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That fervent picking apart of what each figure means, where it came from and what its implications are for the future is a well-worn ritual, started in childhood and borne cheerlessly into adulthood. The problem with the autopsying of the way things are is the open invitation it offers to considering what might have been and what ought to have been – twin considerations that hold little water when dealing with absolutes.

There is, of course, value to be found in critiquing results but all too often it’s a time-consuming affair that yields fewer insights than might be expected for the time invested in its practice. And so, it was with an open mind to the suggestion of a substitute that I recently came across the suggestion of an alternative tradition – a managerial strategy known as a pre-mortem.

Seemingly coined by the research psychologist Gary Klein, a pre-mortem sees team members “assume that the project they are planning has just failed—as so many do—and then generate plausible reasons for its demise”. In doing so, those with misgivings are able to voice them at the outset of a project in a bid to future-proof its success.

I confess I was initially quite dubious about the wisdom of engaging in such an enterprise – it struck me not so much as putting the cart before the horse as resigning the horse to the pasture and the cart to firewood before you’ve actually looked at either. But the more you dig into the mechanics of the strategy, the more sense it makes, particularly with respect to the insurance profession.

By its very nature, insurance needs to be forward-looking. The ambition to future-proof businesses is embedded in the very DNA of risk management. In a recent interview, Marsh’s James Crask highlighted that without a focus on resilience measures, the ability to proactively mitigate effective business continuity measures is throttled.

Between Brexit, COVID, the cost-of-living crisis, rising energy bills and the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, there is no shortage of wolves at the door and it’s understandable that so many businesses are deploying the tried and tested recourse of worrying about tomorrow, tomorrow. But the reality is that most businesses have never faced such a maelstrom of combined economic, social and political factors hitting at the same time.

Tomorrow is being written by today, and today is looking increasingly uncertain. Insurance businesses are in the unenviable position of having to share that message and create the resilience structures that when put in place might mitigate its worst excesses. True resilience requires a Janus-esque approach to risk – where the eye fixed on the present and the eye fixed on the future are sharing what they’re seeing and finding those patterns that inextricably link that vision.

Right now is the best time for businesses to be evaluating the likely success of the strategies, measures and procedures they’re putting in place to weather the storms they’re facing. The insurance profession needs to communicate that far more important than the question of ‘where are we now?’ is asking ‘where we will be in 12 months?’

And no pre-mortem investigation is going to be perfect, or even necessarily accurate, given how rapidly our PESTLE environment is shifting. It’s a sad indictment of the times that we’re all living through but there really is no time like the present to worry about the future. But a retrospective examination will simply come too late – and ‘too late’ is not a fair or fitting epigraph for the businesses that make up our communities and economy.

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Read more: Auto salvage agent Copart UK swoops for green parts specialist Hills

Discussing the deal which was announced last month and is subject to approval by the CMA, Pocock noted that the thought process behind the acquisition was based on the same question asked of all the business’s strategic decisions – what do our insurance customers and partners want from us?

“We are quite strong in this market segment,” she said. “And most of our customers were saying ‘we love what you do on the salvage side but – following Brexit, Ukraine, COVID and with the cost of everything going up and with so many environmental factors to consider – can you also do green parts for us?’

“They were also very much aware that there isn’t too much succession planning going on in the green parts industry… so they were questioning how to future-proof this part of the sector. And it’s not just about insurance repairs or bodywork repairs, it’s also about second life for engines and mechanical repairs.”

After assessing the market, Hills Motor was quickly identified as a strong fit, both culturally as the two firms share similar values and digitally-focused mentalities, but also geographically as the acquired firm’s location between two industrial hubs – Manchester and Liverpool – made for a great match. It’s a complementary addition, she said, and the news has resonated very well with Copart’s customers.

“Our ethos is ‘they ask, we deliver’,” Pocock said. “And that’s been the secret to our 40-year success so far – it’s our innovation. We’re incredibly innovative. We’re a listed company that is run like a family business. We make sure there are no politics, we just make instant decisions and deliver. And those dynamics are what excites me most about working here.”

