Brightside : Everything you need to know

Brightside – Everything you need to know

About Brightside:
Insurance and financial services business, Brightside, has enjoyed a history of rapid growth throughout the UK. Originally founded in 2001, Brightside started out as Commercial Vehicle Direct Insurance Services Ltd which provided specialist van insurance. The company continues to trade under its Commercial Vehicle Direct brand today with other brands including Brightside Insurance, One Insurance Solution, ProSport Insurance and AXA Specialists Risks.

Brightside has grown to provide a diverse portfolio of products and has developed a reputation for offering insurance to those unable to receive competitively priced insurance quotes with other companies. With headquarters in Bristol, the business has expanded to include a Southampton branch and a Torquay office, and is backed by several big household names including Legal & General and Aviva, as well as a variety of specialist insurers.

Brightside’s insurance activities are complemented by its financial services businesses and it provides innovative collection and repayment solutions to customers, to maximise efficiencies throughout the business.

Customer service and operational excellence are key performance indicators for Brightside which is determined to add value for its policyholders and business partners across all classes of insurance.

“Ultimately [customers] are the reason we want to provide great insurance products,” according to Brightside. “Our commitment to value is central to our approach – because at the end of the day, we want you to walk away with the best possible policy or quote in the easiest and most convenient way.”

Brightside specialises in providing niche insurance and its range of products include private vehicle and home cover, policies for business premises, vehicles and liability, insurance for sportspeople, taxis, motorhomes, minibuses, couriers and haulers as well as cover for landlords, let properties, tradespeople and large corporate enterprises.

To ensure that it continues to offer the most relevant products possible, Brightside is focused on investing in new technologies to provide key value to customers and this has been rewarded by the excellent Trustpilot scores the company continually receives.

The team at Brightside
Some key members of this leadership team include:

• Group CEO – Brendan McCafferty: McCafferty has worked in the insurance industry for over 30 years and joined Brightside in August 2018. He was previously CEO of AXA Insurance and his other roles have included founding-CEO of Flood Re and associate director at PwC.
• Chief finance officer at Brightside Group – James Slade: Slade previously worked as head of finance at Friends Life Group and as a chartered accountant at Deloitte before joining Brightside in November 2015.
• Chief operating officer at Brightside Group – Richard Beaven: Before joining Brightside in April 2019, Beaven was distribution director of Swinton Group following an extensive career in financial services.
• Managing director of broking – Derek Henry: Henry joined Brightside’s board on September 01, 2019, having previously supported Brightside in a consultancy role for a year. He has broad experience within the insurance sector, having operated in a variety of roles both in the UK and internationally.

Culture at Brightside
The team at Brightside is encouraged to:
Be bold – innovation and challenging what is done to give customers the best possible experience is deemed essential to the development of this organisation.
Be clear – being unafraid to ask questions is key to ensuring that Brightside’s strategy and values are clearly understood within the company and the wider market.
Be true – building mutual trust and respect through open and honest communication is important to Brightside and each employee is, it states, encouraged to commit to delivering their role in the company.
Be united – working together across the business is the best way to share ideas and best practice, according to Brightside, and helps the business to recognise the contribution of everyone.

Employee development at Brightside
Brightside strives to create an environment which empowers individuals and rewards hard work. It offers a wide range of benefits to make sure that employees are well looked after including a life assurance and company pension scheme, a health cash plan (which includes wellbeing, optical and dentistry allowance) and additional holiday allowance increased depending on the length of service.

Personal and professional development are both considered essential at Brightside and a host of opportunities are offered in this area. After initial inductions and training, in-role development is continually offered, as is ‘bitesize’ training which provides quick and effective learning and development. Brightside is also committed to offering applicable employees financial assistance with their CII qualifications.