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Welcome to People in Insurance: Changing the Conversation Join us as we delve into the dynamic intersection of diversity, culture, and technological innovations within the insurance industry. Listen in as Host, Sarah Myerscough, Chief Ideas Officer at Macaii, sits down to talk with trailblazers, thought leaders, and innovators who are reshaping the very fabric of insurance. Here, we bring you stories that not only redefine the narrative but also offer a fresh perspective on the evolving landscape of insurance. From ground-breaking initiatives to transformative insights, we’re your trusted guide through the winds of change. Tune in to People in Insurance, brought to you by Macaii, and stay ahead of the curve in the ever-evolving world of insurance.
Episodes
Monday Mar 16, 2020
Monday Mar 16, 2020
On today's episode, Peter talks about his extensive experience in the industry and his incredibly varied and successful career. He shares some of this thoughts and advice on business growth and focus as well as discusses successful marketing strategies that could benefit other industry professionals.
LEARNING OBJECTIVES:
- Considering and planning for your exit strategy is important, mergers and acquisitions are only part of the story. Management buy outs and management buy ins, although less frequent, should be considered.
- To be a successful broker, you need to be extremely client focused and have a sense over protecting your clients.
- Marketing and branding is really important. Having a clear, creative and appealing marketing campaign is bound to make your business successful.
- It’s important to work on your business rather than solely working in your business. Having a strategy around this helps you to focus on what really works.
- Taking external advice as a broker is extremely beneficial.
BEST MOMENTS:
“For an MBO to be successful, the owner has to be really keen for the MBO to happen. if you own a small broker, you will get more money by selling your business to a third party than you would do by selling it to your management team.”
“The best people to run a small brokerage are people who are client people. This is because we're all here to fundamentally look after clients as well as sell business. What better person to run a broker than someone that is focused on clients?”
‘’Marketing is the fundamental force behind your business plan.’’
‘’There is a big danger in that people will go online and buy rubbish cover cheaply and think they're protected then they find out they're not when something goes horribly wrong. I think there is a massive role for brokers in protecting people. Brokers are bound by the importance of advice.’’
RESOURCES:
Aston Lark Website: https://www.astonlark.com/peter-blanc
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
Peter Blanc is the Group CEO for insurance broker giant Aston Lark. He leads a business with over 750 staff across 26 locations in the UK and Ireland that writes over £350 million of gross written premium. Peter has worked in eth insurance industry for over 20 years and has been part of every conceivable exit strategy.
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/peter-blanc-0402961a/
Evaluation Link: https://s.bostontullis.co.uk/s/podcastevaluation
Monday Mar 09, 2020
Monday Mar 09, 2020
In this episode, Zoe explains the importance of mental health awareness and wellbeing in the corporate workplace and how mindfulness and positive psychology can help. Zoe gives great insight into the way the human brain works and how developing a culture within the workplace can support us as a company and as individuals.
KEY TAKEAWAYS:
- “15% of people who have mental health issues whilst at work are caused by their workplace.”
- “If you're bringing together different organisations with different cultures, the way our mind may respond, unless it's managed exceptionally well, is defensive according to the perceived ‘threat’.
- “There is a developing field of neuroscience, which is really starting to understand our brain, how it works, what's happening when we're under different stresses.
BEST MOMENTS:
“One of the things that we're missing so deeply in our society is a sense of community. There's been a lot of studies recently by the government think tank on wellbeing and loneliness. It makes us ill - we’re social beings. We are not supposed to be these highly individualised, I can do everything by myself, everything's wonderful type of person. We are supposed to be living in a community.”
“The group that I worked with at the organisation I was just talking about, I trained mindful champions, who now run their own mindfulness sessions. I think they do one morning one lunchtime and one evening a week so that the staff can go in and just all de stress together with it.”
RESOURCES:
Work Live Thrive Website: https://worklivethrive.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
ABOUT THE GUEST
Zoe Flint is the Director of Work.Live..Thrive Wellbeing Consultancy who deliver cutting edge, evidence based and fun wellbeing solutions, enabling everyone to thrive; at work and in life. Founded in 2017, Work.Live.Thrive was established to share the knowledge, tools and techniques Zoe used to recover from a 20 year battle with anxiety and depression. Now a trained Coach, Hypnotherapist and Mindfulness Trainer, Zoe also works one to one with clients and specialises in trauma and anxiety.
