Rising star: Jonny Valentine, Insure The Box

How did you get into insurance?

I got into insurance by accident. I was finishing my first year at university, when my friend’s dad had a job vacancy on a small website project at Insure The Box. The guys were a great bunch and I moved to London for the summer. I didn’t want to leave, after seeing the potential in the business and telematics. So Mike Brockman (CEO of Insure The Box) offered me a role I couldn’t turn down, I quit university and started hunting for a flat.

What has been the biggest challenge in your career to date?

The biggest challenge in my time at Insure The Box has been the move into innovation and learning about areas I’d never touched before, such as claims management and fraud investigation. Trying to hunt down big projects was a total change from five years of constant work always available within the web space. I realised that innovation didn’t have to be the newest technology, but just using any technology to improve things for the business or customer.  

“With an incredibly sharp mind and unerring ability to see solutions to complex business challenges, Jonny’s sheer determination, innovation and technical competency drives our business forward.”

Andy Haynes, group chief operations officer, Insure The Box

What achievement are you most proud of?

My biggest achievement has to be winning Technology Initiative of the Year at the Fraud Awards last year, it was for a product I’ve built from design to prototype to full-scale use within the business.

If I wasn’t working in insurance, I would be…

I’d most likely still be arguing with my tutor about how he is wrong.