Bob's blog: Work, rest and play

The end of each year inevitably sees key industry figures looking back and summarising, with some degree of levity, the year as they‘ve seen it. It’s a privilege to join their serried ranks. However, while I’ll try to amuse or just raise a wry smile, there is as always a message behind the humour. In case you don’t spot it, I’ll let you in on mine at the end of this blog.

January is always cold, grey, miserable and ridiculously busy, probably because the previous month has been full of parties, meetings and get-togethers, which inevitably leaves the work to pile up. There were a couple of belated ‘Christmas’ parties to cheer things up, but I don’t like January much. It’s a long month, with too many meetings, long days and long nights.

While still cold and miserable, February had insurers ready to talk about deals for the year. (Are we the only industry that does deals retrospectively? I can’t remember ever completing insurer negotiations before year-end!) So, the 2010 deal was: more business, increases in renewal figures, retention at 90% or somewhere close, and not much leeway when it comes to uncompetitive renewal terms (apparently that’s not the insurers' fault) and, naturally, we need to do better when telling clients that premiums have increased by 25% in this lovely economic climate!

March brought with it the arrival of spring, lighter evenings, and even sunshine. Life's getting better – golf is on the agenda! Clients seemed happier to talk, business moved ahead and, despite a soft market, things were looking up. Insurers started talking about winning business, what’s on the prospect list, and what’s on the agenda for 31 March. Some big renewals were due across the market, so service levels dipped, quotes were difficult to obtain, and paperwork went off the Richter scale. Weird when everyone knew they were coming – they’re renewals!

It was more of the same in April and May: life is busy! It's a good time to take stock with budgets, review sales strategies and marketing, and prepare for the rest of the year. That's a tough call with a market that is still doing the unexpected. Where are those soft and hard markets? Meanwhile, I committed to do a charity bike ride later in the year, through Scotland, Northern Ireland and Ireland. That's 236 miles of hills! Training begins …

June equals corporate hospitality (aka networking) – some more exotic than others. There were plenty of supplier meetings and lots of smiley faces, followed by one or two glasses consumed and some tired people the next day. It’s a good month, thoroughly enjoyable and life is good in the market. More cycle training!

Holiday season starts in July, as staff disappear for weeks, paperwork clogs up and clients don’t want to know, as they’re away too. The industry slows and the weather improves! It's a great time to catch up and plan autumn campaigns.

August: time for holidays, a few meetings in between, but rest is required! And for me there's running and cycling every day now – hard work in the heat!

September brought lots of renewals to discuss and try to place. The new business strategy has been working well, but that pesky soft market is still a pain. Insurers have continued to do mad deals on new business, well below market rate. Meanwhile, an acquisition this month means the integration begins: it was time to bring the teams together and manage change. Alongside this, a look at insurer stats to measure progress against targets. Some good, some bad, but that’s the expectation in this market. Last but not least, I completed my cycle challenge and raised £6600. Worth the six-plus hours of cycling in the rain on the last day!

In October, it was time to start looking at 2011 strategy. There were more renewals to do, with insurers unbelievably still fighting over business and pushing rates down. We dropped GWP by around 7% through insurer competition. Fortunately we won business too, so income hasn’t dropped.

It was back to cold, dark days in November, but still the odd spot of sunshine. There were some painful claims to deal with, and insurers that seem to want to find the wriggle clause or just make it difficult to reach settlement. Forensic evidence is required for any major loss under any circumstances – interesting times ahead! Policy wording and conditions of cover are paramount, and we’ve been reminding clients over the year that this is an issue needing serious consideration.

December has brought a packed diary, with meetings every day and events every night! There have been celebrations for the year we’ve had and for the one we’re about to commence, with key moments being the Insurance Times Awards, the IIB's AGM, and proposals around deals for 2011 on the table. The Christmas break will be good when it comes.

And the message? Well, all work and no play makes Bob a dull boy!

But in all seriousness, I really believe success doesn’t come by accident – we have to work at it. Though enjoy life too! That part of your life away from the desk and paperwork is needed to refresh your approach. No one wants to do business with a dullard, so a noggin or two, a game of golf or even a (some would say daft) charity bike ride is all part of the mix. Take the issues in your stride and don’t become the archetypal grumpy old man or woman.

Enjoy Christmas, and have a happy and prosperous New Year!

Bob Pybus is a director of the Institute of insurance Brokers (IIB) and director of NPA Insurance Broking Group.