Thursday Mar 05, 2020
Thursday Mar 05, 2020
In this episode, David explains the importance of devoting time to leadership and management in any business journey. He shares some top tips for small brokers on how to improve their negotiating position with insurers and how to build significant revenue within the industry. He talks through his career journey, his achievements and some of his best moments!
KEY TAKEAWAYS:
Understanding your revenue drivers is significantly important. Putting in place plans and written processes is equally important if you want to support their growth.
You must make time for management - it’s still a job that needs doing. If you don’t make time to do the job, the job doesn’t get done.
Amplifying your new business effort by focusing on what you’re good at is how you can minimise time loss and maximise profits.
BEST MOMENTS:
‘’Make sure your client is covered and make sure they can pay for the premium in the best possible way – but that doesn’t stop you making a profit. Selling something isn’t morally wrong unless it’s mis-sold.’’
‘’Insurance is a people-based business, so you have to make a keen effort to bring your team on board with written and manageable processes. You need to communicate your plans properly and include your team in those plans.’’
‘’Having proactive sales campaigns to sell additional products to your already existing client base is a cross-selling key to making a profitable revenue stream in the industry.’’
‘’The more successful people are those that look to these processes and implement them properly with a thoroughly thought out plan.’’
RESOURCES:
Gallagher Website: https://www.ajg.com/us/about-us/our-purpose/
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
David Wrathall is an Integration Director at Gallagher. He started his career as a civil engineer and moved into the insurance industry in the early 80s. Since then, he’s been in a number of senior roles within major UK brokers such as Towergates. David has significant experience in developing streamlined processes to enhance revenue growth prior to and following acquisitions.
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/david-wrathall-9430836
Monday Feb 24, 2020
Monday Feb 24, 2020
In this episode, Kevin explains how having a long-term plan enables him and his team to focus on growing Yutree and has allowed them to take the company from strength to strength. He talks about investing in profitable people and goes into a little more depth about how working with the right people aids building a successful brand, team and business overall. He also shares helpful tips and advice about the way in which the business is marketed, what he feels works best and some good and structured advice for those looking to start in the industry.
PART 1: https://theinsurancebroker.podbean.com/e/tibp-kevin-hancock-part-1/
KEY TAKEAWAYS:
Brainstorming and having a structured long-term business plan is what enables you to find a niche and be able to offer services that differ from your competitors
Analysing and reviewing monthly objectives is imperative in understanding and noticing why something hasn’t quite gone to plan. Making sure you do means you’re less likely to make the same mistakes in the future.
Building a local networking community allows avenues for strong trading relationships as well as strong personal relationships – enabling everyone within the networking group to benefit from organic business growth.
Brand is key – brand encompasses such a wide area that it’s a visible part of your culture.
Qualifications are important. The sooner you can get qualified, the better for you in the long run.
BEST MOMENTS:
‘’There are different methodologies for growing businesses with different customer bases – each product has its own target and ambition.’’
‘’It’s about finding out what you didn’t win and why – and understanding how to give yourself a better chance with each new business opportunity.’’
“Everybody that’s within that environment, who's trading with each other, wants to do a really good job within that network because if they don’t, then everybody will quickly find out about it – it’s something where trust creates trust and goodwill.”
‘’People confuse brand with just a logo – for us, a brand is all about trust.’’
RESOURCES:
Yutree website: https://yutree.com/
BIBA Website: https://www.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 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
Kevin Hancock is a Managing Director at Yutree Insurance Ltd and his extensive career spans over 30 years in the industry. Kevin firmly believes in a client-centric approach as well as building strong relationships with clients and customers alike. Trust is an important factor for Kevin and so building this element into the Yutree brand has been a key focus for him over the years and will continue to be so in the future.
Kevin is also involved in CII (Chartered Insurance Institute) and BIBA and Pool Reinsurance Company, which gives him an extensive reach into the industry which he uses to support and shape the development of the insurance and broking world.
