At NFU Mutual our customers know we have experience in farming and the rural UK. Equally, we’re inspired by our customers, their businesses, and the communities they serve. While there is a traditional aspect to our market, which comes with being around for over 110 years, the world is changing rapidly and along with this comes new technology to support our customers and new markets to explore.
We spoke to some of our Regional Sales team for their thoughts on where they see the future in terms of gaining more market share while giving our customers more ways to communicate with us.
There’s already more to tell - and sell
Often when companies expand their markets, they do it with new products and services. At NFU Mutual, we're no different and we continually develop new services and technology to build on our existing expertise. Many people are surprised to learn that this includes corporate insurance policies for large corporate clients. That’s the view of nationally based Broker Development Manager, Dave Morris, who joined NFU Mutual from elsewhere in the industry. As Dave explains, “We have a full range of capabilities which we continue to develop. Some people think we're just for the farming community. My role is to promote the long-term services we can provide to a broad range of companies and brokers, from those close to our farming roots to big corporate customers.”
Scott Harris, Sales Development Manager, Southwest, has a similar view. “I see huge potential in changing the perception of what we do. Thinking NFU Mutual is only involved with the farming sector is short-sighted, we have so much more to offer. I'll admit I thought NFU Mutual was only about farming before I joined, but we're continually growing and evolving the commercial element of our business. Even within farming there are new markets relating to transport and distribution that we're exploring. What’s more, we also offer financial services to our customers. We can confidently sit in front of a client and say, "What's the biggest risk to your business at the moment?" And whatever that might look like, we'll have a proposition we can tailor to suit their needs.”
Developing our advice rich service
Another area of growth that the team has recognised is in servicing the high-net-worth market, which sits alongside our commercial customer base. Emily Warren, Locum Agency Manager, Southeast, who is currently based in Cobham, sees this as an area for future growth as she explains. “London and Surrey are affluent high-net-worth areas, but when I speak to customers, they don't realise we provide personalised insurance. The perception is that we're a farming insurer and that farming is all we do. Our role is to change these perceptions so we can grow our high-net-worth client portfolio.”
Another aspect of high-net-worth is that it’s an area where the advice rich service we're known for is particularly welcome and, as Emily also feels, “it marries up with our value of local personal service.” Scott Harris also sees the potential of high-net-worth. “We can offer a bespoke element to a niche, higher-end market. Our role is to expand opportunities not only with existing customers who fit this profile but with new customers too.”
New channels to reach new customers
The past two years have seen great technological change, often to keep customers in touch with their services in ways that best serve them. NFU Mutual has been working hard at enabling our customers - and our Agency Network, to benefit from new technology. Emily Evans, Sales Development Manager, Southeast, talks through some of these changes. “We moved rapidly during Covid which made a massive change to our own use of technology, as it did with lots of people in the market. And now we've got some massive technology change programs coming forward that will fundamentally make a significant difference to the way we interact with customers. The key thing to remember is that our online portals and online quotation capabilities are supplementary to our core strategy. They’re not meant to be instead of. So, if a customer wants to get a quote online, and then wants to call in for a face-to-face discussion, that's absolutely fine.”
Emily Warren also sees technology as an enhancement to the values and personal service we're already known for. “I think regardless of the technological changes, our point of difference is that we'll offer to come to your home and talk about your insurance. While I’m confident we’ll be able to meet our customers’ changing tech needs, there will always be a need for the personal touch. It’s also about offering choice, we won’t just be giving our customers a call centre and an app. It's about giving customers the option to interact online and still have that local personal service too, if that's what they want.”
While technology creates new channels to reach customers, now that Covid is reducing, face-to-face opportunities are once again back on the agenda. Dave Morris is a fan of using conferences and is delighted to see them emerging after the pandemic. He recently spotted an opportunity in Manchester. “It's great that we can again start attending conferences, like BIBA - the British Insurance Brokers' Association. It's another opportunity for us to tell our story. I'm looking forward to the team getting out and about again so our customers and the market will get to know us even better.”