in Spain, trekked on a South African safari and fly-fished in New Zealand.

ABOUT THE HOST

Sarah Myerscough is the Sales and Marketing Director of Boston Tullis Group. The founder of The Insurance Brokers Podcast, she brings a wealth of marketing experience and a fresh perspective on marketing in the insurance sector. Boston Tullis works with insurance brokers to offer solutions to business development ceilings, particularly in the rapidly developing fields of video marketing and thought leadership.

If you would like Sarah to help you develop an integrated marketing strategy, using state of the art concepts, then please book a free 20 min call via Calendly 

Website: https://bostontullis.co.uk/

Evaluation Link: https://s.bostontullis.co.uk/s/podcastevaluation

Have you ever considered starting a podcast?

In this episode, we’re thrilled to be speaking with returning guest Adrian Saunders, Commercial Director of Ecclesiastical Insurance. In conversation with Boston Tullis’ Sarah Myerscough, he discusses Ecclesiastical’s first foray into podcasting, Covered In 15, a bi-weekly series of conversations regarding various topics relevant to brokers and insurance professionals, which has already proven to be highly successful. Adrian explains why and how the podcast started, highlighting the importance of sustaining audience engagement with your business’ content as general habits and preferences towards such material progress and develop.

Quote of the Episode

“How do we get content out to our audience of insurance brokers? The tried and tested method is regular e-shots. These are declining in engagement – as our broader societal habits with regard to content have evolved in the past few years. E-shots are perhaps not as effective as they used to be.”

During the pandemic, podcasts exploded into popularity, with listeners skyrocketing and the type of available podcasts diversifying immensely. During the episode, Adrian and Sarah speculate that this can be attributed to a broader shift in consumer trends with regard to content, namely a transition towards audio-visual material. As the interest in and traction of e-shots is seemingly in decline, podcasting arguably presents a great new opportunity to directly engage with your audience, and perhaps to generate a more meaningful connection with them than traditional corporate content can afford.

Key Takeaways

Adrian suggests that the newfound popularity of podcasts exemplifies the importance of bringing to life the business material which once was sent out in emails as e-shots. A key aspect of this is the personal element which podcasts necessarily entail; they feel far less corporate or alienating than traditional written content. Listening to someone explaining their individual, non-scripted opinions makes for great listening, and not only can improve engagement with your business’ material in a numerical sense, but also facilitates a deeper absorption of that information by your target audience.

Covered In 15 has already proven to be hugely successful – its download statistics are off the charts! This can perhaps be attributed to its conversational style; it provides useful information pertaining to a wide range of interesting topics via loosely structured discussions. These are unstilted by forced, corporate jargon and slogans, and the personable approach of the podcast’s hosts and guests creates an intimate feel, as though the listener is sitting in on a discussion amongst friends.

Furthermore, podcasts also offer a starting point to which listeners can be directed to other material, or from which even more content can be created. From one single podcast, clips, blogs, articles, and much more can be created, which can also be distributed to your community, both to broaden your audience and to ensure an increased engagement with the material you wish to disseminate. As Adrian notes, ‘the podcast always leads to something’; each episode of Covered In 15 is a springboard from which to launch listeners into engaging with other material, perhaps a page on the Ecclesiastical website, or a webinar, or a new service the business is offering.

Best Moments/Key Quotes

“Over the course of the last couple of years, people have started to consume material differently. People have started, perhaps, listening to podcasts more, we've got more attuned to using webinars, and we use our time a bit differently.”

“The concept of covered 15 is to provide every couple of weeks a running series that doesn't talk about product, it doesn't overtly talk about insurance, it doesn't really talk about cover and stuff like that. What it talks about is things that are hopefully interesting to insurance brokers and insurance professionals who tune in. It might link to insight or particular topics. We've done one on mental wellbeing. Equally, we've done one on the rising value of jewellery and handbags.”

“The challenge is, how do we grow that audience, and how do we keep people engaged?”

“In the last two years, the listenership for podcasting has grown exponentially, it's absolutely huge. And it's continuing to grow.”

“It's a way it was trying to get all of that great material that we've got promoted and presented better to the insurance market.”

Resources

The Covered in 15 Podcast - https://coveredin15.podbean.com/

Ecclesiastical Insurance: Brokers - https://ecclesiastical.com/brokers/

About the Guest

Adrian Saunders is the Commercial Director of Ecclesiastical Insurance. He’s worked in both the company and broker markets, and specialises in developing new enterprises within organisations, and re-engineering existing processes to develop strategy and increase ROL.

Connect with the Guest:

Adrian Saunders | LinkedIn

Specialist Insurance & Financial Services | Ecclesiastical

Ecclesiastical Insurance Group: Overview | LinkedIn

About the Host

Sarah Myerscough is the Sales and Marketing Director of Boston Tullis Group. The founder of The Insurance Brokers Podcast, she brings a wealth of marketing experience and a fresh perspective on marketing in the insurance sector. Boston Tullis works with insurance brokers to offer solutions to business development ceilings, particularly in the rapidly developing fields of video marketing and thought leadership.

Website: https://bostontullis.co.uk/ 

Evaluation Link: https://s.bostontullis.co.uk/s/podcastevaluation 

Are you considering putting your business on the market but unsure about what to do? Are you concerned about how selling your business might affect customer relationships, your employees, and the brand itself?

In this week’s episode, we’re thrilled to be speaking with David Leslie, Founder and Managing Director of Leslie James Acquisitions. In conversation with Boston Tullis’ Sarah Myerscough, he grants listeners a deep dive into the M&A (mergers and acquisitions) insurance market, focusing on what makes vendor businesses attractive to acquirers, and the intricacies of the valuations process. If you’re thinking about selling your business, listen now to find out how!

Quote of the Episode

“People are very important, particularly client-facing people within a business, because to disrupt those relationships between those people and the clients can have an adverse effect. Equally, brand is very important. Most acquirers recognised the importance of brand. Consequently, most acquirers will not seek to change the name and branding of an acquisition, certainly not for a good number of years.”

While a business acquisition can superficially seem to be a somewhat cutthroat affair, in the episode, David Leslie demystifies this notion, by emphasising that acquirers ultimately do not wish to disrupt the relationships between vendor businesses and their customers. He emphasises that in gearing up to a sale, vendors should have succession management in place, so that following the acquisition, the new owners will enable the business to continue operating smoothly. Furthermore, due to the importance of your business’ brand to the sale, it must be clear to the acquirer that this reputation, and the core values underpinning it, will remain unchanged through the transition of ownership. In a previous podcast, linked below, Tim Johnson emphasised that the community element of vendors is crucial to their valuation.

Key Takeaways

Acquirers are not seeking to fundamentally uproot the businesses they purchase, but to capitalise on the reputation that they have already established through the quality of their brand and their people. While in some situations, the acquirer will insert its own people into the business, a concern for many vendors, David notes that this tends to be from an oversight standpoint.

The brand value of a vendor may seem difficult to quantify. David notes that it is measured by its overall image, the impression of its professionalism, how well-known it is for quality customer service, will all increase the appetite of an acquirer. Therefore, you’d like to sell either soon or further down the line, building up your brand should be a priority.

Ultimately, when valuing a vendor, the first thing on the acquirer’s mind is a business’ EBIT DA and its income multiples. A lot of false figures have been thrown around regarding this topic. For a predominantly commercial broking business, David suggests that an acquirer is generally looking at income multiples between roughly two and two and a half times. However, David has seen businesses sold for less than those multiples, and others that have been sold for more.

Fundamentally a valuation boils down to acquirer appetite. The more interest a business has, the more it will sell for, in spite of EBIT DA. To get sufficient interest, its EBIT DA and income multiples will likely be very good, but there are other variables at stake – its brand and people. As such, David asserts that the reputation of a vendor is crucial, perhaps even above all else.

Best Moments/Key Quotes

“The value of the brand inherently relates to its image, its quality, its professionalism, all of these sorts of things. And the more well-known the brand is for quality, [good] customer service, and so on, the appetite of an acquirer will increase. And inevitably, increased appetite would lead to an increase in valuation.”

‘[As an acquirer], you are generally, for a predominantly commercial broking business, looking at income multiples somewhere between roughly two and two-and-a-half times.’

‘It’s very much a seller’s market, but it’s down to acquirers’ appetite.’

“For vendors, there are two types of sales essentially, one is a share purchase, or shared sale, where the company and its shares are being bought. So, the shareholders are selling their shares to the acquirer. The other is an asset often referred to as a book sale, where the vendor is essentially selling their book of business, possibly also, the premises, leasehold or freehold plus their staff.”

Resources

The Insurance Broker Podcast – Mergers and Acquisitions with Tim Johnson

Leslie James Acquisitions - https://lesliejamesacquisitions.com/

About the Guest

David Leslie is the Founder and Managing Director of Leslie James Acquisitions, an M&A mergers and acquisitions business operating solely within the insurance sector. He has 41 years’ experience in the sector, having worked for several years as a registered broker.

David Leslie’s LinkedIn Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/david-leslie-30696a24/

About the Host

Sarah Myerscough is the Sales and Marketing Director of Boston Tullis Group. The founder of The Insurance Brokers Podcast, she brings a wealth of marketing experience and a fresh perspective on marketing in the insurance sector. Boston Tullis works with insurance brokers to offer solutions to business development ceilings, particularly in the rapidly developing fields of video marketing and thought leadership.

Website: https://bostontullis.co.uk/ 

Evaluation Link: https://s.bostontullis.co.uk/s/podcastevaluation 

In part two of this three-part series, we’re discussing the three levers of increasing performance in your sales team. Richard has extensive experience in this field and across the series he shares his 12 key strategic areas to consider in your business, as well as practical tools and hints to support your planning, process and performance.

KEY TAKEAWAYS:

• Sales people have three levers and this is described as the ACE method. Activity, concertation and effectiveness.

• 44% of sellers give up after the first no from a customer.

• There are, on average, 6.8 people involved in the typical buying decision in a 500 person company.

• Businesses should focus on raising the level of conversation from transactional to strategic. Make sure you’re talking to the right people.

BEST MOMENTS:

“I always used to say that changing effectiveness was the best way to change the sales result. I've moved on that over the last couple of years and probably the quickest and simplest way to change the sale results… is simply to change the levels of activity.’’

‘’Your contact points with existing clients and with prospective clients need to be well thought through to be able to add value, but they also need to be consistent regular contact points.’’

‘’…the aim was activity, but if we don't have the right concentration of effort, we're just running around like headless chickens. It's all random. Concentration and effort is all about focus.’’

RESOURCES:

SalesLevers website: https://www.saleslevers.com/

ABOUT THE HOST

Sarah Myerscough is the Sales and Marketing Director of Boston Tullis Group. The founder of The Insurance Brokers Podcast, she brings a wealth of marketing experience and a fresh perspective on marketing in the insurance sector. Boston Tullis works with insurance brokers to offer solutions to business development ceilings, particularly in the rapidly developing fields of video marketing and thought leadership.

If you would like Sarah to help you develop an integrated marketing strategy, using state of the art concepts, then please book a free 20 min call via Calendly 

Website: https://bostontullis.co.uk/

Evaluation Link: https://s.bostontullis.co.uk/s/podcastevaluation

ABOUT THE GUEST

Richard Higham is an Executive Director at SalesLevers; a business that enables companies to drive sales performance in a radically changing sales world.

Richard has over 25 years of experience in sales performance consulting. He has won, designed and led consulting and training projects with global banks, insurers and professional services firms across five continents. He has also worked on sales performance in sectors ranging from logistics to manufacturing.

Richard also teaches on the Dublin Institute of Technology’s Postgraduate Diploma in International Sales course and runs business development and leadership programmes for Cass Business School at the University of London.

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/richardhigham

Twitter: https://twitter.com/RichardHigham

On today's episode, we’re excited to be chatting to James Mant, Managing Director of Greenfield Insurance Services. He talks with us today about his personal and professional journey through the insurance industry.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES:

• The most difficult part of the pandemic on the business was managing the expectations of both staff and clients.

• An important lesson learnt since going it alone is to always look at what the worst case scenario of a business decision could be before making it.

• The hardest part of running a business can be staff management because it’s important to get the culture correct.

• When thinking of going it alone, plan properly, underestimate your income by half, overestimate your overheads by 25% and have a brilliant support network around you.

BEST MOMENTS:

‘’When times are good and businesses are profitable, they're almost too busy to look at their insurance needs. When you get a downturn, it's one of the things that gets analysed first, like can we save money on insurance?’’

‘’I think the biggest challenge has been the loneliness, without any doubt, that's taken 12 to 18 months, I think, to get used to. I think in the very, very early stages, it felt very lonely.’’

‘’What is a business pressure can also turn into a personal life pressure. I think you can cope with one or the other but not both at the same time.’’

RESOURCES:

Greenfield’s website: https://www.greenfieldinsurance.co.uk/

James’ Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/james-mant/

ABOUT THE GUEST

James Mant is the Managing Director of Greenfield Insurance Services. He has been an insurance broker since 1991 and became a Partner of Greenfield Insurance Services in 2001. James specialises in High Net Worth Home Insurance and all types of commercial insurance from sole traders to large PLCs.

ABOUT THE HOST

Sarah Myerscough is the Sales and Marketing Director of Boston Tullis Group. The founder of The Insurance Brokers Podcast, she brings a wealth of marketing experience and a fresh perspective on marketing in the insurance sector. Boston Tullis works with insurance brokers to offer solutions to business development ceilings, particularly in the rapidly developing fields of video marketing and thought leadership.

If you would like Sarah to help you develop an integrated marketing strategy, using state of the art concepts, then please book a free 20 min call via Calendly 

Website: https://bostontullis.co.uk/

Evaluation Link: https://s.bostontullis.co.uk/s/podcastevaluation

How are electric vehicles (EVs) likely to reshape the car insurance market in the next few years? How should you advise your clients around the use of EVs from an insurance perspective?

In this episode of the Insurance Broker Podcast, we’re very pleased to be speaking with Steven Williams and Rob Durbin, who are both at the forefront of Direct Line Group’s evolving strategy for and assessment of the electric vehicle market. In this revealing and informative conversation with Boston Tullis’ Sarah Myerscough, Steven and Rob reveal the fallacies in many common beliefs about how electric vehicles work, and dispel many outdated notions regarding the safety and reliability of the technology. Furthermore, they explain how the insurance market must adapt in order to facilitate manufacturers’ rapid transition towards electric vehicles, in light of the impending ban on the manufacturing of ICE (Internal Combustion Engine) vehicles in the UK, in 2030. Listen now to hear their fascinating insights into this rapidly evolving market for both consumers and business owners.

Quote of the Episode

‘Cars are becoming computers on wheels.’

The technology behind EVs is extraordinary, and has undergone rapid evolution since these vehicles were introduced to the mass market around ten years ago. As such, there remain some prevailing myths regarding the safety and efficiency of these vehicles. Fears of the car battery losing charge and anxieties about not being able to find a charging station whilst on the road continue to prevent many drivers from taking the leap to electric vehicles. Yet, at full charge, most new EV releases are capable of running for 200 miles or more. Most drivers, especially post-pandemic, don’t travel all that much, and therefore this mileage capacity is more than sufficient. Nonetheless, the EV industry isn’t without its growing pains.

Key Takeaways

Electric vehicles are an emerging risk. They are relatively new to the market, at least on a wide scale, as they work very differently from ICE vehicles. While the electric vehicle market is the only motor market that grown in the last 18 months, there remains a generalised perception that they are hugely expensive. This is compounded by the costs of insurance, which are particularly high for electric vehicles. A key reason for this is due to the fact that, in the event of an incident causing damage to the car battery, it will be immediately decommissioned. An EV battery can be worth as much as 75% of the cost of the vehicle. Consequently, insurers face higher claims costs if and when EVs are involved in accidents, leading to higher premiums for customers to pay.

Nonetheless, EVs are undoubtedly safer than ICE vehicles, and they typically include many advanced safety features to significantly reduce the risk of accidents on the road. This technology undoubtedly presents great opportunities for manufacturers, insurers and consumers alike, with advancements in vehicle safety and efficiency and improvements in the speed of insurance resolutions already underway. Yet, there are still great costs to account for.

However, there are alternative methods for becoming an EV driver available. New ‘usership’ models are currently being developed, which mirror the basic premise of a subscription service, by which you play a fixed monthly fee, including maintenance costs, insurance and tax, for access to an EV. This new market is experiencing a significant buzz, enabling drivers to use these environmentally friendly vehicles at a much lower cost overall and at great convenience. Salary sacrifice schemes are also available, granting companies a more affordable means of granting their employees access to an EV fleet.

There remain a lot of unknowns in the EV world. While the car insurance industry has decades of history with ICE vehicles, we have only 10 years of data and understanding to inform decision-making about electric vehicles. As such, insurance professionals are learning all the time, but adaptation to what will in future be an EV-dominated market remains a work in progress.

Best Moments/Key Quotes

“Although EVs have been around since about 2013, they are probably considered nothing new at the moment. What is new is the apparent rise in their popularity and numbers and affordability. That's being driven primarily for a few different avenues. There's a lot more conscientiousness in the public around climate change. Also, the cost of living, cost of fuel prices, especially last year, was driving a lot of people to shift to EVs.”

“For ICE vehicles, we have decades and decades worth of information. On EVs, it goes back to 2013. So, every month, we're learning and there's so many more models of EV that are going to come out in the next three, four or five years. Certain manufacturers are only going to be delivering ICE vehicles from 2025-2026 ahead of the legislation in 2030, which says you can no longer sell ICE vehicles, it has to be a plugin, either hybrid or, or [electric].”

“Clean air is the ultimate benefit of all this. Therefore, if we can help our customers make that transition, that's good for them, good for us, but also good for the wider environment.”

Resources

Direct Line – A Complete Guide to Electric Car Insurance: https://www.directline.com/car-cover/magazine/electric-car-insurance

Direct Line – Electric Made Easy: https://www.directline.com/car-cover/electric/electric-made-easy

About the Guest

Steven Williams is the lead of Direct Line Group’s EV strategy. In this role he assesses and coordinates EV activity across the business, giving a voice to EV drivers and thereby ensuring that the company’s decisions are futureproofed as this technology becomes increasingly popular and accessible in years to come.

Steven Williams’ LinkedIn Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/steven-williams-4978a213/

Rob Durbin works in the commercial side of Direct Line Group as the dedicated EV and flexible fleet underwriter for the business. In this role, he assesses Direct Line’s decision-making with regard to EVs from an underwriting perspective.

Rob Durbin’s LinkedIn Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/robdurbin88/

About the Host

Sarah Myerscough is the Sales and Marketing Director of Boston Tullis Group. As the founder of The Insurance Brokers Podcast, she brings a wealth of experience and a fresh perspective on communication in the insurance sector. Boston Tullis works with insurance professionals to build effective communication both internally and externally through podcasting, event reporting, videography and internal communications facilitation. 

Website: https://bostontullis.co.uk/

Evaluation Link: https://s.bostontullis.co.uk/s/podcastevaluation

In the final part of this three-part series, we’re talking all things new new business and your existing book, the importance of strategic account management as well as sales management and how to do it well. Richard has extensive experience in this field and across the series he shares his 12 key strategic areas to consider in your business, as well as practical tools and hints to support your planning, process and performance.

KEY TAKEAWAYS:

• The first key to making new new business easier is to make it as un-random as possible. Grow your business through referral business.

