March 1st 2023 sees yet another significant development at C&C Insurance Brokers as we formally launch our Small Medium Enterprise (SME) Team as a defined business unit within the Commercial Team. Previously the Commercial Team would have handled all sizes of client from the self-employed, through SMEs, up to multi-national organisations. With the new structure, premiums of around £10K or less will now be handled by our SME insurance business unit.
The SME team will initially comprise of six people – all existing C&C employees – and will be headed up by Nicola Lowrey – Operations Manager.
This isn’t just about hiving off a number of people into a different team, though. The project has been in development for some time and has been led by Ray Harris, Operations Director. One of the key objectives of developing the stand-alone team is to introduce efficiencies which will benefit both clients and our day-to-day, in-house processes, including making greater use of software such as Acturis. Part of the development of the unit was to create a proposition with a very limited number of insurers, whereby quotes could be generated, in most cases, within minutes.
Ray Harris says: “Our clients are at the heart of everything we do, and we are delighted to have launched this key business initiative ensuring that we continue to deliver excellent service to them. It was important to us that we work with the right insurers and the right people. The team are really looking forward to building on our excellent, well-established trading relationships with the selected insurers and to working even more closely with them.”
Existing clients will be allocated to the new unit. But even prior to our official launch day today, all new enquiries that have fit the criteria have been processed through the new SME team whilst maximising the use of our IT platform, freeing up more time to be client focussed.
Nicola Lowrey, says: “Setting up the unit over the last 12 months has been challenging but very rewarding. The team works really well together, is building new relationships and is excited about the future. The initial focus has to be on client retention whilst ensuring the right type and levels of insurance are in place as well as offering excellent service. The team are already flourishing and is embracing the amount of new business coming in.”
SME Insurance is Big Business
Ray and the team have ambitious plans – and there is plenty to go at. Don’t be misled by the ‘S’ in SME! A report by the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy in October 2022, states that 99.9% of all 5.5 million UK businesses are SMEs. Of these businesses, 95% are micro-businesses employing fewer than 10 people, and they all require insurance of some sort.
But Ray also sees the development as a means of testing new initiatives: “We already have a fantastic group of people in the SME insurance team and this is a great opportunity for us to explore new ways of working. With what we’ve already got in place there will be a significant increase in efficiencies. But it’s almost baked-in that the SME offering will evolve and become even more potent as a means of finding the right solutions and managing them, which could easily translate into other aspects of the wider C&C business. Feedback will be ongoing and bilateral, which means learnings will be both quick and invaluable to all parties.”
Congratulations on your launch, Team SME! Everyone at C&C wishes you all the best in your new venture and we look forward to following your journey.
Image: Nicola Lowrey and the SME team
