There are few things as effective as an anniversary to prompt reflection and contemplation of times passed. Traditionally, such occasions necessitate gift exchanges, trips away or celebratory dinners but for the team at RMP – an MGA dedicated purely to not-for-profit organisations, and part of Pen Underwriting – celebrating three decades in operation since its 1994 launch demanded something rooted in the heart of the business.
“We wanted to leave a lasting legacy,” noted Stephen Halsall (pictured), managing director. “Something that goes beyond our organisation and continues into the future.” Among the many actions undertaken by the team, their festivities included the donation of 30 pints of blood, 30 bags of clothing and 30 football kits for young children in Uganda, as well as peeling 30 bags of potatoes for a local foodbank and organising 30 school trips for special education needs children.
Rhondda Cynon Taf-based Halsall’s passion for the public sector is as much personal as it is professional and was sparked decades ago during the transformative period in Welsh local government in the mid-90s which saw the abolition of certain types of councils and thus the merging of many smaller ones into a single tier of 22 unitary authorities. “It was a fascinating time, where insurers had to rethink their strategies, and organisations needed huge amounts of guidance to navigate new challenges. So, later, when I had the opportunity to join the public sector space under the leadership of Roy Tapper, from the corporate broking side, it was a flashback to 1996, and I jumped at the chance.”
Life’s all about timing, Halsall said, and it was around the same time that he met his now-wife who was a newly-qualified additional learning needs teacher. Seeing the work she does first-hand further opened his eyes to the role the public sector plays in society and, in turn, the societal value of insurance and risk management.
The public sector insurance market is one shaped by so many complex and heavily interconnected external market conditions. In addition to being the glue that holds society together, he highlighted that it often goes under the radar that local authorities are essentially FTSE 250 countries in their own right, managing multi-billion-pound property portfolios and thousands of employees. And that’s without their added challenge of statutory obligations and constrained resources.
As a result, he said, only the right combination of reactive and proactive solutions and products can help organisations navigate that risk environment. RMP championed the idea of clients taking on greater risk retention from its earliest days.
At the time, encouraging local authorities not to rely solely on commercial insurance but rather to sustain greater levels of risk tolerance – and to help them manage and mitigate that exceptionally well – was a “revolutionary” idea. Instead of paying large premiums to cover every eventuality, these organisations could self-fund smaller risks and focus their premium on catastrophic events which could impact their ability to function at full capacity.
To give a sense of the scale and reach of RMP in the UK, Halsall said, it represents more than 65% of local authorities, collaborates with 45 of the 48 police forces and already works with over 120 higher education institutions, primarily universities, despite only entering the sector in 2015.
Both its focus on the power of risk management and its commitment to long-term, stable relationships with insurers are in service of the mission that sits at the heart of RMP – which is also the reason he first joined the business - to reduce the total cost of risk for the public sector. This involves balancing robust insurance protection with effective claims handling and proactive risk management.
“Our big, lofty, audacious goal is that when we save £1 - through a combination of good insurance, good risk management, good claims management, tackling fraud etc. – and we add up all those pounds, that means a client can employ more teachers, more police officers, more social workers, more elderly care support staff,” he said. “Every pound we can save them is public money which they have the ability to reinvest into frontline services. That’s our drive, that’s our mission, and that’s what we come into work every day to do.”
It's too easy to fall into the trap of just considering premiums, Halsall said, but the most important figure is the total cost of risk. A cheap proposition might lead to higher claims expenses down the line, and it is the role of the public sector insurance market to help clients find the right balance, ensuring both long-term savings and stability.
Halsell noted that supporting the public sector is not without its challenges, and against a backdrop of austerity measure impacts, market shifts and evolving client needs, RMP has had to adapt continually. One significant change he has seen since he started his career, has been the reduction in in-house insurance expertise among public sector clients.
“Back in the 90s, into the early 2000s, you would be dealing with somebody in a full-time role who was often a dedicated insurance professional with an ACII or IRM qualification,” he said. “Over time, whether it’s because of redundancy programmes or rationalisation programmes, some organisations have lost that experience – and all that legacy knowledge and insight is really hard to replace.”
It’s with that in mind that RMP has doubled down on its commitment to educating the public sector on insurance and risk, which he noted needs to be high on the agenda of any public sector organisation. “As a profession, we need to be more vibrant, more visible and more relevant, in order to help them where they need help” he said. “This year we’ve run a roadshow of training courses for newer professionals or those who’ve inherited risk management responsibilities. The feedback has been fantastic, and we’re planning more sessions next year.”
This educational commitment extends to demystifying procurement—a critical aspect of public sector operations. With procurement rules changing in 2025, RMP is organising roadshows with legal experts to help clients navigate the new frameworks, he said. “For us, it’s not about commercial gain; it’s about empowering the sector.”