• There is a three-step process to new business; how do I get somebody interested in what I have to say? How do I turn interest into opportunity? How do I turn this opportunity into engagement?

• Monitoring your key accounts is one of the best ways of generating growth… but be proactive with it!

• We live in a changing world and the way in which we sell should be governed by four levers explained in this podcast.

BEST MOMENTS:

“I think new business is a really exciting place to be. It's not always an easy place to be, particularly for professionals. Somebody in a professional service firm put it to me the other day that if you're a consultant and you're used to being an advisor, you're used to telling people and to you expect to be taken seriously whereas the new new business person has to listen and ask more as well as has to accept rejection more.’’

‘’We need to talk about renewals much earlier… talk early, talk wider, not just transactionally, and talk actively.’’

‘’Why should you cross buy?... there's some compelling reasons why your clients should buy more from you, you just need to become more customer centric.’’

‘’Complexity means that we need to move in real time and we need to be extremely flexible. We need to have ability to tell stories that change our way of working. We need to manage complexity and that's particularly true in organisations by the way that they plan.’’

RESOURCES:

SalesLevers website: https://www.saleslevers.com/

ABOUT THE HOST

Sarah Myerscough is the Sales and Marketing Director of Boston Tullis Group. The founder of The Insurance Brokers Podcast, she brings a wealth of marketing experience and a fresh perspective on marketing in the insurance sector. Boston Tullis works with insurance brokers to offer solutions to business development ceilings, particularly in the rapidly developing fields of video marketing and thought leadership.

If you would like Sarah to help you develop an integrated marketing strategy, using state of the art concepts, then please book a free 20 min call via Calendly 

Website: https://bostontullis.co.uk/

Evaluation Link: https://s.bostontullis.co.uk/s/podcastevaluation

ABOUT THE GUEST

Richard Higham is an Executive Director at SalesLevers; a business that enables companies to drive sales performance in a radically changing sales world.

Richard has over 25 years of experience in sales performance consulting. He has won, designed and led consulting and training projects with global banks, insurers and professional services firms across five continents. He has also worked on sales performance in sectors ranging from logistics to manufacturing.

Richard also teaches on the Dublin Institute of Technology’s Postgraduate Diploma in International Sales course and runs business development and leadership programmes for Cass Business School at the University of London.

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/richardhigham

Twitter: https://twitter.com/RichardHigham

048: SME commercial business and the opportunity is presents - with Nic Brown

Have you read Markel's white paper on eth economic makeup of the UK commercial industry? On today's episode, we’re excited to be chatting to UK Sales and Marketing Director at Markel, Nic Brown. Nic joined Markel in December 2018, from his previous role at Bupa as Global Sales Director. He’s here to talk with us about his role, what he thinks about the industry as it stands and the White Paper that Markel wrote last year.

KEY TAKEAWAYS:

• The breadth and depth of the SME world is breath taking – the diversity and challenges they face is inspirational from a provider perspective.

• The White Paper formed an opportunity to move away from the discussions around COVID and to start thinking a bit more proactively.

• The pandemic has given the industry a huge opportunity to showcase their capabilities and focus on being better customer centric.

• Understanding your customers’ behaviour and challenges will enable you to strategically build tools so you can ‘go wider’ in terms of your business growth and offering.

BEST MOMENTS:

‘’…it was the first time that we decided to have a think about the intellectual property that we had available, and to see whether or not we could generate some interest in education and information, etc to the broker community, especially around the SME market - we hadn't seen much being done in that space.’’

‘’We all have to do a better job to represent our industry because the majority of us work in an ethical and highly customer focused way and I feel like now's the time for us to really push that because some of this been a bit lost and definitely overtaken in the last 12 months.’’

‘’I think that brokers have responded really well to us giving them the tools to be able to talk to their customers and to give them some direction.’’

‘’The stickiness of a customer is so super important, particularly given the way things are changing. The more ways in which you have contact points, giving advice, and are sort of in bed with that business, the more ‘stickier’ they're going to be.’’

RESOURCES:

Nic Browns’ profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nic-brown-06a144a/

The White Paper: https://uk.markel.com/insurance/getmedia/5d9660af-26a7-4a02-a5ce-c876530fc1e7/Markel-whitepaper-driving-growth-in-new-normal.pdf

ABOUT THE GUEST

Nic Brown is the UK Sales and Marketing Director at Markel. Nic has worked across the full range of insurance and financial services products, both in the UK, Europe and internationally and has previously held sales and marketing leadership positions at AXA, Cigna, Atena and Citibank.

ABOUT THE HOST

Boston Tullis is a network of industry professionals working with Insurance brokers to offer solutions to business development ceilings. Boston Tullis helps with marketing, financial planning. panel development and more.

Website: https://bostontullis.co.uk/

FCA Covid-19 Update: https://www.fca.org.uk/coronavirus

Evaluation Link: https://s.bostontullis.co.uk/s/podcastevaluation

Are you a new business owner, or intrigued by the possibility?  Are you unsure about the nuts and bolts of ‘work culture’, and how it can be effectively constructed in a new business?

In this episode, we’re thrilled to be speaking with Emily Kenna, founder of Sense Risk Solutions, a community broker aiming to provide high quality advice and support to corporates when managing their risks and insurance. In conversation with Boston Tullis’ Sarah Myerscough, she explains the importance of establishing a welcoming, encouraging, and challenging work culture within your business. This is accentuated by her desire to empower the next generation of insurance professionals, and she describes various ways in which businesses can facilitate this goal.

Quote of the Episode

“To develop a culture… bring in a network of people to challenge you. Think about how you go about making decisions and [determine] what's the right thing to do. I'm always open to listening to people, and I find it amazing to get those different viewpoints. I hope, as our business grows, that that diversity of thought through the people that we employ will be the making of us.”

Work culture is an intrinsically nebulous concept. It emerges, first and foremost, through the relationships between people. If an open environment is fostered within a business, with opportunities for discussion and debate regarding different strategies and ideas, your staff will be more willing to express their own individual ideas. Enabling ‘diversity of thought’ within your business in this manner will eventually heed great results, and will create a satisfying work environment in which everyone’s opinions and suggestions are heard and valued.

Key Takeaways

When Emily’s son was born, and subsequently diagnosed with nonverbal autism, her approach to collaboration and communication within the industry fundamentally shifted. She recognised that we’re all wired differently; we all have different methods, ideas, and approaches, none of which are intrinsically superior to any other. Achieving a work culture such as that articulated above may seem to be a utopian notion, but it can be achieved by implementing an environment guided by and imbued with empathy.

Another means of creating a positive work culture, particularly in a new business, would be to enable one’s staff to invest in their work/life balance. Emily recognises that business growth is not a sprint, but a marathon, and that, as long as achievable end goals are in sight and are being actively worked towards, staff should not feel encouraged to overwork themselves to the detriment of their personal lives.

Emily is also highly passionate about providing the next generation of insurance professionals with the tools to succeed. It’s easy to feel out of one’s depth in the broking world. The next generation should not be made to feel discouraged from entering our sector by this. As such, Emily advocates for mandatory professional qualifications, similar to those introduced in the financial advisory sector, giving new graduates or apprentices a grounding in the industry, and empowering them by testing their knowledge and affirming their understanding.

Best Moments/Key Quotes

“I love our sector. I think it's a really fascinating sector. So many people fall into it. And I don't know why so many people fall into it as opposed to choose it. I don't think we advertise it well enough.”

“We're all wired differently and [we need] to be more accommodating around that. I have to challenge myself on this all the time – ‘why has that person reacted that way?’”

“Ultimately, the most important thing is that it would be positive for the client if you've invested in your staff, and got them up to a certain level. Nobody gets experience overnight.”

“We should really be advising our clients around all their risks, and insurance is just a risk transfer mechanism. But I do see us more as risk advisors, and insurance as a way to transfer risk. So, I think qualifications are a really good way to test knowledge and to feel empowered yourself, when you've had your knowledge tested.”

Resources

Sense Risk Solutions - https://senserisksolutions.co.uk/

About the Guest

Emily Kenna is the founder and director of Sense Risk Solutions. She has nearly 20 years’ experience in the industry, beginning as a graduate trainee for Zurich, before entering the broking sphere.

Emily’s LinkedIn Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/emilykenna/

About the Host

Sarah Myerscough is the Sales and Marketing Director of Boston Tullis Group. The founder of The Insurance Brokers Podcast, she brings a wealth of marketing experience and a fresh perspective on marketing in the insurance sector. Boston Tullis works with insurance brokers to offer solutions to business development ceilings, particularly in the rapidly developing fields of video marketing and thought leadership.

Website: https://bostontullis.co.uk/ 

Evaluation Link: https://s.bostontullis.co.uk/s/podcasteva 

Are you concerned about staying ahead of the curve as many industries become increasingly oriented towards online products and productivity? Do you feel unsure about how to keep yourselves and your clients informed as new cyber-risks perpetually emerge?

In this week’s episode, we’re thrilled to be speaking with Patrick Brice, the Distribution Director at CFC Underwriting, a specialist commercial insurance provider with a keen interest in identifying emerging risks and identifying cyber threats. In conversation with Boston Tullis’ Sarah Myerscough, he elucidates that many businesses and industries are becoming increasingly reliant upon technology for their internal operation and in the distribution of their products. Consequently, brokers and insurers alike need to reorient themselves in order to accommodate clients against both potential cyber threats, and nuanced technological risks that require bespoke cover.

Quote of the Episode

‘The insurance industry builds products that the insurance industry thinks are good; they don’t build products that clients want to buy, until you get to the really bespoke, large, sophisticated, complex buyer stuff.’

In this week’s episode, the concept of ‘nimbility’ once again proves efficacious. Patrick Brice argues that there is a tendency among many insurers to undertake a ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach with their products. However, as businesses in different sectors are beginning to embrace technology and cyberspace in nuanced and unique ways, they are becoming vulnerable to risks which require a more bespoke form of policy. The vague, nondescript concept of ‘putting the buyer at the centre’ of insurance products is simply insufficient as industries are evolving at an increasingly rapid pace, and require policies that can accommodate for this.

Key Takeaways

Patrick argues that both brokers and insurers need to immerse themselves within the particular sectors or businesses they are providing cover for, in order to truly understand them and the risks they may face to design and distribute products that will effectively mitigate both present risks and emergent or potential risks. This need not necessarily mean that all brokers and insurers must become specialists. Rather, at the very least, they should endeavour to engage in conversations with experts working within the sectors they provide cover for, to ensure that they have a comprehensive understanding of what clients currently need, and may require in years to come.

For example, Patrick gives the example of ‘digital healthcare’. As the healthcare sector begins to incorporate new technology and software, such as remote surgery and robotic surgery, new insurance products are required to account for the potential risks that may accompany them. However, such risks are not yet catered for by conventional insurance products.

Furthermore, in order to create a profile of what clients need, and to identify if they may be susceptible to new risks, insurers and brokers can endeavour to build a digital profile of their clients using an array of available data sources at their disposal. For example, CFC Underwriting employs its own internally accumulated data, in conjunction with publicly available and third-party information in order to inform its underwriting processes. As such, the client will receive a policy which is more acutely tailored to their needs, and which recognises the potential risks they may face.

Best Moments/Key Quotes

“So, using that technology, and making that really efficient, but removing the onus on the client to provide a whole load of information… means that we can make that process really, really smooth and efficient, and they can focus on running their business and managing the exposures.”

“SME insurance is designed by insurers without really thinking about what the client wants, or at least it generally is across the board. So, if you're an SME buyer, an SME company that's moving in that either the digital space or in the social media space, it's really difficult to find insurance that meets your needs, it just doesn't fit the kind of exposures that you've got, and doesn't allow you to build the business in the way that you want to.”

‘A product that you launch now will be irrelevant in 12 months’ time at the kind of pace of technological change that we've got.’

“We think that ability to get direct to the client with that really critical information, and keep scanning the client’s information on a real-time basis adds some real value. So, we'd expect to see that expand across multiple product lines and find different ways to build that kind of trusted contact point with the client as we move forward.”

Resources

The Lazarus Heist Podcast: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/w13xtvg9/episodes/downloads 

Coffee, Calm & Connection Episode 22, How would you feel about ‘opening up’ to a robot? The Rise of AI-Led Counselling with Dr Gregory Warwick: https://coffeecalmconnection.podbean.com/e/how-would-you-feel-about-opening-up-to-a-robot-the-rise-of-ai-led-counselling-with-dr-gregory-warwick/ 

Solve For Happy: Engineer Your Path to Joy by Mo Gawdat, former Chief Business Officer at GoogleX

About the Guest

Patrick Brice is the Distribution Director at CFC Underwriting, where he has worked for six and a half years. Prior to that, he worked for RSA Group for 16 years in various different roles, including Marine Underwriting and Development Manager, Strategic Relationships Director and Professional and Financial Risks Director.

About the Host

Sarah Myerscough is the Sales and Marketing Director of Boston Tullis Group. The founder of The Insurance Brokers Podcast, she brings a wealth of marketing experience and a fresh perspective on marketing in the insurance sector. Boston Tullis works with insurance brokers to offer solutions to business development ceilings, particularly in the rapidly developing fields of video marketing and thought leadership.

Website: https://bostontullis.co.uk/ 

Evaluation Link: https://s.bostontullis.co.uk/s/podcastevaluation 

Whether you’re a generalist or working within a niche scheme, making your name in the industry in our current economic climate will be an uphill battle. How can you futureproof your business in light of these conditions? In what ways can you increase the agility of your output? How will big tech and big data affect the industry in years to come? In this episode, we speak with SchemeServe’s Sean Neal, discussing how new independent brokers can benefit from insurance tech and its importance for the future of the industry.

Quote of the Episode:

“Insurance is a people business. It has been a people business for years, hundreds of years. And it will continue to be so; the technology will just help us with that journey… whether it’s a virtual, face-to-face thing, or a physical one.”

SchemeServe’s Sean Neal emphasizes that the insurance industry is ultimately always underpinned by personal connections between customers, brokers and insurers. Irrespective of what technological advancements may unfold in years to come, this will always remain the central principle of the industry. When developing your business, you should endeavour to ensure that personal connections with your customers are always at the forefront of every interaction, which new technology can often facilitate when in-person contact is troublesome or unavailable.

Key Takeaways

SaaS platforms such as SchemeServe will soon become paramount to the functioning of the industry in an increasingly digitised market, which has only been accelerated by COVID-19 and the advancement of remote work. For new independent brokers seeking to develop their services and cement their place in the market, such services may prove paramount to their future, as long as personal relationships with customers continue to be facilitated, either through virtual or in-person contact.

In order to compete with other brokers and companies harvesting big data, ensuring agility in the deliverance of your services is important. This, in conjunction with cultivating a close personal relationship with customers will prove fruitful in continuing contracts and developing new ones. Scheme-type contracts may prove highly beneficial for your business in this regard.

Technological development will continue to race ahead throughout the decade. Therefore, it is important to futureproof your business against the advancements of big tech, which cloud-based services such as that offered by SchemeServe may prove fruitful for. Implementing such new technologies into the functioning of your business will increase its agility and allow you to compete irrespective of its niche or generalist nature.

Resources

Mentioned in this episode: How to Fail with Elizabeth Day, S04 E04 with Mo Gawdat, former Google X Chief Business Officer.

SchemeServe’s website: https://www.schemeserve.com/

Sean Neal’s LinkedIn Profile: https://uk.linkedin.com/in/seanneal1 

About The Guest

Having previously spent 30 years broking, 16 of which were spent developing Property Protector, Sean Neal briefly became a consultant for various MGAs and brokers. One of his consultees was SchemeServe, a well-renowned SaaS platform for insurance businesses, of which he had previously been a customer. Soon thereafter, he was appointed as Chief Commercial Officer and Commercial Director.

About the Host

Sarah Myerscough is the Sales and Marketing Director of Boston Tullis Group. The founder of The Insurance Brokers Podcast, she brings a wealth of marketing experience and a fresh perspective on marketing in the insurance sector. Boston Tullis works with insurance brokers to offer solutions to business development ceilings, particularly in the rapidly developing fields of video marketing and thought leadership.

If you would like Sarah to help you develop an integrated marketing strategy, using state of the art concepts, then please book a free 20 min call via Calendly 

Website: https://bostontullis.co.uk/

Evaluation Link: https://s.bostontullis.co.uk/s/podcastevaluation

On today's episode, we’re excited to be chatting to Giles Ashley, Product Development Manager and Lyndsey Barnett, Head of Broker Management at Modus Underwriting. They’re here to chat with us about automation in the insurance industry, what that looks like in the future and their brand new broker platform!

LEARNING OBJECTIVES:

• The whole idea of Modus as a business was to build an automation into underwriting for broker journeys’ so that it’s quicker and easier for them to trade.

• The new online platform has been built exclusively for UK brokers.

• Teaming up with third party organisations such as RightMove and estate agents could be the future of the platform.

• Market research meant that Modus was able to find a gap in the market and offer an online platform like no other.

BEST MOMENTS:

‘’What was coming out loud and clear was the fact that all online platforms seem to have really lengthy questions that and they'd get all the way to the end of them, then they'd find out it was either a decline or it would be referred and there'd be a break in the buying journey. This meant additional costs or they'd often lose the sale, that kind of thing.’’

‘’We wanted to make it more niche, more non-standard, and put the control back in the hands of the broker so this platform is built exclusively for UK brokers.’’

‘’We were looking through those and we couldn't see anything that was similar, but based on feedback and the research we did with the brokers and the pilot that we did too, they all come back to us and said there's nothing this quick and easy and slick available currently.’’

RESOURCES:

Modus Underwriting website: https://www.modusunderwriting.com/

Giles’ Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/giles-ashley-b086b57/

Lyndsey’s Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lyndsey-barnett-368751a0/

Video Link: https://youtu.be/HBWkzEAdB5o

ABOUT THE GUESTS

Giles Ashley and Lyndsey Barnett form part of the Management Team at Modus Underwriting. Modus are an award winning insuretech MGA which specialises in uniting traditional insurance disciplines with cutting-edge technology to offer fully automated, e-traded insurance products and solutions for their partner brokers.

ABOUT THE HOST

Sarah Myerscough is the Sales and Marketing Director of Boston Tullis Group. The founder of The Insurance Brokers Podcast, she brings a wealth of marketing experience and a fresh perspective on marketing in the insurance sector. Boston Tullis works with insurance brokers to offer solutions to business development ceilings, particularly in the rapidly developing fields of video marketing and thought leadership.

If you would like Sarah to help you develop an integrated marketing strategy, using state of the art concepts, then please book a free 20 min call via Calendly 

Website: https://bostontullis.co.uk/

Evaluation Link: https://s.bostontullis.co.uk/s/podcastevaluation

On today's episode, we’re excited to be speaking to Paul Smith, Managing Director of Fenchurch Insurance. Paul has over 20 years’ experience in the insurance industry and is chatting with us today about his journey, experience and specifically about the Lloyds market too!

LEARNING OBJECTIVES:

• Every now and again, there'll be an opportunity or a situation whereby a case is either rather large, rather unique, or rather difficult – insurers should prepare for this.
• Mainstream insurers that have the opportunity and availability to place business with Lloyd’s brokers will quote different terms, premiums and access levels.
• Developing tight knit relationships with your Lloyd’s broker is integral to the success of your business.
• It’s very rare to find one Lloyd's broker that has the capability and all the capacity and indeed the relationships to place property, liability and fleet, as well as financial services.

