Rural appoints three regional development managers

The appointments cover the North West, North East and Southern regions of the UK.

Gareth Rushton, a founder member of Rural since 1995, will look after brokers in the North West region. According to the company he has 30 years insurance experience, including 21 years in the agriculture sector.

Tim Forward will cover the Southern region. He has worked in the insurance industry for over 15 years, including roles at Sun Alliance, Bupa and Ace.

Mark Feathers, an internal appointment from Rural's underwriting team in Harrogate, will look after the North East region.

Barry Wicks, head of sales and marketing for Rural, said: "We believe there are new opportunities in the rural sector, beyond traditional agribusiness. They include the huge growth in lifestyle farming, as well as steps taken by farmers to diversify into other areas, such as environmental stewardship and leisure.

"As you would expect, traditional qualities of sector knowledge and commitment to building long term relationships are still essential for independent brokers who operate in the rural arena."

He concluded: "With this in mind we are upscaling our business development team but will also be bringing new products and services - especially niche and specialist products - on stream in recognition of the changing requirements of our policyholders."