Managing director
UK General Insurance
Initially set on a career in radiology, Karen Beales soon realised a job at a hospital was not a fit for her – and then she found insurance. She started her career at General Accident as a trainee commercial underwriter before moving into a brokering role at Wilby Insurance. Whilst at Wilby, Beales helped set up the firm’s scheme business Caravan Guard, which she led before moving to what is today UK General Insurance. Less than a decade after joining UK General, Beales was appointed to managing director of schemes, assuming responsibility for all personal lines products and niche schemes for the specialist MGA. Under her leadership, UK General has grown over the last few years and has also recently developed its own IT platform in order to offer wider services to clients. As an individual who benefitted from having two mentors of her own, Beales encourages women who aspire to join the insurance industry to seek out a mentor to help build professional confidence and gain new perspectives.
