In support of our business growth and expansion plans, we are delighted to have welcomed lots of new faces to the McClarrons team this year, both into our client-facing and operational teams. Here, we introduce you to some of them.
David, Gerard and Lewis
In March, we welcomed David, Gerard and Lewis to our Commercial Team, with Lauren joining them more recently in June. Our new starters in the Commercial Team are all new to the industry but bring unique and favourable skills to their roles. Our Head of Commercial, Nick Pay, describes them all as having “a desire to provide excellent client service, an enthusiasm for working as a team and an enjoyment of working in a dynamic organisation”. We look forward to seeing them continue to progress with their insurance training and qualifications, building their insurance knowledge and skills to assist our wide variety of commercial clients.
David previously worked in an estate agency; his decision to move was to advance personally and acquire more professional responsibilities. Gerard is also from a non-insurance background and on appointment said that a change of direction and his eagerness to overcome new challenges and learn new skills was the motivation behind joining McClarrons, alongside the company ethos and core values which stood out strongly to him, particularly our value of One Team.
As a “local lad” to McClarrons’ Head Office, Lewis is surrounded by friends and family and said on joining McClarrons: “I had contacts with people within the company and they always spoke very highly of the company and their colleagues. For me, it was an easy decision to join.”
Read more about David, Gerard and Lewis in our New Faces in the Commercial Team blog.
Lauren
Lauren is a recent Business Management graduate and after thoroughly enjoying her risk management module at university, brings a high level of theoretical knowledge. Lauren defined her favourite aspect of McClarrons being “the community feel […], everyone is more than happy to help and support you, which creates a great environment to learn and work. I feel this community atmosphere has allowed me to learn so much in my first few months here.”
Amber, Jessica, Megan, and Bethany
In the Farm Team, we have also had high levels of recruitment recently with the appointment of Amber, Jessica, Megan, and Bethany. Amber has worked as an Office Manager & Administrator previously; with a keen interest in insurance, she is excited to learn more about the industry.
Jessica joins us from a financial services background and after a short time with us, commented on starting at McClarrons: “ this was a welcomed career move for me, like joining a family. Every day has been a new challenge which I have loved, and I enjoy getting up and coming into the office! The Farm Team have been most welcoming – I have grown so much in just 10 weeks. The induction plan is extensive and detailed, helping you to develop into the role effectively without being overwhelming. I’m really looking forward to studying my Cert CII [Certificate with the Chartered Institute of Insurance] and expanding my insurance knowledge.”
Megan is also new to the industry and was looking to kickstart a new career. Her appeal to McClarrons was the importance of our Core Values, especially One Team. She mentions everyone has been “friendly and helpful” and said that “being a ‘new person’ can be quite daunting, but the friendly atmosphere and open-door policy has really helped. The [McClarrons] Summer Social was a great opportunity to meet everyone too.”
Bethany joined us last month following a career as a Claims Handler, primarily working within accident and risk management. Bethany said, “my favourite aspect so far is my team! It’s so nice to be surrounded by such support… everyone is constantly looking out for each other and offering help whenever it’s needed. It’s just a lovely environment to work in”.
Matt and Leah
Further new additions to the McClarrons team are Matt and Leah. Matt has taken on a role as Client Advisor. Matt’s very diligent approach to his training so far will no doubt stand him in good stead as he progresses further into the role and looks to help clients source insurance for their personal household, contents, motor and travel requirements
Leah joins us with industry experience working in claims under pet insurance policies; with a keen interest in learning more about one of our niche sectors – farming – Leah joins as a Claims Advisor, working with our in-house Claims Team to support clients with progressing claims both effectively and efficiently.
Kate
Not only have we grown our broking teams, we have also developed new roles within our back office teams to support our business operations. Our Operations Team oversee the systems, processes and non-client facing elements of the business, such as compliance, marketing, human resources and finance. Kate joined our Operations Team recently as Compliance Manager; Kate joins with several years of experience working within compliance and quality assurance, Laura joined as a Marketing Assistant and most recently, Steph joined the team as Finance & Administration Assistant.
Kate’s role is to oversee and enhance the compliance strategy and activities of McClarrons and our wider companies to ensure our operations remain compliant with regulations and support business expectations. This includes elements of quality assurance, auditing, and ongoing risk assessment and horizon scanning.
Laura
Laura joined the Marketing Team as a Marketing Assistant based at our Hull Office. Laura joins us on a 12-month internship after completing a Business Management with Marketing degree. From her internship, she looks to develop her professional skills and is interested in supporting the increased presence of McClarrons in and around Hull, using her knowledge of the area.
Steph
Our latest addition to the Operations Teams is Steph, who takes on the role of Finance & Administration Assistant. Having had a very successful career working in Human Resources for a number of years, Steph was looking to change direction and to take on a new challenge in a finance role. We are very much looking forward to seeing how Steph will be able to support our Finance Team and bring a fresh outlook to the operational side of the business in order to help us continue to develop.
