"These may be uncertain times, but sometimes it takes adversity to make us look more closely at certain aspects of our business. When Coronavirus struck, with all of the potential issues this might cause to us and our trading partners, we were determined to explore how we might make cost savings that would put us in the best possible shape to meet whatever challenges might be ahead.
Although our business has continued to trade through the Covid-19 pandemic, we have taken the decision to explore several key cost centres that significantly impact our budget. We decided to start with our Insurance programme as it represents a stand out cost item. We weren’t certain where to start looking for a quality insurance broker who would be capable of giving us an alternative view that we could trust. And then we remembered that Made in the Midlands have a longstanding Patron who are specialists in the Insurance field – Gallagher, who we were also aware of because of their involvement as Title Partner of Premiership Rugby.
When we approached Gallagher we were quickly impressed by their business-like approach, they quickly grasped what was required and understood our aspirations from a cost perspective.
Despite the enforced lock-down, we were able to maintain momentum using virtual conference methods of communication that may have replaced old style meetings forever. Conversations were shorter and much more focused and yet more effective in the outcomes delivered.
Gallagher gathered all of the necessary data, then took it away and forensically evaluated what we were insuring and how this measured against what we needed – this was done with hardly any impingement on my time, which was a very important factor as ‘Time’ is a commodity I could not afford.
The final outcome was fantastic. We moved our insurances to Gallagher, improved the calibre of our insurers and, increased the levels of our cover and, importantly, we made significant savings. We are grateful to Made in the Midlands for facilitating the introduction."
Nick Turner
Finance Director - Expert Tooling, 2020