BEST MOMENTS:

‘’…insurers have these red, amber and green lists. Green topical flavour of the month which everybody loves, easy to price. Amber is something that needs a little bit more attention and dedication and a bit more focus by underwriters. The red list is, in the vast majority of cases, something that shows insurers just don't have an appetite for - and it's those situations that a broker would need to walk into Lloyds or utilize the services of a Lloyd's broker.’’

‘’…it's a case of well, how on earth is that possible? Why do insurers not have a central database to record data on risks? Surely, branch A should follow branch B or vice versa. It's just one of the anomalies and one of the vagaries of dealing with a Lloyd's broker and trying to place risks into the London market.’’

‘’if you've looked after somebody and you’ve given them a good piece of business that's produced profit for the underwriter, then it's quite conceivable that you can pull that favour back when you need it most.’’

‘’My top tip to youngsters that are in the market is just make sure that you put your hands in your pocket and entertain them as much as they entertain you… it will stand the test of time and it will come back and you will get rewarded for that. Don't always take take take.’’

‘’Find out who other brokers use, listen and understand and hear about the good, the bad, the ugly in terms of relationships and service… Have they got any delegated authority binders? How long have the brokers been employed by that particular Lloyd's broker? I think it’s important to find out the pedigree and history.’’

RESOURCES:

Fenchurch Insurance website: https://fenchurchinsurance.com/

Paul’s Linkedin Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/paul-smith-insurance-broker-and-advisor-22384718/

ABOUT THE GUEST

Paul Smith is the Managing Director at Fenchurch Insurance Brokers Limited - responsible for all things clients, compliance, sales and marketing and growth. He has a vast knowledge of the mechanics of insurance products, spanning over 20 years, as well as having a huge network of connections in the UK insurance market. He is qualified by the Chartered Insurance Institute to Cert CII standard.

ABOUT THE HOST

Sarah Myerscough is the Sales and Marketing Director of Boston Tullis Group. The founder of The Insurance Brokers Podcast, she brings a wealth of marketing experience and a fresh perspective on marketing in the insurance sector. Boston Tullis works with insurance brokers to offer solutions to business development ceilings, particularly in the rapidly developing fields of video marketing and thought leadership.

If you would like Sarah to help you develop an integrated marketing strategy, using state of the art concepts, then please book a free 20 min call via Calendly 

Website: https://bostontullis.co.uk/

Evaluation Link: https://s.bostontullis.co.uk/s/podcastevaluation

Gary Corke has built and run hugely successful MGAs and is looking to go global with his new venture Sapphire. You could learn a lot from this fascinating journey.

Quote of the Episode:

“The use of syndicate in a box is another alternative capital stream. I think it's fair to say that the MGA footprint as we see it now will be very different in two or three years time.”

ABOUT THE GUEST

Gary Corke hoped to become a professional rugby player, but when that dream didn’t quite turn out he turned his energy to building one of the most important MGAs in the South African property market, with an enviable market share of the top 500 risks. He’s now building another MGA, with his new vehicle Sapphire, and intends to have a multiclass global reach.

CONNECT WITH GARY

Gary Corke - London, England, United Kingdom | Professional Profile | LinkedIn

Sapphire Risk - Gary Corke - Insurance - Reinsurance - Sapphire UK (sapphirerisks.co.uk)

ABOUT THE HOST

Sarah Myerscough is the Sales and Marketing Director of Boston Tullis Group. The founder of The Insurance Brokers Podcast, she brings a wealth of marketing experience and a fresh perspective on marketing in the insurance sector. Boston Tullis works with insurance brokers to offer solutions to business development ceilings, particularly in the rapidly developing fields of video marketing and thought leadership.

If you would like Sarah to help you develop an integrated marketing strategy, using state of the art concepts, then please book a free 20 min call via Calendly 

CONNECT WITH SARAH

https://www.facebook.com/bostontullis  

https://www.linkedin.com/company/bostontullis/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/sarahmyerscough/

https://bostontullis.co.uk/

Resources

Sapphire Risk - Gary Corke - Insurance - Reinsurance - Sapphire UK (sapphirerisks.co.uk)

HOSTED BY: Sarah Myerscough, Sarah.Myerscough@bostontullis.co.uk mobile: 07821903628

On today's episode, we’re chatting to Chris Luker and John Dunn of Luker Rowe. Both Chris and John have extensive experience in the insurance industry and we’re delighted to be talking to them today about the challenges the industry faces in 2020, strategic growth planning and niche markets.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES:

• One of the biggest insights in a move from insurer to broker have been just how difficult it can be to win new business.

• Having clearly defined and established propositions for different customer groups has been a step to Luker Rowe’s success.

• Having a sharp focus on who your ideal client is helps the approach Luker Rowe takes in winning business.

• Plugging into the local community is a key component of how we’re going to focus on growth for the coming period.

• Having a strong staff development program means our business can always ensure a fresh approach to performance management.

BEST MOMENTS:

‘’We have two members of the team that we will be onboarding in a lockdown environment, which will be a different set of challenges but we're confident that the team will rise to it and there'll be successfully onboarded.’’

‘’I think one of my big insights in the move from insurer to broker is, on the insurance side certainly, my experience was if you've got a really solid client facing proposition, and some good trading underwriters, you get a good flow of business coming in. On the broking side, it's been a real learning for me just how difficult it is to win new customers.’’

‘’I think a quote I wrote down from you, John, from one of our previous conversations was that it's not good enough to have a friendly face and a good proposition - you need even more, which is probably even harder to do in in current times.’’

‘’…that means that the proposition we deliver to our customers is as well thought out and that we deliver it in a way that we know our customers and we know what they need. However, this year has presented its challenges.’’

‘’We have some really strong core values within our business. We use those for all recruitment decisions. We also use them to inform placement decisions and all aspects of our business and our strategy.’’

RESOURCES:

Luker Rowe Website: https://lukerrowe.com/

Chris Luker’s Linkedin Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chrisluker1/

John Dunn’s Linkedin Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/johncdunn1/

ABOUT THE HOST

Sarah Myerscough is the Sales and Marketing Director of Boston Tullis Group. The founder of The Insurance Brokers Podcast, she brings a wealth of marketing experience and a fresh perspective on marketing in the insurance sector. Boston Tullis works with insurance brokers to offer solutions to business development ceilings, particularly in the rapidly developing fields of video marketing and thought leadership.

If you would like Sarah to help you develop an integrated marketing strategy, using state of the art concepts, then please book a free 20 min call via Calendly 

Website: https://bostontullis.co.uk/

Evaluation Link: https://s.bostontullis.co.uk/s/podcastevaluation

Are you concerned about the hardening of capacity? Would you like to develop current or new relationships with MGAs or insurers?

In this episode, we’re thrilled to be speaking with Michael Keating, CEO of the Managing General Agents’ Association, about the upcoming MGAA Capacity Exchange. The event is being held at the Hilton DoubleTree in London, on September 14th. As one of the MGAA’s flagship annual events, it offers a fantastic opportunity for MGAs and insurers alike to meet, and extend pre-existing relationships or enable new ones to flourish.

Quote of the Episode

“Any MGA will always tell you that capacity is the number one key pillar that their business is centred round. Frankly, if you haven't got capacity as an MGA, you have no business. So, it cannot be any more important than that.”

Capacity, for Michael Keating, is the most fundamental element of any MGA. As such, the importance of forming partnerships around capacity cannot be understated, and thus the opportunity afforded by the MGAA Capacity Exchange should not be turned down. In a period where capacity is hardening exponentially, such relationships can be extremely productive for both insurers and MGAs.

Key Takeaways

The MGAA Capacity Exchange invites insurers to exhibit and MGAs to attend, in a speed-dating-style environment. MGAs are enabled to speak to different insurers, and engage in productive conversations about their risk appetites, current market trends, and opportunities to partner up going forward. As such, it gives a great opportunity for MGAs to re-engage with insurers they already know and to discuss ideas and potential partnerships with insurers they aren’t yet familiar with.

Similarly, insurers are enabled to converse with MGAs they may not have had contact with previously, to better understand their product lines, business model and strategy, thereby enhancing networking in the MGA community as a whole.

Face-to-face contact is utterly essential in the insurance industry. For mike, it cannot be beaten or exchanged for virtual conferencing and networking. Communication is key in insurance, and the opportunity to meet and network on the basis of such a crucial element of business for insurers and MGAs alike should not be missed, particularly following a lengthy period in which such vital conversations were impossible. You can register to attend the event by clicking the link in the Resources section below.

Best Moments/Key Quotes

“What we want to be able to do is for our MGAs and our insurers to meet and greet as many people as they possibly can. So, as a capacity exchange event, it is not for someone, effectively, to sit down with an insurer and say, ‘Right, let’s talk for the next thirty minutes, here’s our business presentation, etc. It really is a case of… ‘this is our business, this is our product line, this is what we currently do, is that within your risk appetite? Is that something you’re particularly interested in?’”

“You cannot beat face-to-face contact and networking, seeing the whites of people’s eyes, and building a strong relationship on that basis. Face-to-face is, and will always be for me, the right way to take the Capacity Exchange.”

“Fundamentally, what this capacity event provides both for insurers and MGAs is a real opportunity to have a rich conversation, albeit in a limited time span, and to identify whether you could be partners in the future.”

Resources

MGAA – https://www.mgaa.co.uk/

The MGAA Capacity Exchange Registration – https://www.mgaa.co.uk/events/capacity-exchange/

About the Guest

Michael Keating is the CEO of the Managing General Agents’ Association (MGAA), having previously held executive positions at AXA, UK General and Qlaims. Throughout his 35 years’ experience in the industry, he has worked for insurers, brokers and MGAs in both commercial and personal lines markets.

Michael's LinkedIn Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-keating-230b8424/

About the Host

Sarah Myerscough is the Sales and Marketing Director of Boston Tullis Group. The founder of The Insurance Brokers Podcast, she brings a wealth of marketing experience and a fresh perspective on marketing in the insurance sector. 

Website: https://bostontullis.co.uk/ 

Evaluation Link: https://s.bostontullis.co.uk/s/podcastevaluation 

On today's episode, we’re excited to be chatting to David Lewis from David Lewis Consultancy. David has had a long and varied career in the industry, specifically through WAM organisations, brokers, insurers and even captive insurers. He’s talking to us about his experience, his expertise and what he’s learned whilst working with different size companies and organisations.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES:

• Most learnt behaviours have come from regional entities rather than larger organisations and that’s rather revolutionary.

• There is such hierarchy that you have to navigate through to get things done in big organisations that it can be quite frustrating.

• Process often gets lost in hierarchical decisions and that’s the refreshing thing about working with smaller to medium sized brokers.

• The difficulty when implementing changes in any organisation is the cultural attitude.

• Outsourcing can be incredibly valuable and it’s naïve for companies to think they have all the necessary skill sets at all times.

BEST MOMENTS:

‘’I very quickly realised that the power in the insurer broker relationship sat very much with the broker. They decided whether they were going to use my services or the services of North Union. I wanted to move into broking and talking to clients more naturally and be a bit more in control of my own destiny.’’

‘’Although you would point at the big boys and say, well, they have the resources and they have the expertise, the breadth and depth of expertise, and the global reach and all that type of stuff - I'm not really sure at client level the majority of clients actually see the value for that.’’

‘’…if you look at prospecting or even renewal business, it's so common for client executives to focus on the renewal, focus on all the issues around renewal and then they realise they're in the competition.’’

‘’The mistake you don't want to make as a business is to bring in an outsourced supplier so you can simply say you can tick the box that we provided this service or this training or this advice, and then expect things to change because they absolutely won’t.’’

RESOURCES:

David Lewis’ profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/david-lewis-0b8531101/

ABOUT THE GUEST

David Lewis is the Director of David Lewis Consultancy. David is a senior executive with wide-ranging experience in leading national and international business teams, founded on the delivery of high-level performance, innovation and dynamic process change. He has a wealth of experience in the industry and for the past two years, has been recognised as one of the world’s 50 most influential people in his field.

ABOUT THE HOST

Sarah Myerscough is the Sales and Marketing Director of Boston Tullis Group. The founder of The Insurance Brokers Podcast, she brings a wealth of marketing experience and a fresh perspective on marketing in the insurance sector. Boston Tullis works with insurance brokers to offer solutions to business development ceilings, particularly in the rapidly developing fields of video marketing and thought leadership.

If you would like Sarah to help you develop an integrated marketing strategy, using state of the art concepts, then please book a free 20 min call via Calendly 

Website: https://bostontullis.co.uk/

Evaluation Link: https://s.bostontullis.co.uk/s/podcastevaluation

What can colleagues do to support one another’s mental wellbeing? Are broking businesses’ mental health provisions somehow missing the mark?

Last year, we released an episode featuring Ecclesiastical Insurance’s Adrian Saunders, in which he explained the results of the firm’s annual broker wellbeing survey. In this episode, Adrian returns to discuss the results of 2022’s survey, in conversation with Boston Tullis’ Sarah Myerscough! He examines the trends that have emerged through the data across the past five years of Ecclesiastical’s survey, and their implications for mental wellbeing provisions in brokerages across the country.

Quote of the Episode

“We're all talking about mental wellbeing more. We're all providing more support; there is more openness. We recognise it more. And the survey says we recognise it more. But the survey [also] says we're all getting more stressed. Why are we increasingly reluctant to talk about it?”

This highlights a significant apparent contradiction in the survey results which Adrian picks up on throughout the episode. Despite huge strides in discussions of mental wellbeing in the workplace, and increased availability of resources and support, the reported level of stress amongst brokers is skyrocketing. Is the stress of the various socioeconomic calamities of recent years simply overriding these avenues for discussion and support? Or could these provisions be improved to some degree?

Key Takeaways

The results of Ecclesiastical’s annual broker wellbeing survey are characterised by this central contradiction – while mental health support in the workplace has never been better, brokers are feeling more anxious and stressed than ever before. The top three causes of this stress, according to the data, are:

1. Workload – this is arguably driven by the sense of uncertainty that accompanies engaging with clients, who require advice and support in making decisions about what to insure, and on which level.
2. Regulation – broking is a regulated sector, governed by a set of strict guidelines that must be abided by. The survey results indicate that the demands of regulators have increased, as evidenced by the introduction of the new Consumer Duty which lies on the horizon in 2023.
3. Customer demand.

Sitting just outside this top three is staff shortages, a rising problem in the insurance sector and industry across the country. Problems with recruitment and retention undoubtedly feed into increased workloads and thus a rising difficulty in meeting the demands of customers to a sufficient degree.

Nonetheless, brokers have reported that they feel more supported in the workplace, with the survey results indicating a generally improved attitude to mental health awareness at work and increased commitment to employees’ wellbeing. Yet, simultaneously, for the fourth year in a row the likelihood of brokers reporting when they are feeling stressed or low at work has decreased.

Ostensibly, there is a greater culture of openness and support in the workplace, perhaps more so than ever before. Yet, brokers generally don’t feel able or willing to talk about their own wellbeing. The specific reason for this is difficult to determine. It could perhaps be attributed to the hierarchical nature of certain work relationships, which may raise a barrier preventing staff from showing vulnerability.

Adrian also suggests, regarding the increased awareness of mental health at work, that an oversaturation of such material may have emerged, leading it to become somewhat generalised, and part of the wider noise and hubbub of the office. As such, businesses should reflect on what they are doing to support teams and colleagues, and perhaps consider how their wellbeing measures could become more personalised to cater to the unique, individual needs of staff.

Best Moments/Key Quotes

“What we really see is that stress and anxiety with brokers has continued to rise. We've seen four consecutive years of stress and anxiety being reported as increasing.”

“We've got record numbers of brokers this time, saying that they are overwhelmed, they're overwhelmed by the demands that that are being placed on them. But that's balanced in some way; three quarters of brokers that have responded are saying that they think their firms are really committed to wellbeing. And those firms are doing more than they've ever been doing.”

“Businesses are doing more, but in some way, it's not landing… In some other conversations and some other work that we've been doing with a few other groups around about mental wellbeing, one of the bits of feedback there has been, ‘Yeah, we get so much now. There's so much material that we get access to, and we get sent emails from HR or whoever it might be, all the time. And it's kind of just noise.’ I think there's a watch out for us always to think about that generic guidance [around mental health, as opposed to] personalised support.”

Resources

Ecclesiastical - Could you do more to improve mental health in your business? - https://www.ecclesiastical.com/insights/stress-in-the-workplace/

Ecclesiastical – Brokers still stressed despite positive progress - https://www.ecclesiastical.com/media-centre/brokers-still-stressed/

Insurance for Cucumbers Podcast - https://open.spotify.com/show/3Y7ezNsPesUdLhMy3ge5Rw?si=65d828142bff487d

About the Guest

Adrian Saunders is the Commercial Director of Ecclesiastical Insurance. He’s worked in both the company and broker markets, and specialises in developing new enterprises within organisations, and re-engineering existing processes to develop strategy and increase ROL.

Connect with the Guest:

Adrian Saunders | LinkedIn

Specialist Insurance & Financial Services | Ecclesiastical

Ecclesiastical Insurance Group: Overview | LinkedIn

About the Host

Sarah Myerscough is the Sales and Marketing Director of Boston Tullis Group. The founder of The Insurance Brokers Podcast, she brings a wealth of marketing experience and a fresh perspective on marketing in the insurance sector. Boston Tullis works with insurance brokers to offer solutions to business development ceilings, particularly in the rapidly developing fields of video marketing and thought leadership.

Website: https://bostontullis.co.uk/ 

Evaluation Link: https://s.bostontullis.co.uk/s/podcastevaluation 

How can small brokers navigate the various and insistent industry pressures that have emerged in recent years? Is it possible to sustain a client-first bottom line whilst also incorporating new digital data processing practices and becoming increasingly reliant on remote customer interactions?

In this episode of the Insurance Broker Podcast, we’re very pleased to be speaking with Alistair Body, Business Development Director at Momentum Broker Solutions. In conversation with Boston Tullis’ Sarah Myerscough, he discusses the numerous pressures facing small and independent brokerages, including consolidation, the shift to digitalisation, and regulatory red tape. He emphasises the importance of retaining focus on the primary goal of effectively advising clients, and explains how firms like Momentum can help to support brokerages struggling to remain afloat amidst all these aforementioned challenges.

Quote of the Episode

“The insurance industry has always been a people business. So, let's try and free up more time for [brokers] to do just that. The momentum proposition is about effectively creating an infrastructure in an environment where you've someone's got your back, whether it be your client’s money, their insurer relationships credit control, marketing, and so on. And just taking all that away from you. And just going back to the bare basics of letting you do what you do [best]: looking after your clients.”

Given the rapidity of change in the industry in recent years, it’s become easy to lose sight of our primary aim as brokers: to advise and support our clients through genuine interactions. While this has been complicated due to the shift to remote conversations as a result of the pandemic, these interactions remain our raison d’être. Thus, the opportunity for small brokerages to consign some of the challenging behind-the-scenes processes that enable fruitful client relationships to supportive businesses like Momentum is certainly worth considering.

Key Takeaways

Beyond the broader everyday challenges that have accompanied the past few years, this period has also brought considerable changes to how brokers conduct their business. This whirlwind of rapid change includes vast market consolidation, the increasingly urgent importance of carbon emissions reduction, and additional regulatory constraints. These, alongside the fundamental service challenges wrought by the shift to digitalisation and the emergence of new, highly efficient data processing software, have placed enormous pressure on small, independent brokerages. What is the solution to this, other than selling up and getting out of the industry altogether?

