TALKING BUSINESS


THE ROAD AHEAD IS CLEAR FOR BHIB


Chamber members and Silver Business Partners, BHIB Insurance Brokers are a independent, award-winning business who haven’t let the turbulence of 2020 throw them off their stride. The ability to adapt and create positive opportunities out of continual change is something the firm prides itself on. With the launch of two new brands: Create Insurance and BHIB Charities; two award wins, and going through an acquisition by Clear Group, the past eighteen months certainly hasn’t seen the team slowing down. Cyber risk specialist Andy Hall and sales executive Sam Halden discuss the growth of the business, and advise on the steps businesses can take to protect themselves as we all adapt to a ‘new normal’ way of working.


The announcement that Clear Group had acquired Brokerbility Holdings – comprising BHIB Insurance Brokers Ltd, Churchill Insurance Consultants Ltd, the Brokerbility Network, Brokertech and Brokerbility Information Gateway – was made in autumn 2020. The deal has created a group that is one of the UK’s largest independent insurance broking, risk management and technology businesses, managing annual premiums in excess of £200m and employing over 400 staff. At the time the deal was made public, the BHIB


management team said: “We are thrilled to join forces with Clear. The Clear Group share our values of technical excellence, client care and attention to detail and together we have the collective size and strength to advise on, manage and service insurance programmes for clients across all business sectors, as well as building greater resilience into our own business. “At an operational level, we will continue to trade from


our current offices with the same personnel, but as part of a larger group we will have access to wider market reach and resource to ensure our clients continue to receive the highest quality guidance and competitive insurance solutions in a challenging economic and business environment. “We expect to see very little change on a day to day


level. We will also continue to be a member of Brokerbility, a highly respected national alliance of independent insurance brokers, leading the way in driving up standards of technical skill and professionalism within the UK insurance market.” The traditional values, professionalism and highly


qualified staff have helped BHIB secure the prestigious Chartered Insurance Institute (CII) Chartered Insurance Broker designation, and surely helped the firm secure several nominations at this years’ industry awards. In 2020 alone the team have celebrated being Finalists for Excellence in Training & Development at the Leicestershire Live Business Awards, along with being Finalists for SME Business of the Year at the same awards. At the Broker Innovation Awards 2020 the team came away as Winner of the Digital Broker Award – Create Insurance, and Ashwin Mistry OBE was crowned Winner of the Director of the Year Award. Sam said: “We’re one of the most capable and forward-


thinking insurance brokers in the UK. We are ‘Investors in People’ accredited, and diversity is a big strength. BHIB has a stated aim to create and promote a learning culture. We believe by facilitating training programmes and providing educational opportunities for all staff members to develop, this leads to a more engaged and inspired workforce, which in turn leads to greater creativity and innovation on behalf of our clients and an overall better client experience.”


24 inbusiness DECEMBER 2020/JANUARY 2021 The launch of two new brands this year will certainly help


to cement BHIB’s reputation for innovation, as the team now proudly offer insurance products to previously underserved industries: creative self-employed workers, and charities. Create Insurance and BHIB Charities Insurance both offer public liability insurance, as well as the various insurances that each sector requires, respectively. As with the launch of previous sub-brands, this recent growth has been developed in-house, to maximise the customer experience. And it is the customer journey, and the changing needs


of clients that BHIB are rightly proud of being able to react to. Throughout the unprecedented events of 2020, businesses across the country have found themselves in changing environments, and the team at BHIB have got their finger on the pulse of emerging trends. Cyber risk specialist at BHIB Andy Hall said: “During the Covid-19 lockdown most businesses across the UK have adjusted to a new normal of working from home, for many this is an entirely new way of operating and with it has brought a whole new different threat to consider.” It has been widely reported that hackers have recently launched a wave of cyber-attacks trying to exploit the large number of homeworkers. The proportion of attacks increased from 12% of malicious email traffic before lockdown in late March to more than 60% six weeks later. The attacks have increased in sophistication, with various phishing campaigns ranging from offering government relief, to health information supposedly from the World Health Organisation, to sophisticated ransomware attacks. Andy continued: “We are seeing hackers using business


email compromise and phishing scams often to steal credentials by using Covid-19 to trick employees to click on corrupt links – perhaps by suggesting the link contains important Covid-19 information. “We have also seen Remote desktops (RDPs) being


attacked and often used as a vehicle to install ransomware onto company systems, leaving the affected business with no data or systems to run their daily operations. “The attacks we have seen have been very expensive to


fix, with costs often running into the thousands.” Throughout 2020 BHIB have been offering fellow Chamber members a no-obligation review of their current insurances. With many employees operating under increased pressure, the team are keen to use their expertise to help fellow businesses.


For any insurance needs, members are encouraged to contact Sam Halden on 07791 578900.


Visit: www.bhibinsurance.co.uk BHIB are authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.


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