Paul Graham (pictured) was essentially a first-timer when he joined H&H Insurance Brokers in 2014, bringing decades of business management experience but not a year from the insurance broking sphere. But the now-managing director, who is a Fellow of the Chartered Management Institute, has done something special at the farm and rural specialist.
Insurance Business caught up with the seasoned manager, and Graham shares how he entered the industry and where he plans to take the Carlisle-based brokerage.
What brought you to the world of insurance broking?
I was approached by H&H Group, the owners of H&H Insurance Brokers Ltd, to join as operations director in 2014. The role was a new position for the company; previously my responsibilities were shared among other directors and this caused their attention to be stretched.
Prior to joining H&H Insurance Brokers Ltd, I was a senior manager with one of the UK’s largest mutual building societies where I was responsible for the running of their branch network. With my over 15 years’ experience in retail banking and financial services, the Group wanted to introduce a more structured approach to this business, to identify internal improvements to processes, and to support the growth and development plans for the business.
Once I met with the board of directors and understood the role and the vision they had for the company, I couldn’t wait to join. Having never previously worked in insurance broking, I saw this as a perfect opportunity to both broaden my knowledge and experience, but to also focus on my core skills of business and people development, and I haven’t looked back since.
Following your promotion to managing director earlier this year, what goals or priorities have you set for yourself and for H&H Insurance Brokers?
My goals and priorities for the business are relatively simple, but also challenging – retain our existing business and win new business! To deliver this, we undertook a re-examination of our current focus and future trajectory to better understand our key strengths and the opportunities that we foresaw.
We also looked at areas where we were not as strong and the challenges this may or does give the business. We have been trading since 1987 and the original remit was to serve farmers and the agricultural sector and give them the right insurance for their needs. As part of one of the UK’s oldest and most successful agricultural business, H&H Group Plc, we have a natural affinity to this crucial and incredibly important sector of the UK economy.
So in many ways I have taken the business back to basics – by focusing on the agricultural sector, by being the best at what we do and offer a credible alternative to the main insurer in this sector, summed up by our vision ‘Be the Broker of Choice’.
Doing the basics is, as everyone knows, never easy, but if it wasn’t a challenge then it wouldn’t be half as much fun. Our goals over the next three years are to grow the business by at least 10% per annum, increase our presence and proposition outside our current operating heartland, and be the Broker of Choice for many, many more clients.
Since joining the firm in 2014, what would you say have been the most significant developments not only internally but also industry-wide?
Internally, we changed our software provider within two years of my appointment as operation director. This along with developing the way we work, to reflect improvements in efficiencies, regulatory changes, and a new system, has been the biggest challenge and also the most rewarding.
I suppose the other key challenge, which continues to this day, is the recruitment and development of our people. Based in Carlisle, the insurance talent pool to fish from is relatively small these days, so we have to look at recruiting people with the right attitude and personality and then invest in them, giving them the knowledge and skills they require to be the best they can be. The apprenticeship scheme has been invaluable to us in helping deliver our succession plan priorities.
Across the industry I feel the key challenges are the same as they have always been – regulatory burdens, soft market, and consolidators reducing choice. Clients’ buying habits and service expectations are also changing rapidly, and this industry is somewhat behind this curve compared to my experiences in other sectors of financial services.
The agricultural sector is also exposed to the ongoing issue of Brexit and the impact this will have going forward. Understandably there is the confidence to make the necessary investments to reflect changes in buying habits until such time as there is more confidence regarding a post-Brexit environment; that said, I fully expect there to be some amazing opportunities for those companies that can adapt to life after Brexit and we plan to be one of them.
As for the challenges you face, what have been the biggest?
Quite simply learning and developing an understanding of the insurance sector. As MD of this business, I am charged with developing our offer and people, delivering growth and profits, and improving the service we deliver to our clients. I describe my role as being about relationship management, challenging the way we do things, and giving clear direction to our team. My previous experience in financial services has given me a solid grounding in all these areas.
Prior to joining H&H Insurance Brokers, I had very limited exposure to insurance, so my understanding of the intricacies of policy wording and covers is an area of ongoing development. In this I’m fortunate and proud to say that I have a team of highly experienced, and patient, brokers and account handlers who readily share their knowledge with me.
If you were to leave insurance for another sector, which one and why?
Probably education. From my recent experience of finding a secondary school for my daughter and developing an understating of their business models, I believe that someone with my experience and knowledge would be able to help them develop their business; plus the holidays look great!
Name one thing your peers probably don’t know about you.
I’m a pretty open guy, so I can’t think of anything that they do not already know. That said, I am a bit of a sci-fi geek and proud of it!