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/jemcokevin
Twitter: https://twitter.com/jemcokevin
Monday Feb 17, 2020
Monday Feb 17, 2020
In this week’s episode, Tim will be talking about his start in the insurance industry and his experiences, lessons and achievements along the way. Tim will share some amazing tips for businesses on how to be more attractive for potential buyers who would like to acquire their business; and advise for brokers on how to be more successful in attracting great opportunities for investment – and if you’re in the insurance industry, it’s definitely worth a listen!
KEY TAKEAWAYS:
- How to buy and now not to buy a business – for instance completing a rebrand on Day 1 is quite an emotive issue. A lot of the equity value you have paid for is in the brand you have bought.
- If you want to treat customers like commodities, they'll come and go as commodities do, and their stock price will go up and down like copper does. If you treat them like clients, you've got a much better chance of greater retention. There's still a commercial angle.
- If you speak to a vendor that you might be looking to invest in or buy, if they talk about clients, what we do for the clients, more than other stuff, that's pretty critical. At the same time, the only other asset they have is staff so if they talk about staff a lot, that's pretty important.
- As a vendor you can afford to make the decision to sell based on buyer relationship not just money.
BEST MOMENTS:
“if you want to win in the future, you've got to have a delivery mechanism which the customer is happy with and looks like the rest of the things they buy. At the same time, and most brokers probably would say this, if you can overlay at least a layer of relationship/advisory, that's the winning formula.”
“Focus on the organic growth and have an organic growth story”
“The Towergate clock used to spin round at triple the speed of everywhere else. You could get almost literally 10 years of experience in twelve or eighteen months because we just did so much. The pace was phenomenal.”
RESOURCES:
Stackhouse Poland: https://www.synova-capital.com/our-companies/stackhouse-poland-1/
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
Tim Johnson was CEO of insurance group Stackhouse Poland. He joined the insurance industry as a graduate trainee around 30 year ago and a large part of his career has been specialising in mergers and acquisitions. His knowledge, expertise and interest in this area is significant.
Tim’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tim-johnson-200b21b1/
Monday Feb 17, 2020
Monday Feb 17, 2020
In this episode, Richard will share some of the experiences throughout his career that gave him the most valuable learning and key indicators for a successful sales business. He will talk about level of activity, concentration of effort and effectiveness, and what influence it has for a small, growing business. Richard will also give three top tips for boosting your sales.
KEY TAKEAWAYS:
- Resilience is the key for becoming successful in the business
- There are three levers that the sales managers can pull - activity, concentration of effort and effectiveness
- Activity is a driver for success, particularly in smaller companies
BEST MOMENTS:
“A hard sales environment is a good thing because when it’s all easy anyone can do it, whereas when it’s hard, only the best triumph.”
“If you understand the leading indicators of sales, then you can manage them effectively and you can predict future success with a high degree of accuracy.”
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
Monday Feb 17, 2020
Monday Feb 17, 2020
In this episode, Kevin will talk about being awarded chartered status for Yutree Insurance, what steps are required to gain this status and discusses the challenges in progressing to chartered status. He will also discuss the importance of keeping his employees engaged in constantly learning and evolving, and the future prognosis for the insurance industry.
PART 2: https://theinsurancebroker.podbean.com/e/tibp-kevin-hancock-part-2/
KEY TAKEAWAYS:
- Taking the exams as early as possible and studying throughout a career is a key for building a successful career as a broker
- Client-centric and staff-centric models are the more sustainable business models
BEST MOMENTS:
“Translate what you’re learning academically to what is going on in the real world and have real examples and case studies, so it’s not just trying to absorb what’s in the book… Try and buddy up with someone as a mentor”
“If someone asks how I get to X? the answer is that it just depends where you're starting from. We need to understand if someone is doing some learning, either they are starting from base zero or they are halfway up the mountain. How a mentor might help you depends on your starting point”
“One of the things that I would say to anyone, whether or not you are in broking, claims, underwriting, any parts of the profession is actually put yourself forward for a bit of this kind of networking. Get involved with your local CII institutes or your Biba region or, or whatever else it is, because you'll meet people along the way that at some point in the future, you can be of help to them and they to you, you just won't note at the time.”