Alistair suggests that, first and foremost, we must return to the basics, and remember what our primary function as brokers is: to look after clients. Yet, our increasing industry reliance on data arguably conflicts with the desire to be a people-centred business. Is it possible to work in accordance with the data, whilst also fulfilling the needs of clients on an individualised, personal level? For Alistair, there is always a need to drive towards greater efficiency, in insurance and every industry. However, not all clients fit in the boxes that data-processing software may create. We must therefore remain flexible and versatile, finding ways to write risks that may not necessarily be ideal.

Another key issue is the ever-expanding red tape of compliance. Regulatory demands are often one-size-fits-all, and fail to account for the specific needs of small or niche brokerages. This is where firms like Momentum can lend a hand. Momentum specialises in supporting small and independent brokers to persevere through issues surrounding compliance, and the various other industry pressures that have emerged in the past few years, including the mounting necessity of carbon emissions reduction, profound economic turbulence, and changes in client behaviour.

Momentum will be at stand G20 at this year’s BIBA conference. To find out more about how they can support your business, find them and have a chat!

Best Moments/Key Quotes

“When you look at what's been thrust upon independent small businesses these days, you've got additional compliance concerns, you've got more talk around equality and diversity, we've got the DSG, we've got net zero, it just keeps going on and on and on. I think for a lot of these businesses, they simply don't have the internal resource or the internal knowhow to manage these things.”

“It's about looking after clients. It's about supporting them and their businesses or their personal insurance requirements, and giving them the advice and seeing the value that they created. I think it's just really going back to basics and focusing on what they're good at, and then ultimately using the services of Momentum or others to provide them the support [that will] allow them to get on with it.”

“Pre-pandemic, we would probably have a lot of brokers considering the move to direct authorization. Whereas it seems very much now that it's the other way around.”

Resources

Momentum - https://momentumsolutions.co.uk/

About the Guest

Alistair Body is the Business Development Director at Momentum Broker Solutions. Momentum provides support to small, independent and startup brokerages, helping them to grow and thrive.

Alistair’s LinkedIn Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alistair-body/

About the Host

Sarah Myerscough is the Sales and Marketing Director of Boston Tullis Group. The founder of The Insurance Brokers Podcast, she brings a wealth of experience and a fresh perspective on communication in the insurance sector. Boston Tullis works with insurance professionals to build effective communication both internally and externally through podcasting, event reporting, videography, and internal communications facilitation.

Website: https://bostontullis.co.uk/ 

Evaluation Link: https://s.bostontullis.co.uk/s/podcastevaluation 

Are you feeling overwhelmed by the immense level of practical knowledge your clients now require of you? Or do you feel confident both in your understanding of the risks facing your clients and their businesses, and in the products you have provided them with? Either way, it’s becoming increasingly apparent that clients are looking for bespoke products which fully cover them against all potential losses, particularly in niche markets such as railway-adjacent construction.

In this week’s episode, we’re very pleased to be speaking with Dave Cahill and Steve Cox of Miller Insurance’s construction branch. In conversation with Boston Tullis’ Sarah Myerscough, they discuss the staggering minefield faced by both construction firms and their respective brokers and insurers with regard to certain projects; namely those involving construction over or nearby transport links. Despite the specific focus on contractor liability insurance, the discussion in this episode can be considered microcosmic for broader market trends which brokers and insurers alike should be taking into consideration.

Quote of the Episode

‘You really need to know your staff when you're talking about this kind of a risk.’

When dealing with very niche, bespoke products with minimal capacity, it is essential that brokers provide insurers with all the necessary information about the particular risk facing their client. To avoid incidents such as Tesco’s extensive pay-out to Chiltern Railways after failing to secure coverage from their insurer following infrastructural damage at a supermarket construction site, clients need products that can provide watertight protection against both potential damage and non-damage. This principle needs to be undertaken across the entire insurance market. As it gradually becomes increasingly geared towards extremely niche specialisms, brokers need to be equipped with the knowledge required to perform detailed, analytical risk assessments before presenting to insurers.

Key Takeaways

This episode examining the 2005 case of Tesco v Constable, in which the former was denied an insurance pay-out following the collapse of a tunnel being built to accommodate the construction of a new supermarket in Gerrard’s Cross. Fortunately, no one was hurt, but the collapse caused a significant amount of damage to the track, and prevented the railway line from operating for several months. The track was the property of Network Rail, while Chiltern Railways was the train operator which had the right to use the rail infrastructure in the area under a track access agreement.

Prior to the start of the supermarket’s construction, Chiltern Railways demanded that Tesco enter a legal agreement that it would indemnify them for any losses arising from the project, to which the company agreed. Despite the fact that Chiltern did not own the damaged track, they sustained a substantial non-damage loss due to the closure of the line after the collapse of the tunnel. Tesco accepted that they were liable under the agreement and sought to recover the damages that they were obliged to pay under their agreement through their public liability insurance policy. This policy included a contractual liability provision. However, the insurer refused to pay, and the matter went to court, where it transpired that this particular policy provision only covered contractual liabilities that were also coexistent in tort (i.e., entailing substantial damage to property). As the damaged property did not belong to Chiltern Railways, with whom Tesco agreed the contract, the insurer could decline the claim. This forced Tesco to pay for both the damaged property and the non-damage of Chiltern’s lost business themselves.

This highlights the profound importance of providing clients with iron-clad policies to protect them against potential indemnity, especially if they are involved in binding liability contracts as in this case. For example, today, Network Rail insists that you provide an indemnity under an asset protection agreement. Thus, any a loss incurred during a construction project being carried out adjacent to Network Rail’s property renders the developer/contractor responsible for indemnifying Network Rail, irrespective of whether that party have been negligent or not. Indeed, in some cases, (non-)damage can occur without any mistake or failure on the developer’s behalf, but they are nonetheless bound to indemnify the rail operator. Steve and Dave give multiple examples of unexploded World War II bombs located in London by builders working on projects adjacent to Network Rail lines, which caused evacuations and train delays, for which the contracted firm was liable to pay.

These risks are extremely complex, as the potential for non-damage losses are so unpredictable. As such, clients working in these specialist fields require a broker that can secure an airtight insurance product to cater for these losses and the liabilities they incur.

Best Moments/Key Quotes

“In common law, or in the tort of negligence, liabilities exist normally where one party causes a loss to a third party, and that loss is foreseeable. The test for foreseeability… is whether there’s either some sort of damage or injury.”

“When you’re intending to carry out construction activities… it's standard practice for Network Rail to insist that you provide an indemnity under what's called an Asset Protection Agreement… It says any liability arising from any loss arising from the project that's been carried out the building work… then that party must indemnify Network Rail for its losses.”

“If you are unaware of this type of sort of legal development for these types of projects, and you are the development party, you're liable. You’ll really want to be able to claim that back from your insurers, but you won't be able to, unless you are aware of this and have put the relevant insurance product in place, which does now exist as a result of these cases.”

“There are classic examples of cases where the developer or the contractor is not liable, hasn't done anything negligent… but because they signed a legal agreement that makes them responsible for all incidents arising from the construction project, then they're liable by virtue of the contractual indemnity.”

Resources

The wrong side of the tracks - rail liabilities and insurance by Dave Cahill: https://www.miller-insurance.com/News-and-insights/Latest-insights/The-wrong-side-of-the-tracks-rail-liabilities-and-insurance

Miller Insurance: https://www.miller-insurance.com/

About the Guest

Dave Cahill is the Head of Client Development at Miller Insurance’s construction practice, where he has worked for just over a year. He has been a construction insurance practitioner for over thirty years, initially working with clients in the construction industry before entering the London insurance market in 2002.

Dave’s LinkedIn Profile https://uk.linkedin.com/in/davecahilljlt

Steve Cox is head of UK construction team at Miller Insurance. He has been working in the industry for 40 years, handling contractors, subcontractors and many project insurances. He has also been the insurance broker for a train operating company, and has worked for Network Rail on accounts.

Steve’s LinkedIn Profile: https://uk.linkedin.com/in/steve-cox-29b66231

About the Host

Sarah Myerscough is the Sales and Marketing Director of Boston Tullis Group. The founder of The Insurance Brokers Podcast, she brings a wealth of marketing experience and a fresh perspective on marketing in the insurance sector. Boston Tullis works with insurance brokers to offer solutions to business development ceilings, particularly in the rapidly developing fields of video marketing and thought leadership.

If you would like Sarah to help you develop an integrated marketing strategy, using state of the art concepts, then please book a free 20 min call via Calendly.

Website: https://bostontullis.co.uk/ 

Evaluation Link: https://s.bostontullis.co.uk/s/podcastevaluation 

Are you keen for your business to remain aligned with the latest innovations across the industry? Would you like to learn more about how new digital processes and platforms can energise and streamline your productive output?

In this episode of the Insurance Broker Podcast, we are very pleased to be speaking with Merlin Beyts, Head of Content at ITC DIA Europe! In conversation with Boston Tullis’ Sarah Myerscough, he explains what attendees can expect at the business’ exciting upcoming event at the Fira Gran Via in Barcelona, from 27th to 29th June! Uniting leading experts from across the industry, and giving a voice to professionals from adjacent industries, the event intends to further propel the future of insurance, facilitating discussion between insurers, brokers and Insurtech innovators.

Quote of the Episode

“What I've noticed working in events… is you sometimes can fall into the trap of having the same conversations about the same things, and you really do need those innovators to sometimes say something that's perhaps controversial, say something that perhaps people don't necessarily want to hear. It's always great to have those innovative opinions so that we can really drive things forward.”

The ITC DIA Europe event intends to provide a springboard for innovation, by hosting speakers who will push boundaries and encourage introspection for attending businesses, to evaluate how they can embrace new technology and form partnerships with which to stride confidently into the future. With so much change constantly rattling the industry, precipitated by the necessitated transformations during the COVID pandemic, it is through embracing change and constant innovation that insurers and brokers alike can continue to thrive throughout the unforeseeable.

Key Takeaways

The ITC DIA Event intends to promote widespread innovation across the industry, by uniting Insurtech creators alongside traditional brokers and insurers under one roof. There are many businesses out there who can help the traditional insurance industry to drive innovation, and the event aims to facilitate discussions and promote collaboration between the old and the new.

This is reflected in the structural hybridity of the conference, combining a traditional approach whereby everyone can move around and meet different exhibitors, alongside a ‘festival feel’ whereby people can sit down, relax, and have meaningful conversations and create powerful connections. Through this approach, the event aims to enable both Insurtech innovators and insurers and brokers to achieve their business goals, attaining the confidence to incorporate new digital practices.

Merlin notes that some brokers have expressed a reluctance towards adopting new digital tools, perhaps for fear that it may eventually lead to certain areas of traditional broking becoming obsolete in the face of startlingly adaptable artificial intelligence. Yet, he argues that truly successful businesses will be those that embrace change.

The ultimate focus of the event is the future of our industry. Where will insurance be in a few years’ time, and what changes does your business need to make to remain in the running? To book your ticket, visit the registration page on ICT DIA’s website, linked below!

Best Moments/Key Quotes

“One of the big things that we are incredibly keen to make sure is on the agenda is just how many enablers there are out there who can help the insurance industry really drive innovation.  That's the whole goal of everything that we do, whether it's an event, whether it's a webinar, is to is to push the industry forward.”

“If you're an insurance provider looking to looking to accelerate your innovation, looking to automate your underwriting processes, improve your claims experience, we've got all of those people that can help you do that. Similarly, if you are looking to engage with those people from a tech provider side, or even from an MGA standpoint looking to partner up with carriers who have a large customer base, we're going to have a lot of those people in the room as well.”

“There's a quote that I read from Andrew Horton, when he was CEO of Beazley and is now the Group CEO of QBE Insurance. [He] said, essentially, change is inevitable, and the truly successful people are going to be the ones that embrace change. I think, hopefully, we're going to see more adoption of digitization at the broker side of things.”

“The key word is innovation. But what we want to make sure we're doing is taking innovation, which is a very broad term, and actually put that into action. How do you get better? How do you actually improve your customer experience?”

Resources

Register to attend ICT DIA Europe in June: https://www.digitalinsuranceagenda.com/events/itcdia-europe/registration-itc-dia-europe/

About the Guest

Merlin Beyts is the Head of Content at ITC DIA Europe. In this role, he oversees the business’ digital content, including articles, interviews, and webinars.

Merlin’s LinkedIn Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/merlin-beyts-652ab0168/

About the Host

Sarah Myerscough is the Sales and Marketing Director of Boston Tullis Group. The founder of The Insurance Brokers Podcast, she brings a wealth of experience and a fresh perspective on communication in the insurance sector. Boston Tullis works with insurance professionals to build effective communication both internally and externally through podcasting, event reporting, videography, and internal communications facilitation.

Website: https://bostontullis.co.uk/ 

Evaluation Link: https://s.bostontullis.co.uk/s/podcastevaluation 

Are you seeking to streamline the claim-making process, but unsure where to start? Are you struggling to keep up with your competitors, and looking to boost efficiency? Are you concerned by the emergence of instant gratification in business interactions, and determined not to be left in the dust?

In this episode, we’re very pleased to be speaking with James Brown, CEO of Smart Communications. In conversation with Boston Tullis’ Sarah Myerscough, he explains the profound importance of great customer experience in order to accelerate your provision of insurance solutions, and to boost client retention. He suggests that while his company offers bespoke, software-based solutions, face-to-face communications will never cease to fuel high-quality customer experiences, and by providing a combination of both, businesses can stay ahead of the market.

Quote of the Episode

‘You should never ask the question of somebody that you should already know the answer to.’

James Brown argues that, when it comes to customer solutions, if a computer can do something you’re unable to, you should let it. The software offered by his business, Smart Communications, will locate all the necessary, publicly available data about a client to initiate the claims making process, and any remaining data will be inputted by the customer themselves. Consequently, the customer journey is simplified from the very start, which is essential for business growth and client retention. James suggests that any potential for customer frustration should be nipped in the bud, as ‘the vast majority of consumers out there have changed provider as a result of bad customer experience’.

Key Takeaways

In 2021, customers do not want to endure painstakingly slow and repetitious phone conversations with rudimentary robot data-collectors in order to make a claim. If a competitor is offering face-to-face consultations, or a wider range of digital solutions, customers will naturally switch to their cover.

To prevent this, you should aim to optimise the available channels at your disposal, to guarantee that the most efficient and effective process is taking place during each stage of the customer journey. James clarifies that while a digital interface is often very important and useful, there are certain points in the customer journey that require a human-to-human interaction. Take care to ensure that when integrating digitised processes, either for data collection, customer feedback, and so on, they are employed at points during the customer journey when it is most fastidious to do so.

Efficiency is key. We have all become highly accustomed to the Amazon experience, particularly throughout the COVID period. Our demands can be fulfilled with just the click of a button, and soon, James anticipates, this mentality will be transferred to various other businesses and industries. As Sarah suggests, we will soon want all our business procedures to be ‘frictionless, on my terms, on my time scale, and yesterday, please’.

In the years to come, Artificial Intelligence will undoubtedly transform business efficiency and remove the human element from various procedures. However, the primary shift that James anticipates across various industries is towards great customer engagement via a wide range of communication means.

Best Moments/Key Quotes

‘Make sure that we think about how you avoid those interminable loops that can cause real customer frustration, and ultimately, customer churn.’

“’Our focus is very much on optimising the channel… it could be anything from human-to-human interaction, right the way through to an SMS, and optimising the channel for the appropriate points in the customer journey. And there are clearly going to be points where the only way to achieve the end result is to have human to human interaction.”

“The new battleground for every business that we work with, is great customer engagement and great customer experience… you really are differentiated now, not necessarily on product features, but on customer experience.”

“We have all become so used to the Amazon experience, that it doesn't matter where in our lives we go. We're looking for that type of experience with every interaction with every company we work with.”

About the Guest

James Brown is the CEO of Smart Communications Ltd, a world-leading, cloud-based, customer communications provider. He previously ran SAS companies across various regulated industries, including Zinc Ahead, which provides commercial content management solutions to several of the world’s top pharmaceutical companies.

James Brown’s LinkedIn Profile: https://uk.linkedin.com/in/james-brown-7521323 

About the Host

Sarah Myerscough is the Sales and Marketing Director of Boston Tullis Group. The founder of The Insurance Brokers Podcast, she brings a wealth of marketing experience and a fresh perspective on marketing in the insurance sector. Boston Tullis works with insurance brokers to offer solutions to business development ceilings, particularly in the rapidly developing fields of video marketing and thought leadership.

Website: https://bostontullis.co.uk/ 

Evaluation Link: https://s.bostontullis.co.uk/s/podcastevaluation 

Glowsure are a local community broker facing all the challenges of changing small business owners in our rapidly changing world. In this episode they discuss tech, marketing and the customer journey.

Quote of the Episode:

 “And it's really important within like sales and marketing to get the right partners to work with.”

About The Guest Hosts

Wesley and Rebecca Haynes are the Directors of Glowsure, an independent insurance broker based in Waterlooville, Hampshire, and creators of The Glowsure Business Chat YouTube channel. In 2014 Bex and Wes took the leap into business and since then Glowsure has gone from strength to strength. With a range of expertise inhouse, including property and construction, they bring a very personal service to all their clients.   

CONNECT WITH WES AND BEX

Glowsure Insurance Brokers | Business & Property Insurance

(1) Glowsure Insurance Brokers: Overview | LinkedIn

Glowsure Insurance Brokers - YouTube

About The Host

I'm the Co-founder of Boston Tullis, and the Creator of The Insurance Brokers Podcast, in which I am extremely fortunate to have interviewed some of the biggest names in the Insurance Industry. For the last three years, I have focused entirely on the insurance industry, creating marketing and sales strategies that offer a tangible return on investment. We are a relationship-orientated industry, so maximising any interaction (digital or face to face) to build trust and highlight expertise is crucial. My specialism is in creating, for you, personal, short, and informative video clips to build engaged audiences. Offering your knowledge and insight to your prospect and client base creates relationships based on trust, value, and respect and I work with insurers and brokers across our market building their profile through this medium.

If you would like a no obligation chat about growing your business, then please book a free 20 min call via Calendly 

 CONNECT WITH SARAH

https://www.facebook.com/bostontullis  

https://www.linkedin.com/company/bostontullis/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/sarahmyerscough/

https://bostontullis.co.uk/

HOSTED BY: Sarah Myerscough, Sarah.Myerscough@bostontullis.co.uk mobile: 07821903628

DISCLAIMER: The views, thoughts and opinions expressed in this podcast belong solely to the host and guest speakers. Please conduct your own due diligence.

Website: https://bostontullis.co.uk/

Evaluation Link: https://s.bostontullis.co.uk/s/podcastevaluation

Do you ever feel unconfident in your ability to present risks to insurers? Have you made several risk presentations, but not heard back from the insurer? Are you keen to learn how to boost your presentation skills?

In this episode, we’re very excited to have three guests: the Regional Directors of Ecclesiastical Insurance, Francis Carroll, Adrian Tate, and Robert Lloyd. They discuss the profound significance of accurately presenting risks to insurers, both in order to secure the appropriate cover for your clients, and indeed to engage the insurer’s interest in mitigating that risk. In conversation with Boston Tullis’ Sarah Myerscough, they discuss how you can adapt your presentation practices to secure the best cover for your clients.