Anna, Harvey, Emma and Rebecca
To continue supporting our growth, we have welcomed some more new faces into our teams since August, including Anna, Harvey, Emma and Rebecca. Anna joins us as an enthusiastic member in the Farm Team having previously worked as a riding instructor. In order to learn the full client journey, Anna has started her career with us working with our in-house Claims Team; this time will give Anna an understanding of how policies react in the event of a claim, what key areas we need to look for when negotiating claims on behalf of clients and how to negotiate and communicate successfully with insurers. This will give Anna a good grounding and understanding of insurance before moving full-time into our Farm Team.
Harvey has joined us having completed his A-Levels this summer and is working in our Hull office supporting the Compact Risk Team as a Client Advisor. Harvey shows great ambition and determination to support his Team’s targets and new business ideas, alongside learning our systems and developing a wider understanding of the commercial insurance industry to be able to advise and support our clients in his role. Harvey is a very personable individual, making him a valued and core member of our Hull office.
Appointed as HR officer, Emma has a key role in ensuring each member of the McClarrons team has the opportunity to excel in their role, will help us implement new training strategies to help improve and develop each team member, both in terms of their personal development and their employment ambition. Emma will also naturally assist in our recruitment of new team members, review of our benefits offerings and look for ways to better support our team in general. Emma has overseen the recruitment of a number of new starters so far, who will join our team soon, as well as providing a wealth of knowledge and experience that our Management teams can lean upon to assist in support of their teams.
Rebecca has joined our Affinity Team as a Client Advisor in our Malton office; she will be supporting our Client Executives, creating compliant and comprehensive client documentation, communicating with insurers, and liaising with clients to offer valuable advice and solutions. We pride ourselves on creating strong relationships with all of our clients, and our McClarrons Affinity clients are no different; Rebecca’s wealth of experience working in client-facing roles, specifically in property, stands her in good stead within her Client Advisor role. We look forward to seeing Rebecca progress through her induction programme.
Sophie
In the autumn of 2023, Sophie Render joined us as a Claims Advisor following 12 months traveling in Australia and visiting family. Prior to her travels, Sophie worked as a Paralegal in Claimant Personal Injury after having completed a degree in Law at the University of Liverpool. Her experience in personal injury claims has provided Sophie with a multitude of customer service skills including empathy, support, and communication; all key to helping our in-house Claims Team assist clients in their time of need. Not only this, through her experience, Sophie also gained an understanding of the basic principles of insurance and the legalities surrounding it. Outside of work, Sophie loves baking and seeing friends and family but most importantly, she loves spending time with her dog!
Sophie
In November, Sophie Allen joined us as an Admin Assistant to support our Operations and Finance teams. Originally from Australia, Sophie graduated from the University of Sydney with a Bachelor of Arts. Sophie has lived in the UK for just under 2 years; previously she spent some time on a working holiday in Canada, where she learned to snowboard and worked in a variety of roles within retail, housekeeping, and the service industry. Before working at McClarrons, Sophie worked as an Office Assistant at a worksurfaces supply company based in Full Sutton where she managed calls, appointments, and ensured orders ran smoothly. Sophie’s organisation, administrative, customer service and sales experience, along with her bubbly personality, will help her in supporting the backbone of the company at McClarrons.
Emily
Also new to McClarrons is Emily who joined our Care Team as a Client Advisor in December. Emily joins us with a wealth of experience working in the Care sector as well as lots of financial experience from her more recent roles with Aviva. Immediately prior to joining McClarrons, Emily was a mortgage and protection advisor which further developed her experience of working in a regulated environment and sourcing the right products for her clients. Emily says her move to McClarrons comes with the appeal of company values that align with that of her own. Obsessed with her dog, Emily spends her weekends going for long walks, often to the local pub which serves a great Sunday roast.
Adele
Our latest addition to McClarrons is Adele who joins as a Client Executive in the Commercial Team. With her wealth of insurance knowledge and experience from many years in the industry and in a variety of roles, Adele is keen to share her insights to support the learning and development of others within the business. Adele joined the insurance industry straight after she graduated from university and has since worked in roles, including underwriting in sectors such as personal accident, travel, farm motor, farm combined, commercial, and property owners. Over the years, Adele has worked in different types of insurance roles, including Account Executive, Business Development Manager and Development Manager discussing, more specifically, risk management needs and solutions with clients. Having missed working in a client-focused role, Adele is excited to return to a Client Executive position and is eager to get stuck into both her role and with the team at McClarrons, which she describes as “an organisation who cares for their employees, their clients and ultimately, their company.”
A comment from Garry
Managing Director, Garry Davies, comments: “Achieving the best outcomes for our clients is at the forefront of our minds at McClarrons, and the best way we can achieve this is by employing quality people, providing them with training, structure, and empowerment to make the best decisions for our clients, and the business. The new team members we have welcomed this year have been exceptional, and I look forward to seeing them develop personally and them helping us achieve our long terms goals as an independent advice-led insurance broker”.
The feedback we have received so far from our new starters, the rest of the team and our clients has been overwhelmingly positive, and we look forward to welcoming new members of the team as we continue to grow.
Working at McClarrons
If being a part of the team at McClarrons is of interest to you, you can view our careers page here to see if we have a role that appeals to you and to apply! We also welcome any questions you might have about our advertised roles, simply email enquiries@mcclarroninsurance.com if you have any queries.