Given the financial turmoil being experienced by so many across the UK right now and the increased spotlight that has been shone on ESG practices, it’s little surprise that green parts are having their moment in the sun. But Pocock highlighted how important it is that companies all across the auto value chain keep the green parts initiative in the spotlight and make sure it is built for the long haul.

“We will 100% be using our marketing machine to educate people more and more about the benefits of green parts,” she said. “Because some of the smaller businesses haven’t had that platform. We will absolutely be able to sell to our repairers and to mechanical repairers and a much wider audience. So, we’ll be doing our bit to promote reuse and recycling.

“And we’ve started to overcome that COVID blip of parts availability with manufacturers getting production back on track. But while some of that emergency piece is over, the education and changes that have come about post-COVID are here to stay. I think future generations are demanding more, because they do want to preserve the planet. So, I do think younger people will be more accepting of having used parts fitted to their vehicles as they are less materialistic in that way.”

The green parts initiative is an integral element of the wider ESG programme, she said. There’s the environmental aspect of saving carbon every time you reuse a part, and preventing more raw materials from being used. And also, repairing cars rather than disposing of them is a much more sustainable way of doing business. At Copart, 70% of its cars are repaired while 30% are recycled, so promoting the value of taking a sustainable approach to the auto sector is critical to Pocock’s ambitions as a leader in the space.

Once the acquisition of Hills Motor is fully signed and sealed, the next step will be integrating the business into Copart, she said, and she’s looking forward to working with the teams involved in that piece. Continued growth is high up on her strategic agenda for the year ahead, with Copart planning to expand its fleet of vehicles and move into electric vehicles.

“We’re looking at how we can constantly enhance our business and streamline what we do because we know the insurers are under huge price pressure with premiums and with claims costs,” Pocock said. “We work really hard to see what we can do to benefit them through our part of the process. And further M&A is definitely on the cards, as is organic growth and expansion.

“We’re also currently going through a process of looking at solar energy and planting trees. We’ve already got 120 acres of green space in our portfolio so we’re looking at how we can create more biodiversity in our own green space. And having completed it myself, we’re now putting all our staff through carbon literacy training as well… So really, everything is on the agenda. The one thing we don’t do is slow down.”

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“This has never been about the strategy… and we have not engaged the company on it. We think strategy is a matter for the executive and the board and not for shareholders. We were not consulted in the past on strategy changes, and we are not seeking any change to that. The company is seeking to characterise this vote as being about strategy while fully knowing from their dealings with us that this isn’t the case.”

The CIO said Phoenix does not want R&Q shareholders to be misled when they decide on their vote.

Channon also revealed that Slater Investments – which earlier this week expressed its intention not to support Phoenix during the upcoming vote – is similarly not happy with the current leadership at R&Q.

By way of background, he noted: “In April we were contacted by another significant shareholder, Slater Investments, who were very unhappy with the management of R&Q and in particular the deal agreed by management to sell the company to Brickell for 175 pence a share. We exchanged views and although like Slater we were not happy with the terms of the proposed sale, we said we’re not prepared to get involved unless there was a management change and Ken Randall came back.

“Slater asked us to approach Ken Randall and ask him if he would consider coming back which I did. Following a series of meetings with Ken, who cares passionately about R&Q, he agreed to do that for a short period to help stabilise the business. I believe Slater and others also wrote to him and were pleased that he was willing to return. Upon the takeover failing, Brickell also agreed to work with other shareholders to recapitalise the business and work with the board to make the necessary changes to management.”

Randall, who co-founded R&Q with Alan Quilter more than three decades ago, retired in 2021 and was succeeded by William Spiegel as per the company’s succession plan.