Quote of the Episode

“The more certain and confident you make an underwriter, the more they're prepared to push that rate, push those covers, and give a little bit [more] breadth of cover, because they're comfortable with the risk.”

Insurance as an industry thrives upon information above all else. If an underwriter lacks sufficient information in order to make a balanced determination about a risk, they will not feel comfortable in offering substantial cover to one of your clients. Thus, prior to presenting a risk to an insurer, ensure that you have a firm grasp not only on a sufficiently detailed amount of information pertaining to the risk at hand, but also that you understand why that detail will be important to the underwriter. As Ade explains, if the underwriter can intimately understand the client’s current business practices, and how they’re mitigating losses, the underwriter will feel more confidence in offering cover that is satisfactory to all parties.

Key Takeaways

Given the current inundation of the market, insurers are swamped with potential risks to consider and review. In order to stand out from the crowd, you should endeavour to create a sense of emotional engagement with the insurer in your presentation, emphasising why yours is a worthwhile risk for them to follow up on. Ade notes that many brokers use software houses which tend to produce uniform presentations, and don’t necessarily provide the level of detail required for underwriting risks. As such, the presentations generated by these digital portals do not always enable underwriters to react and perform efficiently in relation to the risk at hand.

To save both yourself and the insurer time, ensure that they would be appropriate for covering the risk you and your client are dealing with. Many insurers, like Ecclesiastical, have particular specialisms, and simply will not respond to risks which do not adhere to those parameters. If you are unsure about whether your risk aligns with their specialism, Robert emphasises that you can and should directly contact the insurer, who will be more than happy to advise you.

Additionally, give the insurer some time to consider the risk you are presenting. Given the sheer volume of inquiries many insurers are currently receiving, if underwriters are not given an adequate slot of time with which to deal with the risk a broker is presented, it will inevitably be side-lined in favour of another risk that has given a more reasonable leading time. Furthermore, many insurers, including Ecclesiastical, do not merely underwrite risks, and also provide a range of other services. If they haven’t given a chance to ascertain what exactly the client needs, conversion is less likely.

In order to prevent such issues from arising, thereby saving both yourself and the insurer time, create a regular dialogue with your clients. Introduce touchpoints when a broker meets with the client and finds out information that can be communicated to the insurer, so they can determine whether their cover needs to be adjusted or updated prior to the renewal cycle. In doing so, your client will always have the most up-to-date cover, and a stronger relationship between brokers and insurers will be established.

Communication is key. If you ever have any uncertainties about the risk you are presenting, be it whether the insurer you are presenting to would be suitable for mitigating it, or if you are unsure about the amount of detailed information you should include in your presentation, get in contact with them as soon as possible.

Best Moments/Key Quotes

“A lot of the risks are not being embraced by the insurance market like they were a couple of years ago. Therefore, there's a big job on the hands of brokers: trying to present the risk to insurers, but equally get a fair and reasonable response from insurers. Because it's very easy for insurers at the moment to say no to a lot of risks. So, this presentation idea is more important than ever.”

“It's not just about sending a presentation through and sitting there and waiting to see what happens. Actually, the best thing is to do is to get on the phone to the underwriter, get on the phone to the key relationship manager, and actually explain to them why this is a good risk for ecclesiastical to help make sure yours gets to the top of the pile.”

“The engagement with the underwriter, whatever that may be, is the most important thing… the broker needs to appeal to the underwriter he’s talking to.”

“The more information underwriter has, the more discounts, the more favourably they can look at the risk, which is ultimately what we all want… We want to write it, we want to write it competitively, and we want a good customer outcome. And if we can get more information, that makes our life easier.”

Resources

https://www.ecclesiastical.com/ 

About the Guests

Francis Carroll has over thirty years of experience in the insurance industry. He is currently Ecclesiastical Insurance’s Regional Director for the North of England, Scotland and Northern Ireland, whom he has worked with for seven years.

https://uk.linkedin.com/in/francis-carroll-acii-a6a04528 

Adrian Tate is Ecclesiastical’s Regional Director for Central and Southwest England. He has 31 years of experience in the industry, specialising in commercial insurance.

https://uk.linkedin.com/in/adrian-tate-06aba524 

Robert Lloyd is the Regional Director of Ecclesiastical for London and Southeast England. Having previously worked as the General Manager for Aspen Insurance, he has a wealth of experience across a range of specialisms.

https://uk.linkedin.com/in/robert-lloyd-340290197 

About the Host

Sarah Myerscough is the Sales and Marketing Director of Boston Tullis Group. The founder of The Insurance Brokers Podcast, she brings a wealth of marketing experience and a fresh perspective on marketing in the insurance sector. Boston Tullis works with insurance brokers to offer solutions to business development ceilings, particularly in the rapidly developing fields of video marketing and thought leadership.

If you would like Sarah to help you develop an integrated marketing strategy, using state of the art concepts, then please book a free 20 min call via Calendly.

 Website: https://bostontullis.co.uk/ 

Evaluation Link: https://s.bostontullis.co.uk/s/podcastevaluation 

Are you a broker keen for your voice to be heard but unsure what channels to use? Are you interested in BIBA membership but unclear about what benefits it can bring for you?

In this week’s episode, we’re very pleased to be speaking with Graeme Trudgill, Executive Director of the British Insurance Brokers Association (BIBA) about the group’s annual manifesto. In conversation with Boston Tullis’ Sarah Myerscough, Graeme elucidates how BIBA collates the concerns of its members over the course of each year, and communicates them to government every January, bringing the concerns of insurance brokers to the forefront of British politics and enabling their voices to be heard. He subsequently explains how BIBA endeavours to achieve the aims established in its manifesto through collaboration with the government, shareholders, and various other organisations. If you need an incentive to join BIBA, look no further and listen to find out why you should!

Quote of the Episode

“BIBA is here purely to serve its members… Someone has to be the voice of insurance brokers. And that's us. And we like to think that with the committees and the hundreds of brokers that are involved as volunteers with BIBA, we have the right issues, the right understanding, to take those forward to government.”

BIBA is a hugely collaborative organisation which seeks to respond to the concerns of its members and the problems they are facing in a timely and effective manner. It is, as Graeme describes it, ‘at the centre of the insurance broking universe’ in the UK, and therefore has significant lobbying power with the government to assuage the issues facing BIBA members. It has no minimum levels of support, and no minimum requirements for membership. Everyone is welcome to join, and the agency it provides is significant, enabling all members to be part of the broader conversation about how broking can and should be conducted, and how the sector’s greatest crises can be dealt with. You don’t just join BIBA, you join in.

Key Takeaways

The BIBA manifesto aims to make the needs and concerns of insurance brokers heard by the government. BIBA listens to members from all across the country, across various specialisms, collates responses, and uses them to curate a document that can help to find a right path with the relevant people to solve these problems. It’s an annual manifesto, restarted from scratch at the start of every year, thereby ensuring that the most prevalent issues are always at the top of the list.

After the manifesto is announced, BIBA aims to work collaboratively with the relevant parties in order to achieve what brokers want, and to deliver solutions beneficial to the general public and companies who are struggling with their insurance cover. Graeme highlights the FCA’s rules for brokers that seem to negatively impact on growth and competitiveness, which is contrary to the government’s pursuit of economic growth. Hence, BIBA is calling for proportionate regulation for insurance brokers. Additionally, BIBA has also sought reform of the financial services compensation scheme, which insurance brokers have unfairly paid a significant amount into despite never exceeding its own pot. The FCA this year reduced the scheme’s call on the insurance broking sector from £68 million to £5 million this year. However, Graeme notes that the funding model still needs a permanent change. As such, the BIBA manifesto is concerned with long-lasting change rather than short solutions.

However, the changes that BIBA is frequently campaigning for such as those outlined above cannot be implemented overnight. During times of political turbulence like those observed over the past few years, the pursuit of its goals can become more difficult. However, Graeme assures that BIBA endeavours to maintain a good relationship with the government and the treasury department in particular, whose members tend to remain in their positions for longer periods of time.

The 2023 BIBA manifesto will aim to tackle a mountain of insurance issues, namely the hard market, underinsurance, the cost of doing business crisis, and the insufficient take-up of cyber insurance. However, it also seeks to tackle a non-insurance issue: the departure of a significant number of brokers from the sector since the pandemic. BIBA is seeking to breathe new life into the sector by recruiting from the next generation of university and school leavers, to educate young people about the benefits of working as brokers. For those of us who sometimes forget what an exciting industry we work in, perhaps now is the time to join BIBA, and to get involved in the conversation about the future of broking.

Best Moments/Key Quotes

“The manifesto kicks off our annual contact programme for the whole year ahead, and just sets all those meetings running so that we can take the issues forward with us. So, it's a really good way of getting things moving for brokers.”

“We try to match the government narrative of the day. So, if it's growth, then we try to make lots of the manifesto themed around growth, so that we're working collaboratively. For us, it's all about partnerships and how you can progress those partnerships to achieve those ultimate aims that we want for our members. And our members only want to do their best for their customers. So, it's in everyone's interest to work collaboratively.”

“We try to put together guidance when anything comes along, when things happen, and respond accordingly.”

Resources

The British Insurance Brokers Association (BIBA) - https://www.biba.org.uk/

Join BIBA - https://insurance.biba.org.uk/join-biba

Insurance trade associations develop fair value assessment template - https://www.biba.org.uk/press-releases/collaboration-assessment-template/

Fair Value Assessment Template Form - https://www.biba.org.uk/tag/template-assesment-form/

BIBA & Allianz create underinsurance guide - https://www.biba.org.uk/press-releases/biba-works-with-allianz-to-create-a-new-guide-to-help-reduce-the-risk-of-underinsurance/

BIBA Guides - https://www.allianz.co.uk/news-and-insight/insight-and-expertise/biba-guides.html

About the Guest

Graeme Trudgill is the Executive Director of the British Insurance Brokers Association (BIBA), where he oversees its public affairs activity with the government, which extends to regulators and other stakeholders. He also oversees BIBA’s technical department, which supports members on real insurance issues, and the comms team, which keeps people informed about BIBA’s activities.

About the Host

Sarah Myerscough is the Sales and Marketing Director of Boston Tullis Group. The founder of The Insurance Brokers Podcast, she brings a wealth of marketing experience and a fresh perspective on marketing in the insurance sector. Boston Tullis works with insurance brokers to offer solutions to business development ceilings, particularly in the rapidly developing fields of video marketing and thought leadership.

Website: https://bostontullis.co.uk/ 

Evaluation Link: https://s.bostontullis.co.uk/s/podcastevaluation 

Steve White has now been in charge at BIBA for 8 years. During that period, we’ve had Brexit, the pandemic and the impact of the transition from the FSA to the FCA – it’s been busy! Listen to Steve’s take on the market and how it will continue to change and adapt. 

Quote of the Episode 

“Come on board, a trade association is only as good and as strong as the quality and quantity of engagement that we get from our members. We have over 1,800 corporate entities now that are BIBA members. The more that we have, the stronger our voices with government, with the regulator with broader stakeholders” 

About The Guest 

Steve joined BIBA in 2004 after stints with the GISC and FSA, and a long career at Orion. His initial role was heading up the compliance function before taking over the reins as CEO in 2013. He represents, through BIBA, the views of the whole insurance broking sector to government, the regulator and the insurers.  

Connect with guest

Steve White - Linkedin 

BIBA Home - British Insurance Brokers' Association (biba.org.uk)

About the Host 

Sarah Myerscough is the Sales and Marketing Director of Boston Tullis Group. The founder of The Insurance Brokers Podcast, she brings a wealth of marketing experience and a fresh perspective on marketing in the insurance sector. Boston Tullis is a network of industry professionals working with insurance brokers to offer solutions to business development ceilings, particularly in the rapidly developing fields of video marketing and thought leadership. 

CONNECT WITH SARAH 

https://www.facebook.com/bostontullis   

https://www.linkedin.com/company/bostontullis/ 

https://www.linkedin.com/in/sarahmyerscough/ 

https://bostontullis.co.uk/ 

HOSTED BY: Sarah Myerscough, Sarah.Myerscough@bostontullis.co.uk mobile: 07821903628 

DISCLAIMER: The views, thoughts and opinions expressed in this podcast belong solely to the host and guest speakers. Please conduct your own due diligence. 

What is the FCA’s Consumer Duty and how will it affect you and your business?

How much work will it take to meet the requirements of the duty?

When do these changes need to be implemented, and how should you prepare for them?

In this episode of the Insurance Broker Podcast, we are thrilled to be speaking with Tim Chadwick Group Chief Risk Officer at the PIB Group. In conversation with Boston Tullis’ Sarah Myerscough, he discusses the wide-reaching nature of the new duty, which could necessitate a substantial revision of various aspects of financial services firms’ operations.

Having determined that, broadly speaking, client satisfaction and protection within the industry is inadequate, the FCA’s new regulation demands a new approach to the consumer journey which protects clients at every stage of their interaction with a financial services firm, including after the purchase of a product. As such, it is essential that brokers understand what the new Duty requires of them.

Quote of the Episode

“In a nutshell, what the regulator is really looking for firms to do is to put themselves in the customer’s shoes and to make sure that they're focused on good customer outcomes, and really importantly, that it's part of their firm's culture. So, this isn't some box-ticking exercise. There are very clear expectations around culture and, importantly, around the role of the board in all of this.”

Throughout the episode, Tim asserts that the Consumer Duty is not merely a superficial administrative exercise. Rather, it reflects a concerted effort on behalf of the FCA to transition from a consideration of customer satisfaction within financial services as a matter of box-ticking to a responsibility embedded in the culture and practices of a given firm. A protection of the customer at all levels must therefore be interwoven through the fabric of the organisation. For some businesses this may require a few tweaks, while for others it may necessitate a systematic restructuring of practices.

Key Takeaways

Most brokers always work in the best interests of their clients. While the FCA recognizes this, they also acknowledge that some firms within the wider financial services sector fail to implement sufficient strategies for the protection and wellbeing of their customers. Some products and services are either not fit for purpose, or ill-suited to their ostensible target market. Furthermore, some products arguably fail to deliver fair value to customers.

In 2020, the FCA conducted a Financial Lives survey, which found that only 35% of financial services firms were deemed to be honest and transparent in their dealings with clients. As such, the Consumer Duty aims to usher in higher standards of customer support, to ensure that their needs are always attended to by firms, particularly if they are vulnerable, and that ultimately, positive customer outcomes are secured. While this notion is not entirely unprecedented, the Duty develops on regulations already in place by focusing more on positive outcomes for customers and imposing a clear responsibility upon firms to evidence that they are consistently achieving these outcomes.

The duty is a series of measures which orbit around a central principle, being that firms must demonstrate that they can deliver good outcomes for retail clients (both individual and commercial).

This notion, Tim explains, is underpinned by three cross-cutting rules:

1. Firms must act in good faith, addressing the imbalance in knowledge and expertise between themselves and clients
2. Firms must identify areas of foreseeable harm and curtail them
3. Firms must enable and support customers in pursuing their financial objectives by providing them with appropriate and accurate information and advice

Tim subsequently outlines four outcomes associated with the consumer duty, explaining in detail the FCA’s guidance about how firms should conduct themselves. To hear his advice, listen to the episode today!

The deadline for implementing the Consumer Duty is 31st July 2023. Thus, it is key to act now to implement behaviours which fulfil these new obligations. Your firm’s preparations for this must be tailored to the specific innerworkings of your business. There is no one-size-fits-all approach; you must recognise the principles of the duty and apply them to the customer journey that your firm offers.

Best Moments/Key Quotes

“I think the vast majority of brokers do a great job for their clients; they have the client at the heart of their business, and they're always working [in] the best interest of the client. And, in fact, the FCA recognise that. The FCA acknowledge that they see a lot of examples of good practice. [However], they're still seeing too many firms that are not looking after their customers.”

“When I look at consumer duty, what I see is really a continuation and an evolution of similar themes but […] the consumer duty seems to be much more outcomes orientated… it places a clear responsibility on firms to ensure that customers are receiving good customer outcomes all of the time.”

“It's a bit of a misnomer, calling it the ‘consumer duty’, because it might lead you to believe that actually, it just really applies to personal insurance customers. And that's simply not the case. It applies to all, in the FCA’s words, ‘retail customers’. Now, this definition includes both private individuals and also SME customers.”

“There's also a new conduct rule [which] sets out that all colleagues, not [just] the firm, must act to deliver good outcomes for retail customers. So, everyone who works in a broking firm needs to be able to adhere to that going forwards.”

“In terms of meeting the obligations, no firms should be starting from scratch. So, this is building on things that firms should already have in place for conduct risk or treating customers fairly.”

Resources

FCA – A New Consumer Duty: https://www.fca.org.uk/publications/policy-statements/ps22-9-new-consumer-duty

FCA – Financial Lives 2020 Survey: https://www.fca.org.uk/publications/research/financial-lives-2020-survey-impact-coronavirus

PIB Group | National coverage, local service

About the Guest

Tim Chadwick is the Group Chief Risk Officer at the PIB Group, where he has worked for the past three years. Previously, he has worked in various roles at Jardine Lloyd Thompson, Willis, and Aon. He began his illustrious insurance career at the Royal & Sun Alliance.

Tim’s LinkedIn Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tim-chadwick-483b30/

About the Host

Sarah Myerscough is the Sales and Marketing Director of Boston Tullis Group. The founder of The Insurance Brokers Podcast, she brings a wealth of marketing experience and a fresh perspective on marketing in the insurance sector. Boston Tullis works with insurance brokers to offer solutions to business development ceilings, particularly in the rapidly developing fields of video marketing and thought leadership.

Website: https://bostontullis.co.uk/ 

Evaluation Link: https://s.bostontullis.co.uk/s/podcastevaluation 

Do you consider yourself to be a specialist or a generalist broker? What are the pros and cons of both?  

Ecclesiastical are conducting qualitative research across the market to identify exactly why brokers specialise, how they maintain their specialist knowledge and what are the business, regulatory and financial advantages of doing so.   

Quote of the Episode 

“The survey is covering, influence, knowledge, business advantages and the regulatory angle as well as how that leads into placement strategy. I think, for those people listening, the link to be able to participate will be incredible. It will take 5-10 minutes tops. Go and put the kettle on, make a cup of tea or coffee, sit down, think about it. Your opinion counts.”  

https://wh1.snapsurveys.com/s.asp?k=162098826520 

Best Moments 

“if you're that product in the middle, that general product, you've got to work really hard on your proposition"

Resources 

Survey: https://wh1.snapsurveys.com/s.asp?k=162098826520 

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/adrianksaunders/ 

About The Guest 

Adrian is the Commercial Director for Ecclesiastical. Adrian’s experience in the insurance market spans over 20 years and he is currently responsible for the UK intermediated business including regional commercial broker business, schemes and affinity, High Net Worth / Private Client, and SME.  

ABOUT THE HOST

Sarah Myerscough is the Sales and Marketing Director of Boston Tullis Group. The founder of The Insurance Brokers Podcast, she brings a wealth of marketing experience and a fresh perspective on marketing in the insurance sector. Boston Tullis works with insurance brokers to offer solutions to business development ceilings, particularly in the rapidly developing fields of video marketing and thought leadership.

