THE BIG INTERVIEW
Looking out for Staffordshire
From cooking meals for the community to helping companies spot risks that could threaten their future, amb Insurance has woven local relationships into the fabric of its business. Following another major award and its appointment as a Patron of Staffordshire Chambers of Commerce, Commercial Director Peter Lycett explains how that approach has helped transform the firm’ s own fortunes.
During the pandemic, some of the work being done by the amb Insurance team involved making pies.
A client had alerted the business to patients struggling to get out for food so staff began preparing meals for those in need. Staff enlisted the help of their children and the three Directors Andrew Barrow, Peter Lycett and Mark Jones even delivered the food around the city.
“ We all just started making dinners for them,” Andrew remembers.“ And we delivered them around the city. It was just something that needed to be done.”
It was a practical response to an immediate need, organised while the
broker was navigating a demanding period of its own. An acquisition, recruitment and a change of computer system all had to be managed around the disruption of Covid.
That episode offers an insight into a business whose growing profile owes much to its willingness to get involved. Whether introducing a client to an Accountant, Solicitor or other service provider, raising money for children with special educational needs and disabilities, or helping local companies understand its insurance needs, amb has made those relationships central to its work.
Now, its approach is attracting recognition. The firm recently won the Business in the Community Award at the 2026 University of Staffordshire Business Awards. It followed a double success at the Staffordshire Chambers of Commerce Business Awards earlier in the year, where amb took the Professional Services of the Year title and was a joint winner of Responsible Business of the Year.
Alongside those awards, the independent Chartered Insurance Broker has become a Chamber Patron, extending a relationship that already includes complimentary Insurance Health Checks for members.
For Peter, the mix of professional and community recognition is what it’ s all about.
“ I couldn’ t have asked two better awards because it represented what we do for the community and the professionalism we offer,” he said.
Behind that recognition is a story that many business owners may recognise. Established in 1998, they always had a team working exceptionally hard but had struggled to translate that effort into meaningful growth.
68 ISSUE 7