Spiegel, in Channon’s strong personal and Phoenix’s professional view, is “not the right person to be running R&Q,” with the CIO going on to assert that the executive chair is actually doing damage to its intrinsic value. Phoenix is calling for Spiegel’s removal as an R&Q director over supposed shortcomings in terms of competence, alignment, and integrity. Channon detailed all these categories in his letter to R&Q shareholders to illustrate Phoenix’s position that Spiegel isn’t the man for the job.  

Meanwhile, the investment chief also clarified that there is no agreement of any kind between the fund management company and Brickell or Randall in relation to the ongoing issue.

“William and the board have attempted to portray this as William Spiegel vs Ken Randall saga,” wrote Channon. “That could not be further from the truth. The exigency is in removing an executive that is impairing the business and not acting faithfully and in shareholders’ best interests. Ken Randall was simply engaged as he is a trusted and highly knowledgeable former custodian of the business and in our view the perfect interim steward.”

He added that Phoenix did not seek the role of activist and that they were in fact looking to exit but got involved in the present situation because they were asked and they do care. 

“My 15 years of involvement in R&Q made me believe it was worth trying to help,” declared Channon. “I have attempted to share with you the background to what has been going on so that you can understand our motivations. It’s a failure of governance that has led us to this point, but now at least all shareholders have an opportunity to do something to save the company they own.”

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Book your tickets now: Women in Insurance UK

“The reality is, most businesses make 100s of decisions a day and it would be too arduous and too time-consuming for every decision to be held up to a problem-solving [lens],” she said. “So, we need to understand the difference between problem-solving and decision-making. There are deicisions that can be made pretty quickly and effectively, but a problem isn’t a decision that needs to be made.

“What is a problem? A problem is when a decision can’t be made because you don’t know how to make the necessary decision. And that’s where problem-solving comes in.”

What especially caught Brown’s interest about the upcoming panel and the topics it will be covering is that problem-solving is something that everybody has to do on a day-to-day basis – and so it’s a subject that resonates across every level of an organisation. Everybody has their own way of managing and solving problems, she said, but often don’t recognise these as specific tactics. It is by recognising them for what they are that these techniques can be categorised and shared.

Read more: Harbour Underwriting MD reveals the twin traits required to succeed in business

For Brown, what lies at the very core of effective problem-solving is recognising the need not to have a preconceived notion of what the right answer is when looking for solutions. When people approach a problem armed with the belief that they already know the right way to resolve it, she said, they close themselves off to other possibilities. And they lose sight of one of the most powerful weapons in any leader’s armoury – the diversity of thought and experience of their team.

Taking an inclusive approach to understanding the range of skills and perspectives required to solve a problem is essential, Brown said, and she cited how the thought leader Dr Edward de Bono’s ‘Six Hats’ approach to problem-solving has shaped her own thinking about this critical skill. His theory breaks down the six ‘hats’ that members of a team can ‘wear’ to learn to separate thinking into six clear functions and roles.

As represented by de Bonos, the white hat is for identifying important information, the yellow hat for optimism, the black hat for spotting risks and difficulties, the red hat for feelings and intuition, the green hat for creativity and the blue hat to manage the thinking process. His idea, she said, is that if you have everybody looking at a problem from the same angle, they will all come up with a similar solution. But by mentally switching ‘hats’, you have the opportunity to find new strengths and achieve a new outlook. 

“It’s a problem-solving solution that goes back to diversity,” Brown said. “Because when you ask [people] to consider things from another perspective, they might not be comfortable at first but you’ll be amazed at the insights they can come out with. And they’d never have put themselves in that position otherwise.

“[…] When you’re building a very diverse team, as I have, you’re bringing together people who come from all walks of life and who bring very different things to the table, sometimes it can almost bring too much information. So, by putting on these ‘hats’, you restrict the thinking to what’s required while opening it up to those who don’t usually think about things in that way. It’s a really nice, logical approach to problem-solving and solution finding.”

Read more: Mental wellbeing at work – the four key structures

The advantages and opportunities that result from effective problem-solving are not just an internal consideration for insurance businesses but also can impact customer outcomes. When you’re in the insurance market, Brown said, it’s really all about finding solutions that match the problems that clients face.

