In December, the Chartered insurance brokerage Partners& marked a new phase of growth with the appointment of Craig Hosking (pictured) as head of private clients for the North and Scotland.
With 25 years of insurance experience to his name, the private clients market is one that gripped his imagination early on in his career, Hosking said, particularly because it remains so relationship-driven even as new technologies transform the insurance broking proposition. Creating the right coverage is all about having a deep understanding of the risks clients face, their lifestyles and what matters to them the most.
“I’ve met some fascinating people along the way – from all walks of life - no two clients are the same,” he said. “You get incredible insights into these individuals and then tailor how you can support them. And at the end of the day, some of these individuals might be high profile but they face a number of the same challenges we see regularly, so it’s all about building a great relationships and exploring what’s most important to them. Beyond that, I love building teams of like-minded people who are passionate about the pursuit of excellence and helping to create a culture that enables our clients achieve their goals.”
The private client world is quite an exclusive market which means that having a great reputation for expertise, responsiveness and adding value really sets firm’s apart– and there’s still a huge emphasis on being able to get out and about to see insurers, see clients, and build great teams.
Touching on some of the changes he has seen reshape the market since he started his career, Hosking emphasised the disruptive and growing role of technology. “When I started, everything was far more manual and a lot more slow-paced,” he said. “But now there are more digital platforms, more data-driven solutions. As a result, insurance overall has become slightly more transactional. But that being said, the personal touch does remain crucial, and should never be underestimated, particularly within the private clients arena.
“Clients expect efficiency and value for money but they also expect experts. So, for the insurance market, it’s really about trying to strike the right balance between ensuring you’re up-to-speed in terms of digital efficiency but also maintaining that relationship-led service based on advice.”
An ‘advice over price’ approach will still win the day in the private clients’ segment, he said, and being able to provide that essentially comes down to brokers promoting a strong internal culture that places a premium on expertise. “A win for us is when we’re engaging with the clients and we truly understand the risks they face and offer solutions. Because fundamentally insurance is risk transfer. People pay a premium on the basis that in the event they have to use the insurance policy, there aren’t any pitfalls and it responds in the way the policyholder expects.”
It's only by developing a clear understanding of what a client needs and wants that you can go about creating the right insurance solutions with the insurance market, he said. And that’s an ever-changing consideration because the nature of risk is that it’s always evolving and so clients' expectations are always evolving as well. But, at the end of the day, it comes back to having a tailored advisory-led service.
Highlighting some of the evolving trends in the private clients market, he noted that there’s continual counterbalancing of established and emerging risks. Cyber threats targeting affluent individuals are a key area for concern, he said, as is how climate change is impacting high-value properties. These are emerging and evolving risks, but they’re playing out against the ‘bread and butter’ backdrop of significant under-insurance, theft, fire damage, flood damage, etc.
Looking ahead, Hosking said growing Partners&’s private clients offering across the North and Scotland is top of his agenda. It’s an exciting challenge, he said, as he looks to start expanding its team, strengthening relationships with colleagues, clients and insurers alike, and delivering on the firm’s service-led proposition.
“A real area of focus is on raising awareness of what we can offer, whether that’s internally or through our ecosystem partners and our clients,” he said. “We want to be known as the go-to broker in this region for clients looking for expert, personal service. And that’s all about building long-term, sustainable relationships that add value to clients as opposed to seeking out quick wins.”