RESOURCES:
Yutree website: https://yutree.com/
BIBA Website: https://www.biba.org.uk/
The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen R. Covey: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Habits-Highly-Effective-People-Powerful/dp/0743269519
About Charles Handy: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Handy
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
Kevin Hancock is a Managing Director at Yutree Insurance Ltd. His insurance career spans over 30 years in the industry. Kevin firmly believes in a client-centric approach which is the foundation for all Yutree business decisions.
Kevin is also involved in CII (Chartered Insurance Institute) and BIBA which gives him an extensive reach into the industry which he uses to support and shape the development of the insurance and broking world.
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/jemcokevin
Twitter: https://twitter.com/jemcokevin
Wednesday Jan 29, 2020
Wednesday Jan 29, 2020
On today’s episode, we’re excited to be talking to Peter Cullum, CBE, an icon of the industry whose work has significantly shaped the modern consolidator market. In this fascinating conversation with Boston Tullis’ Sarah Myerscough, he discusses the implications of digitization for the insurance industry in years to come, and how you can adapt your business to ensure that it continues to thrive and grow in spite of potential economic challenges to come.
Learning Objectives
Evaluate how your business can employ the technology which has revolutionized the industry over the past decade, and will continue to do so at a rapid pace throughout the next.
Sustaining a high retention rate: There needs to be regular, consistent contact with customers, providing useful information which maintains a strong bond. Peter provides the analogy of an announced flood alert; an insurance company could employ this as a means of strengthening that broker-customer bond by providing useful information for dealing with that situation and its potential ramifications.
However, is this problematized by the digitization of the vast majority of all the correspondence that takes place in the industry? Does this sever the relationship? Peter notes that for the most part “the relationship can be, and in most senses is [already] digital. We use text, we use LinkedIn, we use all sorts of different communication mediums to get to our clients… We are now using much more digitally-driven claims processes to give more control to the client so they can see, effectively, where that claim is in terms of the process, and making sure that we can provide a very, very, where possible, swift response to all aspects.”
Therefore, the various forms of digital communication available provide a means to sustain a consistent and mutually beneficial relationship between broker and customer. Peter emphasizes that contact must be maintained with this customer, to ensure that the relationship it creates is not diminished. A sense of locality is important, particularly in the SME market, and the provision of local contact, even if it is purely through digital means, may be profoundly useful in retaining a strong annual customer base.
Peter suggests that using the digital platforms available will soon become quintessential for a business’ survival, irrespective of its size. Engaging and interactive websites, coupled with a consistent use of social media can reaffirm a customer’s confidence in the business.
Top tips for provincial brokers: Peter emphasized the paramount importance of specializing, particularly given the competitive nature of the marketplace. Identify a niche which you excel in, and make that central to your business. By contrast, taking on the major insurance companies with a generalist approach is almost fatalistic, as ultimately, you will be competing on price.
Key Takeaway
The digitization of the market is an inevitable process. In order for your business to remain competitive, it must employ the available technologies to retain regular contact with existing customers while also building solid relationships with new customers. If the business is an SME, specializing in a niche area will likely prove fruitful so as not to compete on price alone with larger companies.
Best Moments/Key Quotes
“There'll be winners and losers. And the winners will be those who actually adapt to all the changing behaviours,and embrace AI and machine learning so that they can clearly differentiate themselves from the also-rans.”
“The broker-insurer dynamic is such where there should be much more working together.”
“If you ever look at lifetime value of products that then clearly your existing customers are potentially more important than your new customers, which isn't always reflected in the pricing in our marketplace, where the, the obsession with new sometimes seems to sort of create, in my opinion, an illusion in relation to how you should be positioning your pricing strategy. I think existing customers are really, really important.”
“Being the cheapest isn’t necessarily so great for the longevity of your business because there’s always somebody who’s cheaper. Sell on value, sell on expertise, sell on knowledge.”
About The Guest
Peter Cullum’s career spans 50 years in the industry. A recipient of the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award, and CBE recipient for his achievements in business and philanthropy.
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