But insurance solutions providers need to make sure their services are actually matching clients’ demands and not just some pre-judged idea of what those are. Insurance needs to work backwards to find the right solutions by speaking to all the relevant parties, she said, and that includes the customers, the brokers and the consumer associations.

Personal lines is starting to really grasp this she said, but commercial lines is lagging somewhat behind in this area. What providers need to recognise is that when you really start listening to your customers and trying to understand their concerns, they love you for it.

“You need to take people with you through every step of solving a problem,” she said. “Taking people on that journey is really important, as is showing every one of your steps along the way. They can’t be left wondering how you got from A-Z when you came to a solution. People need to know why you made certain choices and how you came to your conclusions. And it can sound like an obvious thing but the truth is that a lot of people just don’t do that.”

You need to communicate all those little tidbits that signpost where you are and where you’re going, she said. Because big decisions need collaboration and they need all those little decisions to come together. All of those things enable solution finding and they enable everybody to buy into that solution and buy into it being the right thing to do.

“And then if it ends up not being the right thing to do,” she said, “the good news is that you fail fast. And you can say ‘right, the decision we came to wasn’t right, so let’s go back to the drawing board and start again.’ And when you do that, you bring everybody along with you and you make them part of that journey.”

Booking is now open: Women in Insurance UK

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In a Press release, the group revealed that Witney, Oxfordshire-based Mosaic Health has been an appointed representative of PCH since 2015 and that its founder Anne Cullinan is due to retire after completion. Meanwhile, PNMCO Limited was owned by Paul Mills, a healthcare consultant trading under the PCH brand since 2005. Mills will also be stepping away from his role following deal completion.

Both portfolios of clients consist of consumer PMI and SME health policies.

Commenting on the news, Darren Perkins, PCH sales director highlighted that the deals will bolster PCH’s customer reach and bring both portfolios under direct control. PCH has worked well with Cullinan and Mills, he said, and it’s great that the business has been able to help create value from their work. He added that PCH wishes them both well for the future.

Going forward, Perkins said, both portfolios will be integrated into PCH and Equity Health Solutions (EHS), the specialist consumer division of PCH.

“Moving forward Paul and Anne’s clients will be looked after by PCH and EHS consultants,” he said, “and they can expect the same high standards of service as they received previously.”

Both deals follow on from PCH’s previous acquisitions of Equity Health Solutions in November 2021, and Amba Care & Wellbeing in February 2022.

Stephen Hough, PCH managing director, said: “We intend to continue to grow inorganically alongside our organic growth, and remain keen to talk to businesses and individuals looking to retire or wishing to partner with us to further grow their businesses.

“It is fantastic to be able to provide a vehicle for entrepreneurs to grow their own business, under the guidance of PCH, and have a simple exit strategy with financial rewards.”

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Read more: New MGA incubator platform rolled out for insurance entrepreneurs

“We’ve got $650 million of gross written premium currently under management based on their forecasted projections for 2022,” he said. “We’ve got 29 classes of business, representing a good blend of insurance, reinsurance, insurtechs, traditional quality underwriting MGAs and a few consumer propositions. So, we’ve got a nice blend in terms of our client matrix, which has been quite healthy.

“And what’s underpinning a lot of that is the continued rollout of our multi-territorial strategy [in line] with our desire to have a number of strategically placed MGA incubation models scattered around the globe. So, that’s Europe, the UK, the US and we’re just about to launch in Asia with a partner and our first MGA, and we’re also looking at LATAM as well. That’s in addition to spreading out a bit more in Europe – with a move into Southern Europe as well.”

Working across so many different classes of business and locations has given Maleary a keen insight into the challenges pressing on the MGA market and he noted that top of the agenda for MGAs remains the question of securing risk capital. Finding the right risk capital partner is the biggest challenge across all classes and territories right now, he said – and several factors go into determining the right partnership, including an aligned approach and vision, and a longer-term approach to success.

