Interview: Sara Fardon – Willis Towers Watson Networks
After taking home this year’s Achievement Award at Broker Expo 2021, Sara Fardon, managing director of Willis Networks, talks to Insurance Age about her career in insurance and the value of broker networks.
Sara Fardon’s career in insurance began over 35 years ago, starting out at Eagle Star, moving on to GA Bonus, and then joining Willis Towers Watson Networks in 1999.
Looking back on her vast amount of experience in the sector, she describes her journey in insurance as “exhilarating, exciting, and very satisfying.”
When she first joined Equal Star, she managed to get both her ACII and FCII certifications, an achievement she is beyond proud of. The apogee of her professional experience, however, is represented by her current role at Willis Networks, having been named managing director in 2011.
Reflecting on her time in the industry, Fardon commented: “The highlight of my career is the job I’m doing now, being the managing director of Willis Towers Watson Networks, which I have done for a good while because I love it so much. I’ve really developed and grown into the role and made it my own.”
Insight
Over the years, Sara has been an ambassador for the industry, supporting brokers and their businesses through thick and thin. But the emergence of the hard market and the consequence of the pandemic have put the industry into a tough spot.
Fardon explained: “We had everything come together at once, the pandemic and the market hardening. Clients will have seen some very large increases.
“We were always talking about the market being soft, a hard market arising is new for a lot of people in the insurance industry, and of course it’s new for clients as well. Clients have had the benefit of a soft market, so it does bring a shock.”
Planning ahead
However, in difficult times, Fardon identifies solutions. She explained that the hard market meant that brokers had to be “really organised and disciplined”. Speaking about how brokers can better navigate the economic climate, she said:
“We always say ‘start your renewals early’. By starting early in a meaningful way, you can actually end up with a choice of capacity as it comes up for renewal, because you’ve put in a substantial amount of legwork very early on.”
“You’ve got to keep knowing the marketplace and tapping into insurers’ appetite change. You have got to work as a broker to find other choice and options for your clients because that’s what they’re expecting of you, along with considered advice. It is very tough out there but trying to work in advance is helpful.”
Support
Trying to help brokers work in advance is just one of the ways Willis Networks helps brokers, says Fardon.
She explained that network members were insurance brokers first and foremost, but they are also sole business owners, so the support she offers has been adapted to suit both needs.
Fardon detailed: “We support our members with insurance, access to markets, good product solutions, different schemes, facilities, and strengthening insurer relations.
“We also have a business school of training, which we’re putting out on a regular basis; we look at marketing and development as well and at how you as a business owner are going to grow your business.”
She also revealed that the network is committed to helping new brokers as well, who wish to start up businesses and need help settling in the market.
Network
WTW Networks was set up 22 years ago, with ten founder network members, four of which are still part of nowadays, while the others have sold their businesses.
The network currently has 84 members, and Fardon believes that being involved within it helps brokers build strong relationships in the insurance space.
Commenting on the evolution of WTW Networks, she said: “We’re very fortunate as we’re the only network that is backed by an international broker, and that gives us some depth as well. So, from our perspective, we’ve got enough network members to have scale, but we don’t have so many that everything turns impersonal.”
“We have a focus on working with network members to understand their businesses, their strategies, and how we sit alongside that. We also have a focus on growth programme, in which we talk specifically about growth, and then, with our insurer partners, we’ve got regular engagement with them as well,” she continued.
Future
In order for networks to survive, Fardon explained they should make sure that they had a valued and clearly defined proposition, which catered to the network members themselves and also to insurers.
She added: “I think networks are absolutely essential within the marketplace.
“Networks create a community. Ensuring the landscape is vibrant from a distribution perspective is important, helping independent brokers grow and flourish is important, and all networks are really playing a very strong role in that.”
The managing director stresses that networks have proved their worth in the development and engagement with brokers in a way that insurers value, because they keep the independence of brokers alive.
Strategy
In terms of her plans for Willis Networks, Fardon says the organisation is focused on a growth path, which she said would champion the cause of independent brokers and move the network proposition forward.
“We want to continue to grow the network with the ongoing recruitment of new brokers,” she said.
Along with the recruitment of new brokers, Fardon said the company would also be looking at using data to improve their strategy.
She concluded that the network would also pay close attention to the market in order to respond to developments accordingly and continue to support its members.
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