Broking success: Building business

▶ When was the business set up?
I started my insurance career in 1996 and joined a graduate programme with Chubb and had various roles in the business. I spent 10 years with them before setting up Borland in 2006. I had a fantastic time at Chubb, but when you’re part of an organisation that size you’re limited in terms of how much you can actually influence. It was a case of wanting to bring the big ticket, larger market experience and knowledge into the SME sector.

How has it developed since it begun?
The very first policy we wrote was a £60 tradesman liability policy. That is really put into context when you see the average premium size for our clients now which is into five figures. The business mix has changed quite considerably. When we started off with nothing we had to scrap for anything. Even if it was a £60 policy, that was a very important client. And, that £60 policyholder is still an important client. If it’s important to them it’s important to us. 

▶ Where are you based?
Our core footprint is on the east coast of Scotland. We have offices in Edinburgh, Fife and Aberdeenshire. We also have some working from home representation in Colchester.

▶ What are you specialisms? Why those areas?
We’re very much reflective of the local economy and the local geographies. Each area is slightly different. So, in Edinburgh there’s a lot of property and law business, plenty of construction and a lot of tech and media businesses as well as private clients. In Fife there is probably more manufacturing and a little of agriculture. Altogether property is probably one of our biggest lines of business. 

In the North East there’s a lot of food and agriculture and businesses, which are directly or indirectly connected into engineering, oil and gas and fishing sectors. I wouldn’t say we have a specialism in any one particular sector. We tend to try to avoid some of the dirty trades such as high-risk stuff like scaffolders. 

▶ Are your customers based in the local area or are they drawn from further afield?
We have clients in the US, we have clients in the Middle East, and across the UK, but, the majority are in the localities where we have offices. With technology and transportation now, it’s easy for us to jump on a plane or get on a train. Clients don’t need to be in the local geography anymore. But we are traditional in the way we like to do business and that means face-to-face.

▶ How has the business coped with coronavirus?
Luckily we have always invested in technology and have been running Acturis for a long time. All our staff have laptops, so when restrictions were first announced all they had to do was take their computers home and get set up. We diverted the phones to mobiles. From that perspective it hasn’t been too difficult. It has also opened my eyes to just what a fantastic job the team can do from home. I’ve always wanted people to work from the office but it has given me a lot more confidence in allowing people to work from home.

We’re looking for acquisitions of businesses and people. We’ve got the investment in the business to drive it forward

▶ Has the business been affected much by Brexit?
We only have a handful of clients who have any form of exposure or any sort of physical presence in Europe. The challenge for me is what the impact on our clients will be. 

I do have a little bit of concern about the capacity of insurance companies. We’ve seen a significant reduction in new insurers over the last 10 years. Will that capacity continue to be reduced with the lack of passporting available for the European insurers to come into the UK? But then, on the flip side it might improve the quality of some capacity. We’re not going to have unrated and unregulated insurers passporting into the UK on the back of the EU.

Profile: Borland Insurance

▶GWP: £14m

▶Staff numbers: 30 full time

▶Locations: Edinburgh, Fife,
Aberdeenshire, Colchester

▶Specialisms: Commercial with focus on local area industries

▶ What other issues are affecting regional brokers at the moment? Is the hardening market a concern?
I would certainly say insurer service is probably the number one issue, by which I mean lack of! I don’t think our clients would accept the level of service we get from insurers. I appreciate there is pressure, we’re also under a lot of pressure, but it is things like getting hold of people in a timely manner and getting access to decision-makers. 

▶ Will you miss Biba this year with the news it is to go virtual?
We used to be a member of Biba but I didn’t renew our membership two years ago. The reason for that was because we never had any visitation from them to show what they did on our behalf or services they provided for us. I just didn’t feel there was value. But I do always go to the conference. I enjoy it and see the value. I think everybody would like to have a physical conference this year… but there is no point worrying about things you can’t change.

▶ Are you part of a network?
We’re part of Marsh Networks. It helps with market support and gets you a little bit more attention within carriers. And there is also HR and compliance support, and other modules, if required. 

▶ The business recently became part of US-based AssuredPartners. What drove that decision?
We had a set of cultural values which we shared. I’m fortunate that I have a cousin with an insurance business in the States, so I was able to hook into him and get a little bit more of an understanding as to how AssuredPartners operate. They generally want the existing people to remain in the business to take it forward and grow it. 

▶ How will you use the AssuredPartners investment to develop the business?
We were looking for acquisitions to drive the business forward. AssuredPartners is a $1.6bn-$1.7bn revenue business in the States, the 11th largest independent broker there. So deal type and deal size shouldn’t really be an issue as long as the business is the right fit. What really excited me was to get involved in growing a business from an infancy in the UK and working with a partner who shared my commonality purpose.

▶ What are your aims for Borland over the next five years?
We’re looking for acquisitions of businesses and people. We’ve got the investment in the business to drive it forward. There will also be additional career opportunities for our staff and we’ll continue to make sure clients receive fantastic service.