Read more: Pro MGA Solutions CEO on the future of MGAs

Meanwhile, while the regulatory framework has become slightly tougher, for businesses that are structured accordingly it’s a case of following the process. This is where Pro MGA Solutions’ offering really comes into its own, he said, as the team has spent significant time ensuring its oversight frameworks are robust and meet, if not exceed, regulatory requirements in every territory in which they operate.

“As to how the high inflation environment is impacting MGA development and scaling, a lot of that is happening around the investment side and the working capital element of it more than anything else,” he said. “[It’s] around the control of costs and ensuring that costs are not spiralling out of control in terms of whether that’s general salaries or general servicing fees, or costs for IT and technology.

“I think a lot of it hasn’t really hit home yet. And I think we’ll probably find as we come through the remainder of 22 into 23, what we’ve all been experiencing around inflation will start to bite and there’ll be more focus around cost management and more focus on embracing things that will help to streamline that.”

It will be interesting to see what happens on the investment side of things, Maleary said, as the current lay of the investment landscape depicts a positive outlook for MGAs. He is seeing this environment as extremely robust in terms of entities looking to invest in MGAs in multiple ways – whether that’s angel investors, private equity, venture capital, or institutional investors.

“There still seems to be some significant options out there,” he said. “But as we go through the remainder of this year and into next, we’ll just have to wait with bated breath to see how that’s impacted because of what’s going on in the world around inflation.”

As it stands, Maleary said, the appetite of risk capital partners to embrace the MGA route to market is a real opportunity. He has seen a “significant increase” in the opportunities available for MGAs to partner with risk capital partners which are really thinking about their own growth strategies and who understand that the MGA proposition is a key part of that.

Read more: Pro MGA Solutions CEO discusses the evolution of the MGA sector

“Despite what you might call hard markets in some areas,” he said, “I’m still seeing strategic relationships being built with a number of MGAs during that hard cycle, which I think is good and robust and a healthy thing for a risk capital partner to do. I’m seeing that with more partnerships wanting to be created, not just between the MGA and the insurer, but also the reinsurer.

“I’ve seen quite a lot of coming together and like-mindedness around creating a proposition that is streamlined, perhaps light-touch, cost-effective but able to deliver good, quality profitability and ultimately a good, quality service and proposition to the customer. And the MGAs that have entrepreneurial flair, that are a bit more innovative and that are happy to partner accordingly… I think, they’ve got significant opportunities to create long-term relationships.”

Pro MGA Solutions prides itself on taking a partnership-first approach to growth, and Maleary noted that to him a great partnership is about being aligned, transparent and trusting. With his deep-rooted history and experience in the MGA market, he is able to guide firms along every step of their strategic journey, he said, and offer real guidance on what they should be looking for as they shape their medium-to-long term vision.

Critical to his team’s approach, he said, is finding the right MGAs to partner with and while Pro MGA Solutions is designed in such a way as to be everything to everyone, the company has a careful selection process. That’s of paramount importance as it keeps that partnership-first approach front-of-mind throughout the entirety of the relationship – and it’s a model that has worked very successfully to date.

“We’ve had a busy 2022 already but we’ve a few more things to do in the remainder of the year,” he said. “We’ve got a bit more strategic growth to do, a bit more positioning as we go into 23. We’ll probably have a few more clients come on board, I anticipate we’ll end up securing 15 clients in total for the whole of 22, which is a similar number to 21. So, we have a very healthy pipeline reflecting that this is a very healthy market when it comes to the world of the managing general agent.”

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Read more: Revealed – which insurance market is poised for considerable growth?

With 11% of all households having already welcomed a new pet, while 10% more plan to do so, the shifting makeup of the market is clear – as is the opportunity for insurers to step up and support pet owners with new products and services. A recent report by Global Market Insights revealed that the value of the pet insurance market is expected to reach US$14.9 billion (approx. £12.31 billion) by 2030, growing at a compound annual growth rate of 7.1% between 2022 and 2023.

