FEATURE
What will you miss the most?
The opportunity to tell jewellers I
meet for the first time that I work
in an office in Crapstone!
What will you miss the least?
The alarm clock going off every
morning and the drive to work
through the roadworks and
potholes around Plymouth.
How has the industry changed
in your time in it?
I started work in Plymouth in
1977 at the regional head office
of a major insurer employing
over 100 people. That insurer no
longer exists, and neither do the
majority of insurers trading in
that year. Insurance companies
had large offices in all major
cities and branches in most major
towns, so local knowledge was
used to great advantage. If you
look at the picture today, insurers
are no longer rooted in the
community, but have closed local
offices and retreated to enormous
faceless buildings in London and
Birmingham and rely on computers
and third party service companies
to tell them what to do. That is
where we as insurance brokers
come in; most of our management
team have worked for insurance
companies in the past and as such
have a good insight into how they
should work.
July 2017 | jewelleryfocus.co.uk
What are your
thoughts on the
current state
of it?
We have gone
full circle. When I
started I worked
for
what
was
known as a tariff
company, basically
it charged the same
rate for a building (as an example)
as all the other tariff insurers so
the only way to charge less was
to give all our clients an ‘own case
agency’ so we could deduct their
‘commission’ from the premium to
make it a bit cheaper. This meant
that premiums were very similar, so
insurers were chosen based on their
reputation for customer service
and claims paying. These days we
have a very different scenario with
too many insurers who have no
idea what they are doing operating
in markets they don’t understand
and buying business in by slashing
prices, thus causing chaos in those
markets. Cheap premiums can
never equate with good service
and most importantly a good
claims service, the two things are
not compatible. An insurer should
always be judged by how it settles
claims as no matter how little
premium you have paid it is too
much if your claim isn’t covered.
It’s not all doom and gloom
though, we only work with
insurers, like Beazley, who share
the same philosophy as us on
providing great customer service
and a first class claims service to
ensure our clients are looked after
the THM way. So the jewellery
trade can continue to rely on us to
look after them over the long term
knowing we won’t abandon you
when the going gets tough!
What do you see happening in
its future?
We can’t control what happens
with Brexit and what our civil
service do when they take full
responsibility for the regulation of
the UK insurance industry. But the
good news is that I am confident
‘‘
My wife and
I bought a
motorhome
last year and
it was the
fun we have
had in it that
accelerated
our decision
to both retire
very early
‘‘
is
exceptional.
The biggest buzz
I get, however, is
seeing people I
work with grow
and develop. Take
my replacements
Lynne
Arundel
and
Andrew
Wear, they are
both home grown
talents who have been with us
for a combined total of nearly 40
years and it has given me great
satisfaction seeing them develop
into their current roles. Equally,
seeing their potential successors
at the start their careers is a great
feeling.
THM’s MD,
Neil McFarlane
commented:
“John has been integral in
the growth of the personal
lines side of THM. He has
been able to do this by
understanding things from
both a customer and staff
perspective. He is a rare
manager that will always
look to put the interests of
his staff ahead of himself,
without question and a
second thought.
“This has fostered a great
team spirit within personal
lines and enabled the team
to deal with the rapid growth
and pace of change within
that department, with hardly
a break in step. He will be
sadly missed by customers
and colleagues alike but
can rest assured that he
has left the team in
excellent shape.”
that THM is in a very good place.
We have excellent teams in place
throughout the company, and a
product range designed around
the unique needs of the jewellery
trade, calling on our 130 years
of experience looking after our
jeweller partners.
What will you spend your time
doing now?
My wife and I bought a motorhome
last year and it was the fun we
have had in it that accelerated our
decision to both retire very early.
The plan is to spend this summer
bimbling around the UK and
France. Next year the intention
is to have a big family holiday
somewhere to be decided after
which we will head back to Europe
for a longer tour, assuming they
let us in. I am also a keen walker
and photographer and have
thousands of photographs, m ostly
of Dragonflies (my guilty secret)
to process and a spectacular list of
DIY tasks to undertake so I don’t
think I will be bored.
Will you still keep up on
the jewellery and insurance
industry news?
It has been my life for 35 years
and I have made a large number
of friends in both the insurance
and jewellery trades who I have
no intention of losing touch with.
One thing I have noticed over the
years is that insurance brokers
and jewellers have two things in
common, they are great fun to be
with and they both like a drink!
What advice would you give to
the person replacing you?
Lynne Arundel and Andrew Wear
are very experienced managers
in their own right and my advice
would be simple, be yourselves,
don’t be afraid of making mistakes,
look after the people you work
with and equally importantly
ensure the customer is always at
the centre of everything you do.
Any final words?
Bye!
JEWELLERY FOCUS
37