Rest Assured

Shauna Graham.

Rest Insured

Shauna Graham joined insurance broker ABL Group as managing director after its parent company acquired Willis Towers Watson in Northern Ireland. Here she discusses being part of that bigger picture and why a trusted insurance broker is vital in business today.

Few periods in history are as illustrious economically as the past three years.

Covid-19, Brexit, a smattering of environmental events and more have made the insurance sector, in particular, more complex for the buyer.

Insurance policies and their more stringent Ts and Cs have become a more complicated undertaking for both seller and buyer. It makes a broker like ABL Group, a professional risk advisor, all the more essential.

“The insurance market is cyclical,” ABL’s Managing Director, Shauna, begins. “We go through periods of soft and hard markets and this hard market has been felt as far back as 18 months before Covid-19. The pandemic just exacerbated what was already there.”

Shauna has over 20 years of experience in the insurance sector. She’s seen the industry’s cyclical behaviour in action recalling the last hard market post-9/11.

“Overnight things changed in the insurance market. There were issues getting 100% capacity. Some markets folded. I was fortunate to gain that experience early in my career though there are many in the industry now who are experiencing it for the first time.

“It can sometimes be a challenge persuading insurers to underwrite a risk so it’s essential we have a deep understanding of clients’ risks and how they manage them so we can present it in the best possible light. We are fortunate in ABL to have a risk management team who can assist with this.

“The cycle this time round has been longer and I have been asked if the market is beginning to soften. I would say in some sectors we are seeing rates beginning to stabilise but it is not uniform and often still risk specific.” She says another challenge is rising building costs and the impact that is having on the adequacy of building reinstatement values. Her advice is that all businesses with building cover should be checking their insurance values are correct in order to avoid potential issues

around under-insurance in the event of a claim. “Right now, more than ever it is hugely important to have an experienced insurance advisor who understands your sector, the nuances of that sector and implications for the structure of insurance programmes. At ABL we take pride in supporting Northern Irish clients from many sectors we have expertise in, which includes construction, manufacturing, food and drink, transportation and the public sector. “In a hard market, premiums go up and cover reduces. Claims become more difficult. We have an in-house claims advocate team that makes sure our clients are supported and represented when they need it the most, when they have suffered a loss.” ABL Group formerly had the brawn of Global Risk Partners (GRP) – its parent company and the second largest independent intermediary in the UK, handling almost £1bn premiums. But today that brawn has increased tenfold as GRP was bought over by Florida-based Brown & Brown Insurance, the sixth largest insurance broking firm globally.

Being part of the international market, but with little change to its current setup here, offers clients more value and access to wider markets. Shauna says ABL in Northern Ireland remains autonomous, which is the company’s real USP. Last year was an eventful one for the company locally; it not only acquired Willis Towers Waston’s NI business, but its move into a new home at City Quays in Belfast saw it officially become the largest commercial brokerage and risk advisory business in Northern Ireland. Included within the 130 staff spread over its Northern Ireland sites in Belfast, Armagh and Coleraine is the team the business welcomed on board after the acquisition of Willis Towers Watson.

Shauna was deputy head of that team and has since been promoted to managing director of ABL. She says insurance was never a career she had considered during her politics and history degree at Queen’s University. “It’s a career that you find most people fall into but it’s a hugely rewarding and interesting one because it’s a great mix of relationship and technology-based work. You get to establish great relationships with different businesses and advise them on solutions for appropriate risk transfer.” Her current post sees her bring together the WTW team with the broader group, grow and expand its reach and nurture her team while attracting new talent onboard.

The company has recently welcomed a cohort of 10 individuals onto its ‘new starter’ programme, which is part of the latter drive. Among that group are school leavers and graduates who will undertake a six-month entry-level programme that will cover the basics of insurance. After completion, they move into the ABL Academy. “That’s something unique,” Shauna continues. “That is our in-house academy which supports teammates through the Chartered Insurance Institute qualifications with a dedicated tutor and we fully support everybody to go through that.”

Looking ahead, even against the dramatic backdrop of that hard market, growth is still on the agenda for ABL Group. “Acquisitions have definitely been a trend the last number of years in Northern Ireland and nationally. Brown and Brown is similar to GRP in that it is very acquisitive so we’re really looking forward to the impact it will have.

“Here, we will be investing in people. That will continue to be the focus. We want to help our people be the best they can be. We are very fortunate with the team we have and we will continue to build on that,” Shauna says.

“Overnight things changed in the insurance market. There were issues getting 100% capacity. Some markets folded. I was fortunate to gain that experience early in my career though there are many in the industry now who are experiencing it for the first time.”