It’s with these market conditions in mind that the UK insurance giant Admiral announced it is expanding its insurance offering with the launch of Admiral Pet. Admiral Pet is the group’s fourth insurance product to be underwritten by the insurer – alongside motor, home and travel insurance. Where before customers could buy pet insurance through the brand via a third party, now all pet policies will be 100% Admiral, with pricing, underwriting, and customer service handled in-house.

Speaking with Insurance Business UK, Pritpal Powar (pictured), Admiral’s head of pet, touched on how the offering came about and how it fits in with the current lay of the pet insurance land in the UK.

“There has been significant growth in the last two years due to a boom in pet ownership linked to COVID, and people spending more time at home,” he said. “It will be interesting to see how this develops as we move to more hybrid ways of working and a full return to work across some industries.

“The market itself has some potential to grow still, with an estimated 50% of dogs and cats uninsured. Providers who can offer a good balance with a range of valuable products, affordable premiums and effortless service, will be able to benefit from this potential growth.”

There’s little doubt that the big increase in pet ownership during COVID has fuelled growth in the pet insurance market, Powar said, but there other factors that have contributed to the evolution of this space. The evolution of technology has seen virtual vet services now become commonplace and the sector is seeing growing interest in other tech, including wearables to help customers be even better at taking care of their pets.

Read more: Admiral Group appoints new group chief risk and compliance officer

As head of pet, he said, he’s responsible for building and leading the team – his main responsibility is to ensure the business meets the needs of customers, allowing it to scale and grow. Exploring how Admiral Pet first came about, he highlighted that the insurer had been trading pet insurance through a white label partnership for some time and built a modest base of customers with limited focus.

“But it was evident to really grow the business we needed to do things differently,” he said. “This involved bringing in some pet expertise from the market in a range of key roles and recruiting talent from across Admiral to supplement this. The idea for the business was to take the things that Admiral does really well and apply them to pet insurance, combining this with key customer expectations on product and service to deliver a compelling proposition to the market.”

Admiral Pet differentiates itself from Admiral’s previous pet insurance offering in a variety of ways, Powar noted. It provides simpler products that offer more to customers as well as more competitive and targeted pricing, new and innovative customer journeys, and the inclusion of new value-added services such as 24/7 video vet consultations as standard.

As to the next steps of the rollout of the offering, Admiral Pet has its path forward clearly set out, he said: “The next phase of our plan is to build and grow the business, taking the feedback from our customers and market to continuously improve our products, services and pricing.”

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It’s not the first such demand for a rebrand to a pre-existing concept or concern that has made headlines in recent weeks. The World Health Organisation (WHO) recently invited the wider public to submit new name ideas for the Monkeypox Virus in an online portal in a bid to find a name “not stigmatising.”

When done right, the power of a name change or branding overhaul is something to be admired. A rebrand can signify so many things – a new beginning, a fresh perspective, an updated offering or a shift in strategic priorities. Sometimes a rebrand makes logistical sense for a business – after all, an insurance broker with some commutation of Willis or Gallagher or Howden in its name is unlikely to compete with the titans that share its designation when it comes to online search engines.

In other cases, a rebrand is more about communicating an internal change within a business in order to reduce confusion and align branding with a new strategic purpose. Following an acquisition, a firm may seize the opportunity to present a new face to the market and herald the changes its new ownership will bring to customers and partners alike.

In insurance, a willingness to update policy terminology and product wordings often represents a welcome change to insurance brokers who otherwise have to wade through multiple iterations of the same offering. An aligned and accessible approach to wording has long been championed by associations including BIBA and the CII, as well as regulators including the FCA and PRA.

Revamped and more comprehensible wordings are of substantial benefit to brokers and insureds alike, but the more effective use of language can also have significant implications for the internal workings of insurance businesses. For example, Zurich Insurance found it was able to increase the number of women applying to senior management roles by 45% in three months by using more inclusive language in its offering. This “nudge campaign” resulted in a 25% increase in female applicants across the company.

