H&R Insurance - A fresh angle

The last three years have seen dramatic change at H&R Insurance, not least because its ownership moved from co-founder Hugh Robertson to his daughter, Shona.

She says: "After my father retired we restructured the company and shrank for the first year, but this year has seen our first real growth. We've achieved 9% overall, and in motorcycle (H&R Insurance's speciality) we achieved 18%."

Robertson says that managing the staff through radical change has been tough. Some have been with the broker since it was founded and Robertson had a mighty task to earn their respect and avoid being labelled as just the boss's daughter.

Speaking affectionately about her father, she recognises his limitations: "My dad was a great ideas person but he never followed through on them. Nearing his retirement he lost interest; everything was bumbling along and going great, but when the Financial Services Authority's regulations came in we had to reassess everything."

Unafraid of trying something new, Robertson states her best decision was to scrap standard annual pay rises, replacing them with performance and sales-related monthly bonuses. Not everything has gone as smoothly. Her decision to outsource claims handling did not work, but she was shrewd enough to admit the error and bring it back in house.

Robertson sits with her staff, in direct contrast to the "ivory tower mentality" adopted by some senior managers, and mans the phones when staff numbers are depleted. Development is vital to the firm too, its isolated location meaning that the broker takes on inexperienced staff and trains them in-house before encouraging them to sit Chartered Insurance Institute examinations.

For two-and-a-half years aggregators have allowed H&R Insurance to offer its motor products to a wider audience. Robertson remarks: "It's a great way of securing business."

Robertson believes independents will always be needed, as they can adapt quickly to changing market conditions. "Being able to evolve is key," she stresses. "If we hadn't made those changes three years ago then I doubt we'd be here today."

H&R INSURANCE

Partner: Shona Robertson

Established: 1972

Locations: Aberdeen and Elgin

Number of staff: 67

Main line of business: Personal motor

Gross written premium: £15m.