At Anthony Jones we pride ourselves in the fact that we offer each and every one of our customers a personal, tailored service. Established in 1984, we have been in the insurance business for over 30 years – and some of our loyal staff have experience in the insurance market going back even further. Our CEO Terry for example started his career in insurance back in 1976!
But that doesn’t mean that we rest on our laurels. With this experience comes the knowledge that what the customer needs is king. So, over the last 30 years our insurance business has undergone some significant changes to ensure that we give our customers what they need and so that they can access our service in the most effective way possible.
No more have we seen change happen as we have over the past few years. Digital transformation and the internet have changed things significantly – people can and want to be able to access services 24/7, they want to be able to make contact when is most convenient for them and they want things to be straightforward. We all have more than enough to be thinking about – difficulty in getting in touch with your insurance broker shouldn’t be one of them.
Time is precious and choosing your insurance broker has never been so important with insurance premiums across all sectors continuing to rise and businesses facing constant pressures and new risks.
Enabling our customers to contact us how they want, when they want
We launched our new website in 2016 with the aim of bridging the gap – whilst we pride ourselves on our personal service, we also know that the way businesses want to access our service has changed. Our new website provides a great shop window to the insurance products and services that we specialise in arranging. Prospective clients can see at a glance if we are right for them and if it is worth investing their time in a deeper discussion.
It has also enabled us to put in place online quote forms for the following products:
• Vaping insurance
• Home insurance
• Car insurance
• Haulage fleet insurance
Coupled with this we now have a Livechat functionality and a ‘request a call back’ form.
These features all open up the options for how our customers can contact us, and effectively means they can get in touch 24/7.
Not only do we see our website as our shop window we also see it as a way to keep people updated through our news and insight section. Here we blog not just about insurance topics, but bigger macro factors that we think will be important to our customers across a range of industries.
Steve Green, Director at Anthony Jones adds “Another area that we have focussed on is customer reviews – we are passionate about making sure we offer a great service at a fair price and we feel that our customers experiences with us give the best reflection of this to our prospective clients. That’s why you can read reviews directly on our website. We don’t edit. We don’t pick and choose which reviews to display. We are very proud of our 5-star rating”
Keeping on top of industry developments and risk management
New risks present themselves all the time and we focus on keeping on top of the market to understand the real risks that our customers are facing – be that new risks within established areas such as cyber crime or completely new industries such as the vape market:
Cyber insurance
As one of the most eminent and potentially serious risks to businesses of all types we understand that cyber-crime is, or should be, at the top of the agenda when it comes to risk management.
It’s not something that is going away. From the large attacks on big companies you read about in the news to the government stats that suggest almost half of small businesses suffered a cyber-attack in the 12 months that the report looked at.
Prevention is better than cure which is why we are so focused on ensuring all our customers are fully informed about the risks they may face and the benefits that cyber insurance can provide
Vape and e-cigarette insurance
The vape market is a relatively new area that brings with it unique risks, from manufacturing to distributing through to sales. We are the approved broker to the Independent British Vape Trade Association (IBVTA) and have built up a wealth of experience in this evolving industry.
Monitoring the impact of claims
The other big thing our business has had to react to is the change in the claims culture in the UK over the period that we have been doing business.
In the days of ‘crash for cash’ schemes, credit hire, increased whiplash and personal injury claims it’s never been more important for claims to be notified as quickly as possible and with as much information as possible. That is why along with improvements to our website we now also have an online motor claims notification functionality – this allows our customers to not only notify us of a claim but also upload photos, dashcam and video footage ultimately giving the best chance of ensuring liability is placed with the correct party.
We like to think that the steps that we have taken mean we are easy to do business with and easy to find online. We may be a local broker, but we certainly don’t feel that way. We have excellent relationships with all of the insurers that we work with and consider this a priority to help us access the best value premiums for our customers. We stay on top of industry developments so you can rest assured, if there is an emerging risk or advance in technology that may be likely to affect your business you will be able to find out more about it from us.
Keeping the customer at the heart of what we do
Steve adds “Whilst we have seen a lot of change over the years we have been doing business, the one thing that hasn’t changed is the fact that we are a truly independent broker. Being independent means maximising profits for our shareholders isn’t a priority. Matching the customer and the right insurer is what matters to us. One of the core beliefs across Anthony Jones is that your business is our business – we work hard to really understand the challenges you face and the decisions you make which in turn informs our business in the investments that are made and the markets that we enter”
Mark Stevenson, our Managing Director also believes that our independence is key to our ability to offer the best service to our customers, “Maximising short term profit for our shareholders isn’t a focus for us unlike some of the other brokers in the market who are part of a consolidated group. We have no other influencing factors determining which insurers we work with which I believe is behind our ability to offer such a personal and tailored service where we put the needs of the customer at the heart of what we do. The ensuing benefits that come from this whilst of course benefiting our clients also has a knock-on effect on our staff and staff retention which makes Anthony Jones such a great place to work”
Don’t just take our word for it though. If you are reviewing your insurance needs get in touch with us – you will get the expertise of our long serving knowledgeable employees and the personal, tailored service that comes from a truly independent broker.