If you would like Sarah to help you develop an integrated marketing strategy, using state of the art concepts, then please book a free 20 min call via Calendly 

Website: https://bostontullis.co.uk/

Evaluation Link: https://s.bostontullis.co.uk/s/podcastevaluation

On today's episode, we’re tripling up! We are really excited to be chatting to Rob Thacker and Alistair Body. Both joining us from Momentum, Alistair is the Business Development Director and Rob is the CEO of Pozitive Insurance Solutions - a Momentum broker. Both joining us to talk all things pandemic, industry changes and to give us a little more information on what Momentum is, does and how it can benefit the industry as a whole.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES:

• When COVID hit, the industry came to a bit of a halt. Now, it’s quite exciting because the industry is beginning to develop.

• We should focus on teaching customers that they have options. It’s important that we encourage that kind of balanced perspective.

• In a time of change, people are embracing this – and that provides an opportunity for new business.

• The pandemic has put a fast forward on the changes that were already developing within the industry.

• It’s become evident that there is a pressing need to provide businesses with quality advice.

• Networking and networking events are an important part of a wider marketing strategy for any business.

BEST MOMENTS:

‘’I think even before COVID, there's been a sort of fundamental shift to people looking at the opportunity of self-employment and thinking to themselves, you know what, I can probably do this myself and have been gaining a little bit more confidence and gaining some momentum and that sort of frame of mind.’’

‘’…I think that's the mistake people sometimes make. If they've been an insurance broker for many years (i.e. more market facing than customer and business environment facing) then they're gonna struggle.’’

‘’…with the momentum community, it's bringing together a whole range of opinions, thoughts, career histories, decision making mistakes, lessons learned from a whole range of people within the industry, which is designed to be a kind of a support and development resource for insurance brokers, because of the wealth of knowledge that sits within the industry as a whole.’’

‘’The one thing which has become clearer and clearer over this period of time is the need to provide businesses with quality advice, being able to tell them what is and what isn't covered, and to give him some very tough messages at times, but clear messages in regards to how they can either deal with the lack of cover will be I didn't respond, and or make sure the business is resilient, and they manage the risks that are brand new to them.’’

RESOURCES:

Momentum website: https://momentumsolutions.co.uk/

Rob’s Linkedin Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rob-thacker-a1358711/

Alistair’s Linkedin Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alistair-body/

ABOUT THE GUESTS

Rob Thacker

Rob is an appointed representative of Momentum. Running his own businesses Sona Insurance Brokers and Pozitive Insurance Solutions, Rob has a wealth of experience in the industry… as well as having been a broker himself for over 30 years.

Alistair Body

Alistair is the Business Development Director at Momentum, where he has been for the last 4 years. Previous to that, Alistair worked in the insurance industry in broker development roles for 25 years.

ABOUT THE HOST

Sarah Myerscough is the Sales and Marketing Director of Boston Tullis Group. The founder of The Insurance Brokers Podcast, she brings a wealth of marketing experience and a fresh perspective on marketing in the insurance sector. Boston Tullis works with insurance brokers to offer solutions to business development ceilings, particularly in the rapidly developing fields of video marketing and thought leadership.

If you would like Sarah to help you develop an integrated marketing strategy, using state of the art concepts, then please book a free 20 min call via Calendly 

Website: https://bostontullis.co.uk/

Evaluation Link: https://s.bostontullis.co.uk/s/podcastevaluation

On today's episode, we’re excited to be chatting to cyber-security expert, Brad Fraser. Brad is the CEO of Infoprotect and he chats to us about cyber-risks, including the importance of knowing and assessing your own and how we can talk and explain these to our clients.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES:

• Cyber security training in SME and larger businesses is essential to stop cyber-attacks happening within your business.

• 31% of companies in the UK are being victim to cyber-attacks on a weekly basis.

• The above statistic will have definitely increased in the last 12 months due to working from home.

• The key to ensuring maximum cyber security protection is having a proper assessment of your environment.

• Cyber security is not a one-time exercise. Your risk should be assessed time and time again and overlooked by an expert.

BEST MOMENTS:

‘’…a lot of customers that we've had in the past have been taken for millions and millions of pounds, purely because someone wasn't aware and they clicked on that mail.’’

‘’Sometimes, it can be the littlest of things that will trip you up, so we always recommend security layers – especially in larger companies…’’

‘’A lot of people think well, I'm going to do it because I need to do it for insurance. I've done my assessment, I filled in all the forms, I've got part with passwords worked out, I've got my information in the cloud so, I should be secure, right? Well, maybe for today or tomorrow but you need to have a look again and again and again and reassess your situation.’’

RESOURCES:

Infoprotect’s website: https://www.infoprotect.co.uk/

Brad’s Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bradfraserentrepreneur/

ABOUT THE GUEST

Brad Fraser is the CEO of Infoprotect, an IT solution provider that designs complex technology solutions for clients. He specialises in Cyber Security and Data Backup as well as having a host of experience in security services and managed solutions.

ABOUT THE HOST

Sarah Myerscough is the Sales and Marketing Director of Boston Tullis Group. The founder of The Insurance Brokers Podcast, she brings a wealth of marketing experience and a fresh perspective on marketing in the insurance sector. Boston Tullis works with insurance brokers to offer solutions to business development ceilings, particularly in the rapidly developing fields of video marketing and thought leadership.

If you would like Sarah to help you develop an integrated marketing strategy, using state of the art concepts, then please book a free 20 min call via Calendly 

Website: https://bostontullis.co.uk/

Evaluation Link: https://s.bostontullis.co.uk/s/podcastevaluation

Have you ever considered the unique position of the insurance industry, in the aftermath of a disaster, to help with social and emotional rehabilitation for all those affected? What benefits could this bring both from a business perspective and the wider society?  Discussing all things CSR, we will be exploring the ways in which the insurance industry can make an impact!

LEARNING OBJECTIVES:

• What is Corporate Social Responsibility and how can businesses play they part.

• Understanding an insurers’ placement at the point of a claim to extend the CSR initiative.

• Mental Health in a global and rising consideration.

• No amount of money can ever make up for what people have to go through.

• When there is an incident, you want to be able to look after your customers and you want to retain them as a customer too.

BEST MOMENTS:

‘’Now we're talking about trying to make the right decisions for human advancement. We're an international group so sometimes things get a bit lost in translation. But we really, genuinely want to be doing the right thing.’’

‘’I think one of the one of the challenges that many insurers are trying to balance is how to develop CSR strategies, but at the same time, it not necessarily be just a cost centre, it’s a case of what's in it for me, how can I develop something which is going to bring valuable additional benefits to my business?’’

“The sad fact is that a huge proportion of businesses that suffer your big event, don't continue to trade for one reason or another whether it is because of mental, social or financial reasons”

RESOURCES:

David’s Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/david-williams-9234724/

Mike’s Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-keating-230b8424/

Graeme’s Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/graeme-mackenzie-63220923/

ABOUT THE GUESTS

David Williams

David is the Managing Director of the Underwriting and Technical Services sector at AXA. Having over 30 years’ experience in general insurance, he has appeared as an expert on various high level news programs such as the BBC Breakfast TV and Channel 4 News. He has retained responsibility for defining Commercial Underwriting strategies but as part of the larger combined UK organisation remit this now includes pricing assurance and other governance responsibilities for personal lines classes including direct.

Mike Keating

Mike Keating is the CEO of the Managing General Agents’ Association (MGAA). With over 35 years’ experience in the industry, he has worked for Insurers, Brokers & MGA’s in both the Commercial & Personal Lines market. Mike has held executive positions within big firms such as AXA, UK General and most recently Qlaims before becoming Managing Director at MGAA in September 2020.

Graeme Mackenzie

Graeme is the Managing Director of MBL Global. He’s a qualified insurance professional with over 35 years’ experience in financial services markets across 3 continents. He’s an advocate of Corporate Social Responsibility and MBL Global is a symbol of that. He’s committed to bringing social and economic product reform and market innovation to established insurance markets, creating change for the benefit of business and society.

ABOUT THE HOST

Sarah Myerscough is the Sales and Marketing Director of Boston Tullis Group. The founder of The Insurance Brokers Podcast, she brings a wealth of marketing experience and a fresh perspective on marketing in the insurance sector. Boston Tullis works with insurance brokers to offer solutions to business development ceilings, particularly in the rapidly developing fields of video marketing and thought leadership.

If you would like Sarah to help you develop an integrated marketing strategy, using state of the art concepts, then please book a free 20 min call via Calendly 

Website: https://bostontullis.co.uk/

Evaluation Link: https://s.bostontullis.co.uk/s/podcastevaluation

On today's episode, we’re speaking to Alastair Roberts. Alastair is the Director of Alastair James Insurance Brokers and is talking with us today about those brave enough to be thinking about ‘going it alone’. Alastair has his own story to tell and will be sharing with us his great advice and tips which he was able to take from his own journey when he set up his business a few years ago.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES:

• A piece of advice Alastair wishes he could give himself if he knew then what he knew now would be to understand that you’ve got to work hard for it – no-one is going to hand you anything on a plate.

• Marketing is a massive area to explore in business so it’s important to have a plan whilst continuously learning especially when it comes to attracting new clients.

• Every year, Alastair focuses on his figures so he can ascertain where business has come from and where he should focus his efforts to either continue or improve. He also sets himself monthly targets and objectives.

• Reviewing your business plan frequently is important because the markets are forever changing and with unpredicted happenings such as COVID, it’s good to be aware and adaptable.

• Alastair’s top three tips are: stay positive, have faith in yourself and don’t be afraid of trying something different.

BEST MOMENTS:

‘’I think that it's a real motivation for you, because it's quite scary, really. So that's a real big motivation to know that you've got no leads and you know, it's down to you to bring the business in.’’

‘’I was always confident that we were speaking to clients and that I was giving them good information and I was giving a good service, but when you set up as your own and you set up your own business, you're not just an account executive, you have to do your marketing, you have to do accounts, chasing premiums, admin and everything else. I think that's probably the thing that's been the biggest eye opener I would say in terms of doing what I'm doing.’’

‘’I'd say especially in our industry, at the end of the day, people are always going to need insurance. It's not like an industry where perhaps like retail for example, where the high street shops are seem to be closing all the time…’’

‘’…sometimes you can get so bogged down and focus on your work that it does help to chat to somebody, whether it’s a partner, or somebody might know in business and just bounce a few ideas of each other.’’

RESOURCES:

Alastair James’ website: https://www.ajamesinsurance.co.uk/

Alastair’s Linkedin Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alastairjamesroberts/

ABOUT THE GUEST

Alastair established his business after nearly 20 years’ experience in the insurance industry, in both the Commercial and Private Clients sector. Alastair’s experience has seen him underwrite and place insurance for risks ranging from unique Grade I listed properties to high value property and motor vehicle collections, including for a number of high profile sports and entertainment individuals which many companies are unable to accommodate. Alastair is equally experienced in placing and underwriting complex commercial risks ranging from professional liability insurance for one of the UK’s biggest urban redevelopment real estate developers to property insurance for individuals with large property portfolios.

ABOUT THE HOST

Sarah Myerscough is the Sales and Marketing Director of Boston Tullis Group. The founder of The Insurance Brokers Podcast, she brings a wealth of marketing experience and a fresh perspective on marketing in the insurance sector. Boston Tullis works with insurance brokers to offer solutions to business development ceilings, particularly in the rapidly developing fields of video marketing and thought leadership.

If you would like Sarah to help you develop an integrated marketing strategy, using state of the art concepts, then please book a free 20 min call via Calendly 

Website: https://bostontullis.co.uk/

Evaluation Link: https://s.bostontullis.co.uk/s/podcastevaluation

What is the Metaverse, and how might it benefit your customers? Are you interested in how such new technology could transform or revitalise your business? Are you concerned about the hard market and the changes it may necessitate for your business?

In this episode, we’re very pleased to be speaking with Mark Costello and Ed Halsey, co-founders of Hubb, an innovative company which aims to offer Broking 2.0, powered by new technology and driven by customer needs. In conversation with Boston Tullis’ Sarah Myerscough, they discuss how technology could change the landscape of broking in the not-too-distant future, and the importance of conducting business on customers’ terms, rather than relying on traditional models of broker-client interaction. Furthermore, they explore the paramount importance of crystal-clear communication of your company’s central message, and how the next few years of economic uncertainty may transform the insurance industry for good.

Quote of the Episode

“I think insurance has a little bit of arrogance [in that] we expect customers to do what we want. We expect them to meet us. And I think it's about meeting customers where they are physically, mentally, technologically, and going to the places where they want to operate trading the way they want to trade. And the metaverse is just a part of that. So, for us, if you have a need or use or benefit in meeting us in the Metaverse, we will be ready for you, we will be ready to see you there. In the same way as if you need us to come and see you [in person], we'll be able to see you there.”

Hubb’s offering of the Metaverse as an opportunity to engage with clients is not a simple matter of using technology for technology’s sake. They are embracing the opportunities that the changing landscape for such interactions created by our increasingly virtual world. Ultimately, Hubb’s decision-making is underpinned by a desire to meet customers where, and how, they wish, and their use of virtual reality technology is only one means of doing so. The traditional approach of in-person meetings still has its place, and will likely always remain central to the innerworkings of the insurance market. However, with many companies implementing hybrid or fully virtual work solutions, it is more important than ever before to ensure that their needs are prioritised above our own.

Key Takeaways

Hubb’s deliverance of Broking 2.0 is not rooted in its exciting use of technology. Ed and Mark emphasise wholeheartedly that the business is neither tech-first, nor insurance-first, but customer-first. The business is not selling software, and while insurance is central to its offering, the deliverance of that service is guided by the needs and desires of clients.

This principle was borne out of a frustration with the broking market’s perceived homogeneity, and its transition away from sales towards acquisitions for growth. Hence, Hubb is not traditionalist, and combines technological expertise and insurance understanding with a drive to root out inefficiencies in the provision of advice to clients.

As such, the company operates under the notion that ‘attitude is much more important than skillset’, which has guided its onboarding of new staff. The company is driven by a desire to get things done for clients, meeting their needs in an agile way, by building technology to include features that might be beneficial, but not merely for the sake of doing so. This is emphasised by the fact that, due to its digital outlook, the company can employ talent globally. It need not be tied to a certain radius distance from a central office.

Hubb’s unique outlook and proposition has undoubtedly contributed considerably to its huge success in only 18 months of trade. However, Ed suggests that it has also been facilitated by a key focus on communication. The importance of articulating your business’ mission and how you differ from others is a hugely important and often undervalued skill in the insurance sector. With everyone more keenly focused on how exactly their money is being spent during this period of economic uncertainty, it is more important than ever to ensure that your business it able to communicate its message clearly and effectively.

Best Moments/Key Quotes

‘It doesn't mean that everything we do is in the metaverse, and you can't trade with us without it. It's just about taking that new technology, investigating it, seeing how we can draw benefit from it as a business.”

“Brokers had become completely reliant on acquisitions to build their business and had just almost given up on sales and winning new customers, and being able to differentiate from the next broker to the next had gone and become homogenised. And we just thought there was a huge gap to give the customer something different. We don't look and feel like a traditional insurance broker. We just don't. And that's fairly deliberate.”

‘Tech only works if the staff work in an agile way.’

Resources

Hubb - https://hubbinsure.com/

About the Guest

Mark Costello is the Chief Executive Officer and co-founder of Hubb, which offers Broking 2.0 – using technology to radically change the way broking is done.

Mark’s LinkedIn Profile https://www.linkedin.com/in/mark-costello-202137194/

Ed Halsey is Chief Operating Officer and co-founder of Hubb. In his role, he aims to bring the business’ unique ideas about bridging the gap between insurance and technology to fruition.

Ed’s LinkedIn Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/edwardhalsey/

About the Host

Sarah Myerscough is the Sales and Marketing Director of Boston Tullis Group. The founder of The Insurance Brokers Podcast, she brings a wealth of marketing experience and a fresh perspective on marketing in the insurance sector. Boston Tullis works with insurance brokers to offer solutions to business development ceilings, particularly in the rapidly developing fields of video marketing and thought leadership.

Website: https://bostontullis.co.uk/ 

Evaluation Link: https://s.bostontullis.co.uk/s/podcastevaluation 

Ecclesiastical's research into broker specialisms has generated real insight into what works. Adrian Saunders takes us through it.

Quote of the Episode

“from a marketing and sales perspective, it comes down to focus. Once you've got a specialism, you've got a real laser sharp focus as to where your sales resource is putting its time, where your marketing resource is putting its time, where your business development and strategic decisions are headed. So I think it's really important on a number of different levels. I think it's about clear proposition and I think businesses that specialise have got a clear market proposition.”

About the Guest

Adrian Saunders is the Commercial Director at Ecclesiastical. He’s worked in both the company and broker markets and has his own specialisation in developing new enterprises within organisations and reengineering existing processes to develop strategy and increase RoI.

Connect with the Guest; 

Adrian Saunders | LinkedIn

Specialist Insurance & Financial Services | Ecclesiastical

Ecclesiastical Insurance Group: Overview | LinkedIn

About the Host

Sarah Myerscough is the Sales and Marketing Director of Boston Tullis Group. The founder of the insurance Brokers Podcast, she brings a wealth of marketing experience and a fresh perspective on marketing in the insurance sector. Boston Tullis is a network of industry professionals working with insurance brokers to offer solutions to business development ceilings, particularly in the rapidly developing fields of video marketing and thought leadership.

Connect with Sarah

https://www.facebook.com/bostontullis  

https://www.linkedin.com/company/bostontullis/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/sarahmyerscough/

https://bostontullis.co.uk/

HOSTED BY: Sarah Myerscough, Sarah.Myerscough@bostontullis.co.uk mobile: 07821903628

DISCLAIMER: The views, thoughts and opinions expressed in this podcast belong solely to the host and guest speakers. Please conduct your own due diligence.

Are you concerned about the speed of market evolution, and trying to keep up the pace? How can you boost efficiency in your acquisition of solutions for your clients? Is there any way to remain confident in your business ventures as the world remains profoundly uncertain?

In this episode of the Insurance Brokers’ Podcast, we’re very pleased to be speaking with Warren Bainbridge, Head of Wholesale and Distribution at Kingsbridge Insurance Brokers. Warren has extensive breadth of experience in the industry, spanning many different sectors and perspectives. In conversation with Boston Tullis’ Sarah Myerscough, he shares enlightening anecdotes and advice regarding changes in the distribution chain from reinsurance to consumer, how it has evolved over the past decade and how he anticipates it to develop in years to come.

Quote of the Episode

‘If an insurer or an MGA makes things simple or easy to do business with, then brokers will naturally gravitate to that.’

Throughout the episode, Warren frequently suggests that the ‘path of least resistance’ is often the most profitable and providential for brokers. Given the volatility and fluctuating nature of the world and its impacts on the market, he suggests that if brokers identify an opportunity with an insurer for a straightforward process from risk presentation to solution provision, they will take it. As such, insurers should endeavour to make their processes accessible and welcoming for brokers who, in turn, should always be equipped with the necessary information about their client and the risk at hand, thereby facilitating a straightforward claims-making process for every customer.

Key Takeaways

Over the past few years, the importance of e-trade solutions has accelerated significantly. Warren suggests that brokers and insurers alike should aim to employ this route for as much activity as possible, but maintains that certain complex solutions and larger-income risks require human intervention. Ultimately, therefore, broker and insurer efficiency is and will become increasingly integral to insurance processes in years to come.

