Diary of an Insurer: Ecclesiastical’s Simon McGill

Monday

Our head office in Gloucester is only a couple of miles from home, a short drive or run away, so I spend most of my non-travelling days in the office. 

With our schemes team based here it makes sense, and we enjoy being under the same roof as one another… most of the time anyway!

A slightly earlier start this week with a scheduled call with another part of the Benefact Group, Ansvar Australia. We’re proud to be an international group of businesses, and schemes is a big part of that growing community.

Straight after that is our weekly schemes new business call. This is a great opportunity to bring the schemes leadership team and technical experts together to look at progress made on schemes we are assessing, building and ones we are keen to review from our pipeline.

Then it’s off to the airport, where a flight to Belfast awaits.

Tuesday

I am not the best of flyers. The sight of rotor blades doesn’t do a lot for me, but I am happy to report a safe flight the night before. Whether the person next to me felt the same is another matter.

Managing a schemes relationship with a key broker partner out of Glasgow and Belfast means these trips are reasonably frequent. I take my running kit wherever I stay and this morning I go slightly off route to see the beauty of the Belfast waterfront.

Timing means both a review of annual performance in 2024 and a strategic plan update for 2025. The trip had the bonus of meeting the CEO of one of our Charity risks. 

It’s always a highlight to meet our end-customer and listen to their plans. It’s important we are there to respond to a changing and fast-paced risk environment as well as supporting charities and good causes via our giving ethos.

Wednesday

Back to Gloucester and a review of pipeline progress to start the day. It’s essential we are continuously engaging with our brokers so they are briefed on our expanding schemes proposition.

I have monthly meetings with our broker distribution teams from across the UK as they help us understand the schemes’ picture with brokers on their patch. 

Good to hear that new opportunities are coming to the fore and broker meetings have been set up to explore these further.

Popped out at lunch for a coffee at the local golf club. No practice sadly but a chance to firm up our local Chartered Insurance Institute society programme for 2025 and reiterate to our members I am still a “24” handicap…

In the late afternoon, we hosted a session for brokers to meet our team of underwriters to talk through those first referrals and seek guidance, which is inevitable in those early few weeks of a new schemes launch.

I went home via the local animal shelter and dropped off some blankets and sheets that have been gathering in our garage. They were my chosen charity during my CII presidency (2019 to 2021) and I’ve built a strong relationship with them since.

I should get out for a run but I haven’t seen my terriers Ziggy and Alfie for a couple of days and they are dying for a walk.

Thursday

The pleasure of an early GWR train into London for broker and MGA meetings discussing new scheme opportunities.

Schemes play an important part in our intermediary proposition

As a business we’ve got over 30 years of experience in the schemes space and at last count have more than 80 live schemes on our books. 

We’ve built long-standing, positive relationships with brokers and with our broad appetite for schemes we’re always in the market to discuss new opportunities. These meetings are vital in helping us achieve our growth ambitions – so watch this space!

Everything goes well and we can move into more focused assessment periods as next steps. Then it’s back to our office in Monument to say hello to our new intermediary managing director, Dave Carey before catching the 6.34pm back to Gloucester.

Friday

First on the agenda is a check-in with colleagues ahead of the British Insurance Brokers’ Association conference. It remains the key event in our broker calendar with the chance to make new connections and reinforce existing ones.

Then it’s on to quarterly reviews of an existing scheme partnership, before meeting with new members of the broker distribution team and a walk through our schemes proposition. 

Schemes play an important part in our intermediary proposition, and the team complements the work we do, being our eyes and ears in the regions.

Finishing off the working week with monthly check-ins with claims and risk management colleagues, and then it’s to the local rugby club at Hucclecote for a fundraiser where I am quiz master. 

Excellent evening and keeps me sharp for hosting duties at the amazing iPrism quiz later in the year.

The weekend will involve training a local women’s running club, before a long walk with the dogs and then to Gloucester RFC with broker friends to catch up in a very social environment with one eye on a 15km training run to cap the week off.