Celebrating 10 years of success from those who have experienced it first-hand

On 8th May, we celebrate 10 years since our first-ever policy was sold to a customer. Over this time, much has changed – office locations, size of the business and a million more we haven’t got the time to document here.

But one constant amongst this all is a specific set of people who have been with the business since its inception. We are extremely fortunate to have retained such dedicated members of staff, who have been in the trenches and battled hard to help grow the business from a small-sized insurance provider, to the most experienced telematics car insurance provider in the whole of the UK.

We reached out to this resilient and loyal group to truly find out how much has changed at insurethebox, which obstacles they have overcome and what they have enjoy most about their previous and current role(s).

See what these incredible employees had to say about working for insurethebox over the previous 10 years:

Q: What has your experience been like with insurethebox?

A:  Andy Loftus, Underwriting Manager, looks back; ‘[It’s been] a rollercoaster over the [past] 10 years! Some amazing highs and lows. I have gained experiences in areas I never thought possible and experiencing the business grow from humble beginnings to what it is now makes me proud to have been part of it.’

This sentiment is mutually shared by those past and present staff members, but is only just the start for our business – while [we have] enjoyed seeing the company grow and evolve to what we are today…[we] look forward to being involved in how we adapt to future challenges and developments, says Dan Rees, Head of Pricing.

Q: How has the company developed in the previous 10 years?

A: “We’ve gone from 10 people in a small office in London to having 3 big offices across the country and a presence in Gibraltar. The rating engine has seen many developments and enhancements over the years, utilising new data sources, enrichment services and now on a much needed new system” – Dan Rees.

insurethebox has grown leaps and bounds in the past 10 years, noticeably after the acquisition by Aioi Nissay Dowa in 2015 – which has excelled the company to new heights, but we cannot forget our small origins.

“Back when we were a small startup, everyone had to just get on with what was expected of them. Roles were fluid, you just did what needed to be done in order to move forward. Recent events with COVID-19 have shown that we have still got what it takes when it really counts” – Andy Loftus.

The collective effort from an array of departments has allowed for us to keep growing with new propositions and customer initiatives.

But, still ‘…the attitude and ethos of the company has stayed the same, the company still wants to push developments and do right by the customer’ – Dan Rees.

Q: How has the marketplace changed in the previous 10 years?

A: While 10 years may seem a small amount of time to some, in the world of technology, it is a lifetime; the advent of comparison sites alongside a vast propulsion in the number of competitors have all shaped the car insurance marketplace we know today.

“A lot has changed in the market with the gender directive, Odgen changes and more companies offering a telematics solution, so we’ve needed to develop to stay competitive” – Dan Rees.

Sarah Fawcett, Head of Change and Improvement, noticed a stable factor in consumer behaviour; ‘price still drives the insurance sales in the UK’, which is supplementary for a desire to experiencing an easy consumer journey. These two areas are critical for a brand dedicated to young and new drivers and continue to be at the centre of learning how we can improve to better meet the needs of not only our own customers, but prospective customers also.

She also cited an immense desire shared across the business to grow the organisation by ‘not only [learning] from competitors in the industry but other leading companies who engage well with their customers’. This customer-centric approach is something we tirelessly work on improving day-in-day-out to ensure that we are able to deliver not only the best possible product, but the best possible package.

Q: During the time you have worked at insurethebox, what has been a highlight/ fond memory that stands out to you?

A: ‘Day 1 in a completely empty office in Gibraltar. Borrowing chairs and desks from other offices in the building so we could hit the ground running. Next stop was a kettle from Morrisons – we always knew how to prioritise’ said Andy Loftus.

We all understand the power of coffee, especially in the early days of the business.

But, this truly highlights how far insurethebox has come in such a short period of time – now with over 5 Billion miles of driving data.

These milestones and growth have also allowed the company to focus on internally empowering staff, as documented by Cliff Slassor, Counter Fraud Team Manager who has found great fulfilment in ‘being a trained Mental Health First Aider and being able to help colleagues with mental health issues’.

This typifies the ethos surrounding the organisation – empowering employees like Cliff to step out of their daily responsibilities, to improve the well-being of staff members.

Q: What would you consider your greatest achievement at insurethebox?

A: ‘Being part of the startup team that has gone from 0 to 5 Billion miles of data, whilst actually making a difference in the UKs road safety’ was the greatest achievement for Andy Loftus, Underwriting Manager.

Over the years, insurethebox has made a big difference to improving the road safety landscape in the UK. In 2016, we launched our Speeding Reduction Programme which has seen a 21.3% reduction in speeding and a 7.3% decrease in accident frequency*.

The plans to improve safety on UK roads is likely to continue to play a big part of our plan for years to come.

Q: What would you like to see happen to insurethebox in the next 10 years?

A: Dan Rees, Head of Pricing says he would love to ‘[utilise investments] and develop our technology to come up with new propositions and ensure customers continue to have a seamless experience with us. Many companies have moved into the telematics space with the latest technology, and it’s time for us to disrupt it again’.

This mindset and innovative thinking has allowed us to perform so well in the marketplace and remain as a key-player in the telematics industry; ‘when we launched, we were one of about 3 telematics companies on the aggregators, and the only one still thriving today’.

 

While we celebrate the 10th anniversary since our first-ever policy was sold, we cannot forget those pivotal members of staff who have enabled the business to grow to its current heights.

We celebrate everything they have done over the years – from the sacrifices they have made, the early mornings and sleepless nights to build the amazing product we offer our customers today.

Here is to another 10 wonderful years!

*Analysis of 120,000 customers contacted in the communications programmme since 2016. “Speeding” is defined as speed limit + 30%, counted as speeding instances per mile where an instance is captured every 5 seconds.