However, COVID-19 threw an unexpected spanner in the works for the industry, leading to many capacities being reduced or pulled. For Warren, maintaining a sense of consistency in your business’ output is key. Yet, in times of such economic instability and unpredictability, it can be difficult to remain a sense of clear direction for your business, which in turn can affect client trust and retention.

How should brokers weigh up a balance between efficiency and consistency in years to come? Warren suggests that insurers and brokers should take this presiding volatility and instability into account when making future decisions, and be sensible in their actions. In doing so, you can navigate the present uncertainty with a clear path that your clients can rely on.

This is particularly important with regard to accelerating e-trade as Amazon (and, perhaps inevitably, Google and other Big Tech companies) begin to venture into insurance solutions. Warren suggests that clients will naturally gravitate to such companies due to their knowledge of the brand and what they stand for. As such, you need to make sure that you can stand out in the market.

Specialism will prove to be key in this respect. Warren suggests that broker and insurer profitability will increasingly be found in niche sectors and markets with minimal competition, where premium rates can be charged due to the expertise you can potentially provide in that unique space.

Best Moments/Key Quotes

“There's been a lot of drive for e-trade, but there's only so much insurance business you can e-trade. There's complexity that needs human intervention. So, you'll always have the need for that, and those insurers that have maintain that ‘Open for business, here to help’ sort of attitude have prospered. Those that have made life difficult have not.”

‘If an insurer or an MGA makes things simple or easy to do business with, then brokers will naturally gravitate to that.’

“I think those insurers or those brokers that have got specialisms can win the day, because I think you can demonstrate more expertise if you've got a specialism and therefore, it reduces the competition. There's less expertise out there in particular niches.”

“I think those [insurers] that are clear with their communication and their strategy… brokers and clients will, will naturally gravitate to. Although there is a lot of [uncertainty] in the market, hopefully insurers can deliver some, some sort of consistent strategy through all of that.”

Resources

Kingsbridge Insurance Brokers: https://www.kibl.co.uk/ 

About the Guest

Warren Bainbridge has worked in the insurance industry since he was 15. Initially, he worked in high street broking for nine nears, before joining Provincial in 1993 which eventually merged with AXA in 1996, where he worked for 18 years in total in various roles. Since then, Warren has worked for NIG Commercial, Chubb and British Engineering Services, each for a few years. In November 2021, he joined Kingsbridge Insurance Brokers as the Head of Wholesale and Distribution.

Warren’s LinkedIn Profile: https://uk.linkedin.com/in/warren-bainbridge-7016337

About the Host

Sarah Myerscough is the Sales and Marketing Director of Boston Tullis Group. The founder of The Insurance Brokers Podcast, she brings a wealth of marketing experience and a fresh perspective on marketing in the insurance sector. Boston Tullis works with insurance brokers to offer solutions to business development ceilings, particularly in the rapidly developing fields of video marketing and thought leadership.

If you would like Sarah to help you develop an integrated marketing strategy, using state of the art concepts, then please book a free 20 min call via Calendly.

Website: https://bostontullis.co.uk/ 

Evaluation Link: https://s.bostontullis.co.uk/s/podcastevaluation 

Builder Alan Brett didn’t take the theft of his tools lying down. When neither the police nor his insurers were interested, he decided to do something about it. Listen to his fascinating story as he seeks to develop a national tool database. The insurance industry really should take note!

Quote of the Episode

“I talked to a lot of police at the time about my tool theft and how angry I was. And they were saying to me that they have no information to go on. They can stop people they know are dodgy, but they can't prove they're stolen tools. They have warehouses full of stolen tools that they don't know who owns them and can’t reunite them with their owners. And each police force works differently. So we got 43 police forces that all work individually.”

About The Guest

Alan Brett has owned and run family home builders, Absolute Building Structures, for many years. When tools worth £8000 were stolen from his van he found it was almost impossible for the police to track his tools or apprehend the suspects, and his insurers refused the claim. He set off to find a solution and Tool Watch App Ltd was formed.

Connect with guest –

Alan Brett | LinkedIn

Tool Watch App | Safeguarding Your Livelihood | Register Now

About the Host

Sarah Myerscough is the Sales and Marketing Director of Boston Tullis Group. The founder of The Insurance Brokers Podcast, she brings a wealth of marketing experience and a fresh perspective on marketing in the insurance sector. Boston Tullis is a network of industry professionals working with insurance brokers to offer solutions to business development ceilings, particularly in the rapidly developing fields of video marketing and thought leadership.

Connect with Sarah

https://www.facebook.com/bostontullis  

https://www.linkedin.com/company/bostontullis/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/sarahmyerscough/

https://bostontullis.co.uk/

HOSTED BY: Sarah Myerscough, Sarah.Myerscough@bostontullis.co.uk mobile: 07821903628

DISCLAIMER: The views, thoughts and opinions expressed in this podcast belong solely to the host and guest speakers. Please conduct your own due diligence.

Are you unsure as to what kind of broker you are, or wish to be? Do you have a vague understanding of where your interests lie, and wish to reorient yourself and/or your business towards them? Are you interested to learn the various benefits and potential pitfalls of being a generalist or a specialist broker?

In this episode, we’re thrilled to be speaking with Chris Withers, the Broker Distribution Director for Ecclesiastical Insurance, about the firm’s recent research into broker specialism and generalism. The recently published whitepaper identifies four key broker personas, distinguished by their inclination towards specialist or generalist tendencies. In conversation with Boston Tullis’ Sarah Myerscough, Chris explains the findings of the study and identifies the advantages and pitfalls of each broker persona type, culminating in a fascinating discussion about how the broking market will evolve in years to come.

Quote of the Episode

‘The future’s bright if you’re a specialist.’

This notion concludes Ecclesiastical’s research report, composed after the initial survey and a series of roundtable discussions featuring brokers across the generalist-specialist spectrum. This suggests that there is a significant benefit to the particular market knowledge which specialism entails, and that this will prove increasingly fruitful as the market develops over the next few years. That being said, the very nature of specialism and generalism appears to be evolving. As Chris notes in the episode, broker consolidation is a rapidly growing part of the industry. Specialist brokers who have a particular niche within the market may soon find themselves as part of a major distributor, who may present themselves as a generalist provider with pockets of specialism. Thus, generalism is by no means a drawback, but incorporating elements of specialism into your firm, or developing a few particular niches as an individual broker may ultimately prove advantageous.

Key Takeaways

Chris Withers outlines the following broker persona types throughout the episode:

1. The Pure Specialist

• This type of broker prioritises the industry they specialise in above the provision of insurance solutions. They typically worked in that particular sector first, and then began to work in specialist insurance. As such, they are equipped with detailed market knowledge, and are often conducting their own market scanning.
• They will typically have an understanding of the challenges they may face when presented with various clients’ risks, facilitating trust between themselves and the client/insurer, and leading to smooth communication between all parties.

2. The Intentional Hybrid

• This approach is typically more identifiable in broking firms than individuals.
• They thrive on adaptability; if they see an opportunity to specialise in a particular area in the market, they will do so.
• While the Pure Specialist has an understanding of and interest in the market before the risk is presented, the Intentional Hybrid will use the specialist capabilities of the insurer to back up their own developing specialism(s).
• This persona type creates a multiplicity of options for growth and expansion, but can this principle necessarily be upscaled? Can such a firm survive in competition with others who can provide solutions without as much handholding from the insurer?

3. The Connected General Practitioner

• This broker type operates in a similar fashion to a medical GP. They are highly connected with specialist insurers, whom they will contact after assessing a client’s risk.
• They don’t necessarily try to build the capability for specialism within their own business, acting as a mediator to specialist insurers while retaining a more generalist approach themselves.
• They see broking itself as their specialism rather than the client’s needs.

4. The Organic Generalist

• This broker type is deeply concerned with the scalability of specialising.
• They are more likely to be trained in insurance first and forehand.
• Their specialism is insurance placement and managing and identifying insurance risk, rather than the client’s or a specific sector’s needs.
• They will deliberately avoid building specialist capabilities within their business.

Ultimately, there is no right or wrong personality type – each of them has a value and a powerful contribution to offer to the industry. This research is by no means conclusive or definitive, and indeed there may be other persona types prevalent within the market, or some of those outlined above could be fused together.

Best Moments/Key Quotes

“[The Pure Specialist is] completely immersed in whatever it is that they have chosen as their specialism. It is their passion, as well as their career. They are usually quite disruptive, actually, because they don't want to settle for the status quo. They don't want to come up with a solution everyone else has got, they want to be ahead of the game.”

“One of the big findings of our research was that differentiation was a big reason as to why brokers would choose a specialism, so the Intentional Hybrid sees that and has the ability to have specialist areas within their general broking business.”

“The General Practitioner certainly doesn't shy away from specialism. But they don't pretend to be anything that they're not either. So, the GP is well connected, in terms of specialist suppliers, and invariably specialist insurers that they can bring in, they deliberately seek out these opportunities, but they don't try to build that capability themselves within their business.”

“The Organic Generalist is proud of the fact that they're a generalist. And the specialism for them is insurance placement, and managing and identifying insurance risk.”

Resources

Ecclesiastical’s Whitepaper Report: https://ecclesiastical.com/documents/broker-specialist-roundtable-research.pdf

About the Guest

Chris Withers is the Broker Distribution Director for Ecclesiastical Insurance. He has over 25 years of experience in the industry, having previously worked for Covea and RSA.

Chris’ LinkedIn Profile: https://uk.linkedin.com/in/chris-withers-ab77761b 

About the Host

Sarah Myerscough is the Sales and Marketing Director of Boston Tullis Group. The founder of The Insurance Brokers Podcast, she brings a wealth of marketing experience and a fresh perspective on marketing in the insurance sector. Boston Tullis works with insurance brokers to offer solutions to business development ceilings, particularly in the rapidly developing fields of video marketing and thought leadership.

If you would like Sarah to help you develop an integrated marketing strategy, using state of the art concepts, then please book a free 20 min call via Calendly.

 Website: https://bostontullis.co.uk/ 

Evaluation Link: https://s.bostontullis.co.uk/s/podcastevaluation 

In this episode we’re thrilled to be speaking with Stephanie Jonas, Chief Operating Officer at JonasRe! In conversation with Boston Tullis’ Sarah Myerscough, Stephanie articulates how developing a passion for the industry can lead to a highly fruitful and rewarding career. She explores the cultural shifts developing across the insurance world in the last few years, the changes she anticipates in the near future, and how we might reassess the way we market ourselves to prospective new industry entrants.

Quote of the Episode

“We're learning constantly. We're never good enough. We never know enough. We have to be lawyers, we have to be advisors, we have to be accountants, we have to be compliance officers. We run the gamut of people's large businesses, making them feel better about their assets and how they're going to be protected. So, we are one and everything to all … This is not a transaction, we're not purchasing clothing, we're not buying pallets of paper, we are literally dealing with people's livelihoods, and all their assets, and it becomes very ingrained in you, if that's how you choose to play it.”

Sarah notes that for many people, developing a passion for working in the insurance world is an unexpected phenomenon. Stephanie suggests that this unfolds due to the sheer multiplicity of tasks, roles, and opportunities on offer in insurance. In any given day, brokers and insurers alike must wear a variety of different hats, all with the same incentive of managing a given client’s risks and finding solutions tailored to their specific needs. It is this variability of an insurance career which could perhaps become the key means by which we market ourselves to the next generation of insurance professionals.

Key Takeaways

For Stephanie, an insurance career becomes exciting when it is no longer approached in transactional terms. Our industry is ultimately built upon the people we meet and the conversations we have; not all of which will be easy, but which are all underpinned by the goal of delivering solutions to clients and thereby protecting their livelihoods and assets. When broking is no longer approached purely as a monetary exchange, and instead as a trade of resources and knowledge, it is easy to become hugely passionate about what we do as an industry. Changing the conversation in this way may lead those external to our industry to re-evaluate their preconceived notions of what we do.

Stephanie argues that if she were to market our industry to a group of teenagers in a school, she would ask them to think about everything in their environment – what are the materials? how was it made? how is it maintained? – and to consider the worst-case scenario if something were to go wrong. The resulting answers are microcosmic of the problem-solving we do as an industry, often dealing with potentially millions of pounds and many people’s livelihoods. In highlighting the scale of our industry and its pervasiveness in all aspects of life, we can highlight the variety of the work that we do, which could be hugely inspiring to young people seeking an exciting and multifaceted career.

Reflecting on JonasRe’s work with various large global business across the past few years, Stephanie notes that companies are becoming increasingly concerned about removing risks from their balance sheets. Requests for new and different types of cover are becoming increasingly frequent. Hence, Stephanie argues that in the future, retailers will necessarily become more focused on managing risk than pursuing transactions. Insurers and brokers alike will need to become risk managers first and foremost, instead of taking a more general approach of accepting orders and flinging back a price.

For Stephanie, there is no reason not to quote a risk. If JonasRe isn’t equipped with knowledge of a capability, they will find someone who is. Consequently, the business is constantly branching out, exploring new fields of knowledge and avenues of market opportunity. There’s no reason to turn a risk down, and even if your quote is rejected, you will nonetheless have acquired new knowledge with which to approach future risks.

Stephanie would be thrilled to hear from anybody looking to increase their volume in Canada, namely underwriters or specialist brokers interested in building up their business in the Canadian market. Her contact details are linked below!

Best Moments/Key Quotes

“I think [an insurance career] is very, for lack of a better word, sexy. It's bigger than investment banking; there's lots of money passing through; the people we deal with have billions of dollars going through Lloyds every year in premiums. We deal with the top people in the world, the top companies as well. You don't have to be the biggest or the best, you just have to try the hardest and give your best. And you have to really love it.”

“I think there has to be a big change in people becoming risk managers first, instead of accepting orders, flinging them out into the world and bringing back a price. That's where I think the change is going to be and those who do it are going to be very successful, and those who don't, may just remain stagnant.”

“There really is no end to finding solutions, pricing, risk management risk allocation, there really just isn't. There's really never a reason to say no.”

‘We want to be the people that are going to give more [and] give better, bringing that capacity and that knowledge to our clients to take that weight off their shoulders, because that's what we're here for.’

Resources

JonasRe: https://www.jonasre.com/

About the Guest

Stephanie Jonas is the Chief Operating Officer of JonasRe, a wholesale brokerage based in Toronto, with a wide range of risk specialisms.

Stephanie’s LinkedIn Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephaniejonas1000/

About the Host

Sarah Myerscough is the Sales and Marketing Director of Boston Tullis Group. The founder of The Insurance Brokers Podcast, she brings a wealth of experience and a fresh perspective on communication in the insurance sector. Boston Tullis works with insurance professionals to build effective communication both internally and externally through podcasting, event reporting, videography, and internal communications facilitation.

Website: https://bostontullis.co.uk/

Evaluation Link: https://s.bostontullis.co.uk/s/podcastevaluation

On today's episode, we’re excited to be chatting to Andrew Sparrow, Managing Director of Fidentia Insurance Brokers. Andrew has a long varied history in the insurance market and we’re particularly talking about the impact of COVID, Brexit and the technology transformations happening within the Lloyd’s market.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES:

• Identifying the niche areas of business has been fundamental to the growth of our business over 7 years.

• This last year has meant that the insurance industry has been focused on defending and retaining rather than new business.

• When dealing with binders, you will find that these are better placed in the Lloyd’s market where there is a wider appetite for specialisms.

• Lloyd’s market is known for being a bit behind the times and slow to react so the digital transformations they are working hard to introduce will be interesting to watch.

• Strategically planning for Brexit has been an achievement for Fidentia – it could have had an enormous impact on the future of the business.

BEST MOMENTS:

‘’We have felt that there's been a kind of a move in the London market in particular with individual’s kind of feeling a bit disaffected with a large broker environment, probably preferring to try their luck in a smaller medium sized London broker/Lloyd's broker, so we've benefited a bit from that.’’

‘’We've probably needed to have more of a clear-cut strategy, and I think whilst we've grown well, we're looking at that as something we need to practice and adopt a more structured and strategic approach.’’

‘’…We do have binders in the company market space, but you tend to find that you have to work harder to find the appetite in the company market.’’

‘’It's clear that this is going to be a pretty wide ranging end to end transformation that they're trying to introduce into that market, which is a huge undertaking because Lloyd’s is known as a being a bit behind the times and a bit ponderous and slow to react.’’

RESOURCES:

Fidentia Insurance Broker’s website: https://www.fidentiains.com/

Andrew’s Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrew-sparrow-13a12684/

ABOUT THE GUEST

Andy is a Commercial Insurance specialist and has over 30 years’ experience in the Lloyd’s and London Insurance Market. Career highlights for him include heading up of the Commercial Division and progressing to the main board of the Lloyds Broker he worked for previously before founding Fidentia Insurance in August 2013. Andy leads the Fidentia management team and is instrumental in creating a company culture of professionalism, teamwork and exemplary client focus.

ABOUT THE HOST

Sarah Myerscough is the Sales and Marketing Director of Boston Tullis Group. The founder of The Insurance Brokers Podcast, she brings a wealth of marketing experience and a fresh perspective on marketing in the insurance sector. Boston Tullis works with insurance brokers to offer solutions to business development ceilings, particularly in the rapidly developing fields of video marketing and thought leadership.

If you would like Sarah to help you develop an integrated marketing strategy, using state of the art concepts, then please book a free 20 min call via Calendly 

Website: https://bostontullis.co.uk/

Evaluation Link: https://s.bostontullis.co.uk/s/podcastevaluation

On today's episode, we’re excited to be speaking to Mike Keating, CEO of Managing General Agents’ Association (MGAA). Mike has been in the industry for a number of years, in various different roles and is here with us today to talk about the Lloyds market, the future of Lloyds and where 2021 might take our industry.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES:

• The pandemic and lockdown has meant that MGA’s have proved their worth in terms of their ability to be nimble and show innovation.

• The insurance industry can expect a market reset in that the dynamics of how corporate firms work will not go back to the way it was.

• Research data found that between 2019-2020, the company market was seen as a preferential market to go to compared to Lloyds.

• The digital system market is competitive in itself and brings all types of challenges for businesses.

BEST MOMENTS:

‘’I think brokers also have that great adaptability and nimbleness. Some of the larger brokers have bigger challenges, because they're very close to being corporate operations. But they adapted…’’

‘’…Given that we have honest, tangible feedback, it's clear that a project such as this, alongside the other work streams which links a future of Lloyds and continues to make it extremely attractive for both capacity and for Lloyds stakeholders, it's right that these projects are in place.’’

‘’…it's shouting from rooftops, this needs to happen, the cost needs to come down, we need to remove this acquisition cost and the frictional costs in order for us to remain competitive and also to provide even more value to our customers.’’

‘’The first thing which the whole market does effectively is it tests and challenges all relationships. It will challenge a brokers’ relationship with their capacity or their insurance in terms of the strength of that relationship, the transparency, the collaboration and effectively shine a very, very bright light on the underwriting performance of that brokers account with insurance.’’

RESOURCES:

MGAA’s website: https://www.mgaa.co.uk/

Mike’s Linkedin Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-keating-230b8424/

Project DARE Link: https://6point6.co.uk/insights/lloyds-market-association/

ABOUT THE GUEST

Mike Keating is the CEO of Managing General Agents’ Association (MGAA). With over 35 years’ experience in the industry, he has worked for Insurers, Brokers & MGA’s in both the Commercial & Personal Lines market. Mike has held executive positions within big firms such as AXA, UK General and most recently Qlaims before becoming Managing Director at MGAA in September 2020.