But as seen from the above example, a name change or wording update can be effective and efficient at switching things up when, and really only when, it’s not really about the name change at all but rather about communicating an underpinning cultural or strategic shift.

A name change should not be seen as an excuse to sweep your concerns about something under the rug and dress it up with the sticking plaster that is a new identity. From my perspective, there’s little point in rebranding ESG or Monkeypox or even an insurance business if it amounts to little more than a hollow magic trick attempting to convince the viewer that change has been achieved.

If attitudes to ESG are not what they should be, it’s time to refocus on where ESG measures need to be improved, and where further education and insight are required to communicate its worth to the naysayers. The problem with Monkeypox is not its, admittedly ridiculous-sounding, name but rather the attitudes of those allowing it to be associated with intolerant discourse.

Because language, with all its implications, is one of the most powerful forces in the world, not for its own sake but rather because it drives and is itself moulded by change. For insurance firms looking to tap into that, change needs to be driven from the inside out, with language reflecting real evolution, not offering a shiny distraction from where it ought to be.

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Read more: Markel International reveals new head of trade credit

Looking at the roots of Markel International’s community work, Upton revealed that it makes up one of its five commitment pillars, which represent the values outlined in the ‘Markel Style’.

“The Markel Style embodies the culture of Markel, and community is a fundamental part of this culture,” he said. “Markel has always had this ‘Style’ in its DNA. In fact, our organisation’s existence can be traced back to a community need. Jitney Buses – which was a popular method of transport in Norfolk, VA, in the 1930s – were fast becoming uninsurable, due to fires. Recognising the importance of them to the community, Sam Markel set up his mutual insurance business to ensure that they could still operate effectively.”

Before Markel was ready to “go public” in the 1980s, he said, Alan Kirshner, with the support of Stanley Markel, authored the Markel Style – a statement of values that communicated to investors and the public the principles that have guided the company since its inception in 1917. According to Kirshner, the Markel Style “honours what Sam and his four sons brought to the table… treat people fairly, provide upward potential and the opportunity to grow, keep a sense of humour, value teamwork,” while nurturing the organisation’s colleagues, customers, and communities.

“In recent times, Markel International continues to live up to those values by providing high levels of support to the communities in which it serves,” Upton said. “Last year, our organisation entered a three-year partnership deal to sponsor the Goodwood festival’s Magnolia Cup – an all-female race which was conceived to overcome boundaries within sport and more specifically horseracing, to create an inclusive community in support of women, their ability and wellbeing.

“It’s no secret that the insurance industry has experienced similar challenges, and so it made perfect sense for us to partner with Goodwood when this fantastic opportunity presented itself to us.”

Now in its second year of sponsorship, he said, the Markel Magnolia Cup has been a great platform to promote Markel as a great place to work and attract new talent by accessing audiences that it might not reach otherwise. As the company continues raising awareness of its ambitions through this sponsorship, the hope is that it can create more opportunities for women not just within Markel, but also across the wider insurance industry.

Read more: Markel boosts renewable energy team

Examining the work that Markel International does to support its community, Upton stated that for the team, community is all about how it can interact with its work colleagues, business partners, service providers and the wider world.

“Coming to work and enjoying our jobs should just be one part of life at Markel International,” he said. “And so, it’s important that as a business we’re doing as much as we can to provide everyone with opportunities to have a wider and positive impact on the people we work with and the communities that we serve.

“We want to be a platform that allows people to be something more than just their role at Markel International. That’s why we set up the Community Network, which has allowed colleagues to get involved in a range of initiatives, focusing on four core areas – charity, people, sustainability, and sports and social.”

Looking at the impact each of these initiatives has seen over time, Upton noted that each core area within the Community Network has organised a number of different initiatives and campaigns to embody Markel’s community vision.

