Diary of an Insurer: Konsileo’s Tim Rogers

Monday 

I tend to get up about 6am, put the kettle on and make tea for everyone. It’s then time to take our Romanian rescue dog Bonnie out for a walk. 

Today I feed Bonnie and get breakfast for myself while checking my emails before driving my 18-year-old son to school. He’s had a couple of bad knee injuries, so I’ve been playing taxi more than usual. 

Back home and I am back on the computer chasing up some insurers for quotes, posting on LinkedIn and catching up with some clients. 

In the afternoon I have a meeting with a great company that delivers training support for people with special educational needs. They’d outgrown their previous policy arranged directly with an insurer and were keen to seek my advice, so I’d been out a few times to get to know them and see what they needed. 

It’s been slightly complex but importantly we’ve now got their cover on the right basis. At Konsileo we’re not tied down to particular markets or insurers, so we can get outside the box and really tailor cover to clients. This meeting was to cross a few final Ts and dot a few final Is. 

I’m head chef and I get right on to making dinner. 

Tuesday

My son, Jon, has an appointment with the physio. Luckily I don’t need to take annual leave to get him there. What matters is getting our work done, so it’s up to me to set my timetable. 

In the afternoon I chat to a colleague who wanted my input on an agricultural waste company struggling to find professional indemnity insurance. 

Recycling and waste management is a specialism of mine, so we decided to tag team. I get a new lead, he gets a bit of mentoring – and the client gets our combined brain power and attention. 

On Tuesday nights I coach a team of under 17s down at Droitwich Football Club. I do the club’s insurance, and I put my commission back in as a sponsorship for another team. It’s great to be able to put some of that into my community. 

Wednesday

The day begins with another dog walk and a call from my mum. She’s 86 and lives just round the corner, and I pop round pretty often just to do bits and bobs. 

There’s usually a list, but that’s okay. This time she needs me to get suitcases down from the loft because she’s off on her holidays. 

Then I go off to central Birmingham for our monthly Hub meeting. Lots of Konsileo brokers work from home or local offices, but we all meet up in person in regular regional groups to bounce around ideas, share expertise, compare experiences, and troubleshoot any issues we’ve come across. 

There’s 12 of us in the West Midlands Hub now, and we always have a really productive day, usually with a nice lunch in the middle. 

Thursday

I am up early and out to a breakfast network meeting at Sixways Rugby Stadium. It’s a good way to meet people in the local area, and chat to new businesses about insurance. 

Then it’s back home to take Jon to school again, and after that I go straight into a coaching meeting. 

I’m a coach for four other client directors, and it’s a part of the job I really love. Everyone at Konsileo has a coach – someone who isn’t their boss, but who they talk to regularly about their business plan, their progress towards targets (which we all set for ourselves), and who can help them think through challenges and find solutions.

Next I log into a three-hour online training course on liability insurance from Brokerbility. 

I’ve done several before as part of my continuous professional development and I’ve found them incredibly useful and informative. Frankly I can’t believe they’re free for members.

There is just time to respond to a few people and tidy up my inbox before teatime. 

Friday 

I catch up on some general admin before my first meeting of the day, which is a coaching review meeting with Allan Rhodes, head of organisational development, and John Warburton, Konsileo’s CEO. 

It’s sort of a two-way briefing, where John and Allan talk a bit about business developments, and coaches give feedback from the ground. The idea is to use that information to keep evolving our systems and processes to better support brokers. 

Then I jump in the car to visit a new client who’s not far from me. I was introduced to them by another client director, and they’re struggling to get to grips with public liability after various changes in the business. 

I sit with their senior team for about two hours, basically asking questions and just listening. It’s a fascinating company with some complex needs, and I started writing up their requirements as soon as I got back home. 

Late in the afternoon I head back out to another networking event, this time hosted by Kingsway House, with all the proceeds going to the Grace Kelly Childhood Cancer Trust. 

It’s a great charity, which is why their logo is going to be plastered all over the front of the football shirts for the under- 13s girls team I’m sponsoring. A lovely evening, and a great segue into my weekend.