Insurance broker Lycetts has put 22 of its people on the field for two charity sports days attended by more than 400 Hull schoolchildren, at a time when UK brokers rank attracting and keeping staff above AI, emerging risks and regulation.
A total of 410 children attended the events at Burton Constable Hall on September 29 and 30, run by Yorkshire Children’s Charity as part of its Schools Out programme. The days were funded by Lycetts’ parent company, Benefact Group, and 22 Lycetts employees volunteered across both days.
Children took part in athletics, cricket with Yorkshire Cricket Foundation, football with Hull City Ladies and rugby with Wakefield Trinity. All the sporting organisations gave their time for free. Charlotte Hopkins, head of programme at Yorkshire Children’s Charity, said the events could not have happened without Lycetts, both through funding and through having more than 20 of its staff on hand.
The sports days sit within a wider partnership. Earlier this year, Lycetts helped Yorkshire Children’s Charity secure £75,000 over three years, at £25,000 a year, to support its work with disadvantaged children and young people across Yorkshire. The money comes through Benefact Group’s Partnership Funding initiative, which also gives charities access to volunteering, webinars and project advice.
Lycetts, which is headquartered in Newcastle and specialises in rural, estate and equine insurance, is part of Benefact Group. Benefact is owned by a registered charity, Benefact Trust, and gives all its available profits to good causes. In June, Benefact marked £250 million given to good causes since 2014, with a service of celebration at St Paul’s Cathedral. Its businesses also include specialist insurer Ecclesiastical.
Talent attraction and retention was UK brokers’ top priority in a survey of brokers at this year’s BIBA conference, ahead of AI, emerging risks and regulation, with 40% ranking it first, as Insurance Business reported in June. Aviva’s Broker Barometer found 72% of UK brokers are actively hiring, while the Chartered Insurance Institute has found only 4% of young people express interest in an insurance career. Two days with schoolchildren puts a broker’s staff in front of the age group the sector has the most work to do with.
Benefact’s own research frames purpose as part of the answer. A 2025 survey of 250 brokers by Ecclesiastical found that half struggle to recruit people aged 30 and under, and 48% feel insurance is not seen as an attractive career. At the time, Ecclesiastical’s managing director argued that younger people want work that gives them a sense of purpose, and that brokers need to be clear about their values to compete, as IB reported.
Independent and regional brokers competing for staff with larger consolidators have a relatively low-cost way to stand out in community partnerships. They give local firms a story that is harder for national groups to replicate, and they connect brokers with the schools and communities their future recruits come from.
Lycetts is not alone. Earlier this month, Lockton staff raised more than £275,000 for Alzheimer’s Society. The industry-wide Insurance United Against Dementia campaign drew more than 3,000 colleagues from 152 businesses to last year’s Insurance Day for Dementia.
A multi-year partnership with regular staff involvement, like Lycetts’ three-year commitment, is more likely than a one-off donation to shape how a broker is seen by clients, staff and the next generation it needs to hire.