ABOUT THE HOST

Sarah Myerscough is the Sales and Marketing Director of Boston Tullis Group. The founder of The Insurance Brokers Podcast, she brings a wealth of marketing experience and a fresh perspective on marketing in the insurance sector. Boston Tullis works with insurance brokers to offer solutions to business development ceilings, particularly in the rapidly developing fields of video marketing and thought leadership.

If you would like Sarah to help you develop an integrated marketing strategy, using state of the art concepts, then please book a free 20 min call via Calendly 

Website: https://bostontullis.co.uk/

Evaluation Link: https://s.bostontullis.co.uk/s/podcastevaluation

Have you missed the interpersonal connections which are so integral to the insurance industry over the past two years? Are you keen to get more involved in the industry community, or to reaffirm the connections you once had prior to the pandemic?

In this episode of the Insurance Brokers’ Podcast, we are thrilled to be speaking with Emma Chapman, Head of Conference at BIBA, who is leading the team responsible for organising this year’s in-person event! In conversation with Boston Tullis’ Sarah Myerscough, she explains what attendees can look forward to at this year’s conference, what we should expect to get out of it, and the opportunities available for new brokers and young people looking to enter the industry. The BIBA Conference will be held on 11th – 12th May 2022 in Manchester.

Quote of the Episode

“Our theme this year is our insurance community. We really wanted to capture that feeling of reconnecting and coming together; the industry reuniting after all this time. BIBA is the place for that. We're proud to lead in that area and be the biggest event for the broking community in the UK.”

The past few years have undoubtedly been a transitional period for the insurance industry. Now that the country is finally beginning to recover and re-emerge from COVID regulations, this is an optimum time for the broking community to reconvene and reunite. As Emma explains throughout the episode, this year’s BIBA Conference offers an array of great networking opportunities for attendees to form new connections with other delegates, and perhaps also to bolster ties with brokers which may have been somewhat impaired by the necessity of virtual work over the course of the pandemic.

Key Takeaways

Big numbers are expected to attend the BIBA conference this year! In the episode, Emma notes that in 2019, 5000 brokers were in attendance, and a similar amount are expected to attend this year.

This highlights the great opportunity that this event represents to reinvigorate the brokering community which has been greatly impacted by the restrictions of the pandemic. As Emma notes, insurance is a ‘personable business’, and as such, the ability to network in person, which hasn’t been possible for so long, will be incredibly valuable this year.

The industry is only as strong as the community which constitutes it. The ability to build connections between firms through in-person interaction is the best way to sustain the strength of this community, as it will always work better with unity and personable interaction. Therefore, Emma suggests that delegates should take this year’s conference as a significant opportunity to build new connections with other brokers, or reaffirm pre-existing ones.

If you are keen to attend this year’s conference, please be sure to download the BIBA app. It will be available to download in a few weeks’ time, and will serve as your primary guide to the conference, both in navigating the floorplan and maintaining your schedule.

Additionally, a key part of this year’s conference will be the Young Broker Day. The restrictions of the past two years have been particularly difficult, Emma suggests, for young people who may have only just entered the insurance industry prior to lockdown, or indeed those who joined while the working world was primarily virtual. This is particularly difficult in an industry which is so heavily reliant on interpersonal communication. As such, Young Broker Day offers a range of networking opportunities for new industry entrants to form connections and broaden their understanding of the insurance world. Young Broker Day has also been opened out for the first time to local students, providing a fantastic opportunity for those considering a career in insurance, or even those who may not believe insurance is a viable career for them, to learn about the prospects it offers and network with prominent industry figures.

Boston Tullis’ own Sarah Myerscough will be attending this year’s conference as a reporter for BIBA! If you spot her at the event, please come and have a chat!

If you have any questions/queries about the conference, don’t hesitate to get in contact with Emma or Sarah – their LinkedIn profiles are linked below!

Best Moments/Key Quotes

“The exhibition will have 200 plus exhibitors, they're all with their staff who are desperate to talk to people. This is quite a personable industry really, when you think about it, and to be able to do business, and get deals done, and network in-person is so important to this to the thriving of this industry.”

“What I would like people to come away with thinking is that they have made some real worthwhile, longstanding new connections, and perhaps bolstered the ones that they already had with people in the exhibition hall, whether they're insurers, or providers, or other brokers.”

“I think that the set of people that have most struggled over the two years is actually the younger generation, the ones who have just got into the industry. Maybe they're in their first job, or they got it the year before. And then suddenly, that's it, they were taken away from the office, where you learn so much from your colleagues.”

Resources

The Biba Conference: https://thebibaconference.org.uk/ 

About the Guest

Emma Chapman is the Head of Conference at BIBA (British Insurance Brokers’ Association). Having previously worked closely with BIBA as Event Manager for The Campaign Partnership, she now manages a small, in-house team responsible for the organisation of this year’s conference.

Emma’s LinkedIn Profile: https://uk.linkedin.com/in/emma-chapman-29a97610b 

About the Host

Sarah Myerscough is the Sales and Marketing Director of Boston Tullis Group. The founder of The Insurance Brokers Podcast, she brings a wealth of marketing experience and a fresh perspective on marketing in the insurance sector. Boston Tullis works with insurance brokers to offer solutions to business development ceilings, particularly in the rapidly developing fields of video marketing and thought leadership.

If you would like Sarah to help you develop an integrated marketing strategy, using state of the art concepts, then please book a free 20 min call via Calendly.

Website: https://bostontullis.co.uk/ 

Evaluation Link: https://s.bostontullis.co.uk/s/podcastevaluation 

In this week's episode, we are speaking to Gary Williamson, Trading and Development Manager at South Essex Insurance Brokers (SEIB). Gary has over 25 years experience in the industry across all elements and joined SEIB in February 2020 after having worked with big names in the insurance space such as AXA, AIG and CAN.

KEY TAKEAWAYS:

• The transition that the business needed to make during COVID was difficult, but it was a change that needed to happen.

• Some insurers have damaged their reputation and relationships through this time but not wrapping themselves around the broker and thinking of it too insular.

• Our brand has been built on effort, passion and our ability to deal with experts and drive our business forward.

• Having a strong a successful management team in place is the key to phenomenal business profits and growth.

BEST MOMENTS:

“…you learn more about any business and yourself a little bit as well in a time of difficulty. I think it would have been quite a simple transition into a fairly understandable business but I think it's not so much easier, I guess, to learn about the challenges and the things that we really faced by seeing it in a point of real change and knowing the significant issues that businesses never face and weren't prepared for.’’

‘’You probably ended up doing more business with nimble MGAs into Lloyds markets and those kind of players where they've been open for business, they've had an appetite, and you've been able to get all the people and actually you've built much stronger relationships through this.’’

‘’We've got a really strong commercial general open market, which perhaps we don't shout enough about. That's definitely an area that we've seen some real progress and growth in to just been the local broker for our clients in South Essex, which isn't a particularly over-populated by broker territory.’’

‘’I think as CEOs, they engage on a regular basis in the business and my level between myself and the Managing Directors of the three businesses we engage on a regular basis - we look at things like markets, trends, challenges, and partnerships.’’

RESOURCES:

SEIB website: https://www.seib.co.uk/

Gary’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gary-williamson-7107082b/

ABOUT THE HOST

Sarah Myerscough is the Sales and Marketing Director of Boston Tullis Group. The founder of The Insurance Brokers Podcast, she brings a wealth of marketing experience and a fresh perspective on marketing in the insurance sector. Boston Tullis works with insurance brokers to offer solutions to business development ceilings, particularly in the rapidly developing fields of video marketing and thought leadership.

If you would like Sarah to help you develop an integrated marketing strategy, using state of the art concepts, then please book a free 20 min call via Calendly 

Website: https://bostontullis.co.uk/

Evaluation Link: https://s.bostontullis.co.uk/s/podcastevaluation

Why is it so important to set Net Zero targets on an individual business level? Is there anything regional or provincial brokerages can do to help curb the impact of climate change?

In this episode of the Insurance Broker Podcast, we’re thrilled to be speaking with returning guest Adrian Saunders, Commercial Director of Ecclesiastical Insurance. Ecclesiastical recently conducted a survey investigating brokers’ attitudes to Net Zero target setting and carbon emissions reduction, which has yielded some slightly disappointing, but not entirely surprising results. In conversation with Boston Tullis’ Sarah Myerscough, Adrian shares the highlights from the survey, and emphasises the imperative of raising climate awareness across the insurance industry, and providing greater resources and information for small businesses looking to make a difference.

Quote of the Episode

“We need to have a shared responsibility, across business, across society… and recognise and accept that responsibility and do something. Surely we're all better for doing something than saying, ‘That’s too difficult, I can't do anything.’”

National brokerages are leading the charge with regards to setting Net Zero targets and announcing climate-conscious commitments. It’s all too easy for smaller businesses to say that there’s nothing they can really do to help deter climate change, as any impact they might have would be negligible or insignificant in the broader scheme of things. Yet, it is only through an acceptance of a collective social responsibility, at every level of industry and society, to cutting carbon emissions and cultivating new, climate conscious ways to conduct our lives and business, that any substantial change can be made, and this crisis can be avoided. No business is too small to set Net Zero targets.

Key Takeaways

In the year since Ecclesiastical’s last climate awareness survey, understanding that Net Zero is a good thing has grown by 40%. Alongside this, 39% of brokers nationwide have established targets for becoming Net Zero. Yet, the growth in brokers setting these targets over the last year has been marginal, and the part of the market that seems to be lagging is regional and provincial brokers. Only 10% of regional brokers, and only 4% of provincial brokers, have set Net Zero targets.

Perhaps of even greater concern is that only 12% of all respondents to this year’s survey think it’s important to their clients that they have a carbon Net Zero mindset, with no change in this attitude from last year. This is contradicted by the fact that nearly three quarters of brokers have affirmed the importance of climate consciousness. Furthermore, all businesses are increasingly interested in the ethical stance of those whom they are trading and cooperating with.

What can we do as brokers to reduce our emissions and become Net Zero? How do we get started? For Adrian, in every facet of a business, you will probably be able to identify a change you could consciously make to become more climate responsible, such as introducing hybrid meetings to reduce travel emissions. Before we implement these changes, we first need to build a climate-conscious environment within our businesses. This must begin with a strong level of understanding about climate change, accompanied by a narrative about what you will do as a business to combat it. We must identify our carbon footprint, both on a business level and an individual level, and the opportunities we have to make a change.

Understanding how we can combat climate change is at the very essence of what we do as an industry. Insurance is all about managing risk, and the prospect of climate catastrophe is the biggest risk we all face today. Ecclesiastical have curated several great resources regarding how brokers can become more climate responsible, including a series of webinars linked in the Resources section below.

Best Moments/Key Quotes

“What our research shows is that national brokers, therefore bigger brokers with access to more resources have got, got targets and a greater level of awareness. As you come down the scale of size of broking businesses, there is less awareness and target setting. Maybe there is an element of, ‘We're too small for this to be important. We're too small to make a contribution.’ And I think what I would say to that is, ‘Nobody is too small.’”

“I think brokers have got a huge role to play. You know, brokers are skilled and trusted advisors. That's what brokers do for their living. They've got the trust of clients, they understand what client's needs are, and they understand what their challenges are. So, by modelling some of this behaviour, I think brokers have got a really, really key role to play in, in business at large.”

“What are those practical actions towards Net Zero? It's about creating that environment. Understanding what your impact is, equally understanding the opportunity, and doing something.”

Resources

Ecclesiastical – Practical actions to reduce your company’s carbon footprint: https://www.ecclesiastical.com/brokers/training/practical-actions-net-zero/

About the Guest

Adrian Saunders is the Commercial Director of Ecclesiastical Insurance. He’s worked in both the company and broker markets, and specialises in developing new enterprises within organisations, and re-engineering existing processes to develop strategy and increase ROL.

Adrian Saunders | LinkedIn

About the Host

Sarah Myerscough is the Sales and Marketing Director of Boston Tullis Group. The founder of The Insurance Brokers Podcast, she brings a wealth of experience and a fresh perspective on communication in the insurance sector. Boston Tullis works with insurance professionals to build effective communication both internally and externally through podcasting, event reporting, videography, and internal communications facilitation.

Website: https://bostontullis.co.uk/ 

Evaluation Link: https://s.bostontullis.co.uk/s/podcastevaluation 

Alistair Fraser, CEO of Marsh Corporate, talks leadership, and the possibilities provided by the pandemic, in this fascinating chat with Sarah Myerscough.

Quote of the Episode

“we've got a massive opportunity as an industry to attract people back”

About the Guest

Having started in insurance with the Independent, Alistair has spent most of his career with the major global brokers. He’s been with Marsh for 13 years and is now CEO of Marsh UK Corporate following spells with Marsh in Indonesia and Singapore. With leadership experience at the very top of our industry, across highly varied cultures, he’s very well placed to talk about the leadership challenges and opportunities facing us as we emerge from the pandemic.

Connect with the Guest; 

(2) Alistair Fraser | LinkedIn

Corporate (marsh.com)

About the Host

Sarah Myerscough is the Sales and Marketing Director of Boston Tullis Group. The founder of the insurance Brokers Podcast, she brings a wealth of marketing experience and a fresh perspective on marketing in the insurance sector. Boston Tullis is a network of industry professionals working with insurance brokers to offer solutions to business development ceilings, particularly in the rapidly developing fields of video marketing and thought leadership.

CONNECT WITH SARAH

https://www.facebook.com/bostontullis  

https://www.linkedin.com/company/bostontullis/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/sarahmyerscough/

https://bostontullis.co.uk/

HOSTED BY: Sarah Myerscough, Sarah.Myerscough@bostontullis.co.uk mobile: 07821903628

DISCLAIMER: The views, thoughts and opinions expressed in this podcast belong solely to the host and guest speakers. Please conduct your own due diligence.

On today’s episode, we’re excited to be talking to Brett Sainty, CEO of BLW Insurance Brokers. Brett’s 30 years career in the insurance industry spans broking and MGA management as both employee and business owner. We’ll be talking about the challenges and opportunities he’s seen in his time in the industry and the changes appearing on the horizon.

Learning Objectives

• What’s behind the hardening market, particularly in PI

• The reputational damage caused by the Covid BI issue and how BIBA is important to rehabilitating our image

• The need for really good communication in a hard market

• Digital marketing and digital natives – how to prosper in the new landscape

Best Moments

“If a small chain of hotels was previously occupied and trading as a going concern for hotels, and has been closed during COVID, are they now occupied? There are insurers that will consider them to now be unoccupied, and consequently, will be imposing either a significant reduction in the cover that they provide, along with a significant increase in the premium or declining to offer terms altogether.”

‘’If you're not online, you don't exist. Find out what you're really good at... Because you won't know it immediately.”

“Everybody I've spoken to that has worked for Peter Cullum and I've done a podcast with Peter as well as Tim Johnson, Clive Nathan and a whole range of people that have worked with Peter, have all said the pace at which you moved in the early days of Towergate was like three times any normal day and what you would normally learn in 10 years you learned in two!”

“…to make that transition, and it's a tough, tough movement, that 5 million to 10 million GWP is a really, really, really tough move, but it can be done and crucial to it, I think, is finding a specialist and work with your insurer partners to identify that. Then that marketing message is absolutely vital - and you guys at Boston Tullis have got a part to play in this because this industry needs that.”

Resources

BLW’s website Home - BLW Insurance Brokers Limited

Brett’s Profile Brett Sainty | LinkedIn

About The Guest

Brett’s career spans 30 years in the insurance industry with much of that time spend creating, running and marketing schemes and MGAs, often within a Lloyds capacity. He has held senior positions in consolidators, independent national brokers as well as being involved in two entrepreneurial start-ups throughout his career.

ABOUT THE HOST

Sarah Myerscough is the Sales and Marketing Director of Boston Tullis Group. The founder of The Insurance Brokers Podcast, she brings a wealth of marketing experience and a fresh perspective on marketing in the insurance sector. Boston Tullis works with insurance brokers to offer solutions to business development ceilings, particularly in the rapidly developing fields of video marketing and thought leadership.

If you would like Sarah to help you develop an integrated marketing strategy, using state of the art concepts, then please book a free 20 min call via Calendly 

Website: https://bostontullis.co.uk/

Evaluation Link: https://s.bostontullis.co.uk/s/podcastevaluation

This episode is the first part of a three part series in boosting your sales performance. Richard has extensive experience in this field and across the series he shares his 12 key strategic areas to consider in your business, as well as practical tools and hints to support your planning, process and performance.

KEY TAKEAWAYS:

• We've got to generate high growth in low growth economies. If that was true before COVID, and it was, it's even more true now when it's uncertain where growth is going to come from.

• Trust built out of a mixture of credibility, reliability, and intimacy.

• Stephen Covey (Senior) is always talking about ‘start with the end in mind’. And as a business leader, I'm absolutely focused on where we want to take the business and where we want to be in five years’ time and everything we do, is centred on that

• So 10% of your clients will be generating 50% of your revenue. So if you can identify your top 10% and say each one, what are they likely to deliver, you'll probably have a clear picture on your 50% of your income, you will then want to extend it out to the next 10% you'll get another 30% of your income on top, you've covered 80% analytics

BEST MOMENTS:

“I think we got to look, historically, sales have been flaky. And we've been retrospective. So we've used lagging indicators. How much did we sell last month? Well, that tells us whether we had a good month or not. So we've got to move from lagging indicators to leading indicators. What are the things that are going on which tell us what will be happening so that when you go into a management meeting or board meeting, whatever it might be, you're talking about the indicators that can give the business confidence to know what will happen.”

“These things will tell us what's going to happen in the future and will also allow you to coach and manage performance. But we've also got to make sure that we're communicating that stuff clearly. No having multiple Excel spreadsheets that nobody can understand or read, and which take hours to put together, move away from that, get real clarity, and concision into what we're communicating. And then communicate early and communicate in a way that's relevant to me.”

RESOURCES:

SalesLevers website: https://www.saleslevers.com/

ABOUT THE HOST

Sarah Myerscough is the Sales and Marketing Director of Boston Tullis Group. The founder of The Insurance Brokers Podcast, she brings a wealth of marketing experience and a fresh perspective on marketing in the insurance sector. Boston Tullis works with insurance brokers to offer solutions to business development ceilings, particularly in the rapidly developing fields of video marketing and thought leadership.

If you would like Sarah to help you develop an integrated marketing strategy, using state of the art concepts, then please book a free 20 min call via Calendly 

Website: https://bostontullis.co.uk/

Evaluation Link: https://s.bostontullis.co.uk/s/podcastevaluation

ABOUT THE GUEST

Richard Higham is an Executive Director at SalesLevers; a business that enables companies to drive sales performance in a radically changing sales world.

Richard has over 25 years of experience in sales performance consulting. He has won, designed and led consulting and training projects with global banks, insurers and professional services firms across five continents. He has also worked on sales performance in sectors ranging from logistics to manufacturing.

Richard also teaches on the Dublin Institute of Technology’s Postgraduate Diploma in International Sales course and runs business development and leadership programmes for Cass Business School at the University of London.

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/richardhigham

Twitter: https://twitter.com/RichardHigham