The Charity group, for example, he said, wanted to ensure that Markel International supported a charity endorsed by its employees. Children and youth came out on top as a theme of choice, and after researching several charities, the company decided to partner with one aimed at improving the health, welfare, and education of children, and giving them the future they deserve.

“Earlier this year, we launched our first fundraising campaign to support their work arising from the Russia-Ukraine war,” he said, “and raised over £75,000 (and counting) through employee donations and our corporate charity match programme.

“Since the network’s inception, it has improved Markel’s charitable benefits by allowing each of our employees to take up to three volunteer days per year. In addition, the network has improved what we call: ‘Markel Match’, meaning that Markel International will now treble any donation, or amount raised, up to a cap of £3,000 (for Markel’s donation) per employee.”

People are the building blocks of a company, Upton said. And that’s not just those who work for Markel International, but also the communities of which it is part. The company’s People group is the cornerstone of the Community Network with regards to engaging with colleagues globally. He added that the group has recently launched a fantastic campaign called: ‘Where in the World are We?’.

“As part of this campaign, each month, a different Markel office puts together a short video showcasing the local culture; highlighting what the office does and how the team winds down,” he said. “So far, we have heard from Singapore and Munich, and the campaign has already started to drive healthy competition as to who can provide the best content.”

Meanwhile, the Sustainability sub-group has run two ‘Big Clean Up’ campaigns to help the company give back to the environment, Upton said. Both of these coincided with World Ocean Day, and Markel International pledged to donate money to Seven Clean Seas for every bag of rubbish collected.

“During 2021, we encouraged employees to go out and collect litter in their local areas, whether it was at a park, riverbank, or beach,” he said. “In 2022, we ran employee-led groups in London, Essex, Brighton, and Leeds to clean up their local areas, and then provided some time for each group to socialise afterwards. Across both these campaigns, we donated a total of £25,000 to Seven Clean Seas (£15,000 in 2021 and £10,000 for 2022).”

Sports and social activities are a key part of many companies, Upton said. And while these types of events have been tricky to put on in recent years, Markel International’s Sports and Social sub-group has run a number of initiatives, including the ‘Can’t Stop, Won’t Stop’ charity race, where people could walk, run, or cycle as part of a team. The business covered over 39,650km in April last year in addition to running run poker and curry nights, park and golf days, as well as an ongoing five-a-side football league in London and Manchester. 

Upton highlighted that the time is right for this change to take place on a wider basis. The office environment is changing and has been for some time, he said. More employees are pushing for a better work-life balance and a deeper desire to be part of something good. Businesses that pride themselves on trying to improve the world around them are often seen as more attractive companies to work for. Some insurance firms have become wise to this and have set up groups akin to the Community Network at Markel.

“These employee resource groups provide a platform for change at a grassroots level, which is often more impactful as there’s usually much more buy-in from the entire company in question,” he said. “Whether this constitutes a need will be up to the management at these businesses, but there is certainly a ground up desire within the insurance market.”

For smaller businesses looking to get involved with community support efforts, knowing where to begin is half the battle and Upton shared some advice on how to get started.

“Community involvement isn’t dependent on the size of business,” he said. “At Markel International, these initiatives are all employee groups, and, therefore, just by providing people within a company, who are passionate about the community, a platform to get involved in is often all you need to do. From there, the group can decide which way they want to contribute and what works for their company.

“Smaller businesses may not have the finances to make large donations, but there are usually incentives for philanthropic endeavours, so even the smallest company should be able to find a way to give back to their local communities.”

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Commercial property insurer has announced the election of Thomas J. Quinlan III to its board of directors. Quinlan is the president and CEO of Donnelly & Sons Company, a global provider of marketing, packaging, print and supply chain solutions.

“Tom brings significant experience leading and growing major business-to-business companies like those that many of our clients operate,” said Thomas A. Lawson, board chairman at FM Global. “He deeply understands the value of choosing resilience to maximise long-term organisational value. He will be a tremendous asset for our company and client-owners.”

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