Understandably, most businesses view insurance as an expensive overhead they could well do without. Not only is it time consuming to arrange, there is always a fear that it may not perform in the event of a loss.
Our task is therefore to provide affordable covers, easily arranged, that are completely reliable.
The challenge we face is working with a reduced number of insurers, together with a contemporary legal system that positively fuels a compensation culture.
Add to this the impact of climatic change, the all too obvious events of September 11th, an ever-increasing crime rate, and the size of the challenge becomes apparent.
The knock-on effect of this will be to significantly increase premiums, and this will lead to a major rise in the number of firms looking to contain the size of these increased costs.
Those insurers remaining in the market are struggling to deal with their existing workload, and they will only be able to provide their best quotations on a selected basis. This will lead to many suitable requests for quotations being overlooked unless underwriters are given appropriate and in-depth information.
"To deal with this, we have strengthened our broking team to enable us to work on a more personal basis with insurers, allowing us to represent our clients in far more detail."
Our aim is to incorporate the use of modern technology, such as electronic communication via the internet and digital photography, coupling this with traditional face to face negotiation.
A recent development is our newly launched initiative, Insight Risk Analysis, a unique product designed to assist companies identify and control risk.
We believe that this strategy will position us where we want to be. Leading - not Following.
Stewart Cooper
Managing Director
TF Bell & Co (Insurance Brokers) Ltd.