Jewellery

When at the age of 19, Charles found himself making a presentation to one of the world’s largest shipping companies about their insurance, he was pretty scared but he also knew he had found the career for him.

“I was working in Halfords when I got my first job in insurance” says Charles. He had decided not to complete his A levels but to go straight into work. “I did get offered the management training course at Halfords” he added but instead took a role with AXA in Ipswich looking after travel claims.

This was just a stepping stone, and after a year he found a role in the marine team at WTW in Ipswich. “I was incredibly lucky and got to work for one of the experts in this field. He had a real wealth of knowledge about everything to do with shipping and what can go wrong. But most of all he was passionate about doing a good job”. His mentor took him to see clients, taught him how to pitch a plan to the underwriters and, when sickness struck on the day of a big meeting with a major client, trusted Charles to make the presentation. “I took a deep breath and realised I just had to get on with it” he said.

London is the global centre for marine insurance – where it started, and it still protects one in four of ocean-going vessels in the world. So, the next step for Charles was to work right in the heart of everything to do with shipping and he moved to work in the London insurance market, “I love working in this market” he adds. “Ships are the historic root of all insurance and London is the place to do it”. Charles took opportunities to expand his knowledge in his career he now works for the broker Price Forbes on Fine Art, Jewelry, & Specie, claims.

Whether you work for a broker or an insurance company, the appeal of claims remains the same according to Charles. “This is the ultimate puzzle solving job” he says. “These are complicated issues, and you have many people involved all of whom need to be getting something out of the solution. Technical understanding is really important, you need to be able to multi task and have strong organisational skills, but managing all the people is the really critical bit”.

Sevenoaks-based Nick is an insurance broker for Special Risks Group, focussing on the jewellery industry. He joined the market in 2019 when his skills at managing customers and welcoming new clients were spotted by an insurance broking firm. “It’s all about assessing the risks,” he explains. “My job is to understand our clients’ needs and get the best insurance package for them.”

While some in the jewellery industry might look at insurance as a ‘necessary evil’, many retailers and manufacturers really understand its value. As providers of expensive luxury goods, they can be a prime target for criminals as well as being exposed to all the other threats like fire and flooding faced by most businesses. And, when an incident occurs leading to a claim and which is then settled sympathetically and quickly, the true value of their insurance is always greatly appreciated.

Nick’s clients could be anywhere in the UK and Ireland, although a large contingent is based in London’s famous jewellery district, Hatton Garden. As part of his role, Nick will visit many of their premises to provide advice on how they can reduce the risks to which they are exposed. He also reviews and discusses their security systems, and which is sometimes backed up with an insurer’s surveyor.

As well as traditional theft, cyber security solutions are also high on Nick’s agenda, with a growing new threat of cyber criminals and how they are increasingly sophisticated and can cause considerable damage through selective types of malware.

“I also get involved with the marketing of our insurance policies. I talk to our marketing department about putting adverts into jewellery magazines and any amendments to our website” Nick says.

“Every day is different. I start around 8am, working on urgent emails and any client requirements. Next, I’ll discuss with underwriters’ various pieces of business I’ve been working on. After that, I may head to London on a client visit before sending out invitations to clients to renew their policies.”