Don’t judge the wisdom of someone by the number of candles on their birthday cake! C&C Scotland may only have one candle but it’s burning brightly!
It was only last April that we opened the doors to our Scottish division in Dumfriesshire – our first venture north of the border. Prior to then, we had barely any clients, no clients and no staff in Scotland.
How things have changed.
Lauren Kerr joined us from Towergate to head up the division, and with over 22 years in the insurance industry – 15 of them specialising in haulage, she was a perfect fit for the job. That said, a one year covenant prevented her from approaching her old clients, so we were literally starting from nothing. But with outstanding support from our outbound call team, Lauren hit the phones, the keyboard and the tarmac and began to spread the C&C word.
And spread it did.
Within six months, Lauren had recruited Sheena Bisset as support and as we celebrate C&C Scotland’s first birthday, we can also celebrate it approaching the £1M GWP milestone! A phenomenal success pretty much from a standing start. Also, in a matter of weeks, we’ll be signing a lease on office premises and fully expect to be recruiting further staff over the coming months. And, in keeping with the C&C model south of the border, we’re in advanced discussions to integrate the company into the local community with sponsorship of the Black and Gold foundation. This is a charitable organisation linked to the local football club Annan Athletic FC which offers affordable football to children from all backgrounds.
So, what does Lauren put this success down to?
“It comes down to fit really. We are what our clients want in that we have the industry knowledge and we are very personable. Haulage is in my blood, even my brother is in haulage! We understand the industry, we can see the holes in existing cover, we understand the challenges haulage firms face and all the vehicle types. But equally, we’re not faceless corporate insurance brokers, we offer a personal, bespoke touch. We understand client businesses, we know their circumstances, the vehicles they have, if they are looking to expand or acquire new vehicles, how many staff they have… we even know when some of their families have birthdays! Clients phone us to ask for advice and it all meshes together to create loyalty. Couple this with the phenomenal support from head office and it’s quite a compelling package for clients looking for a haulage insurance broker in Scotland.”
A good measure of how clients value any company in any industry is how willing they are to provide referrals, and C&C Scotland receives masses of them.
And 12 months in, it’s no coincidence that, at the time of catching up with Lauren to reflect on this first year, she was buried in processing renewals. With so many achievements and so much to look forward to, this really is a birthday to celebrate.
Blow out that candle, Lauren and whatever you wish for, we wish you all the best with the next 12 months!
