Citynet’s unparalleled growth and success in Ireland

Andy Reason, Head of Property and Casualty Ireland talks to Irish Broker Magazine about Citynet’s unparalleled growth in Ireland over the last five years.

Citynet Insurance Brokers have enjoyed amazing growth in Ireland over the last five years. At the end of our last financial year, the annual Gross Written Premium for Property and Casualty business placed into London represented a 400% increase on the same period in 2013. Andy Reason (Head of Property & Liability Ireland) gives us an insight into the secrets behind the success.

What has been the key to the growth in the last 5 years?

Going back to basics and keeping things simple with the focus on providing the best possible service for our brokers. We made some changes to the way we worked internally and started developing a range of products that could help our brokers satisfy the needs of their clients.  We have assembled a young enthusiastic team of Account Executives who are encouraged to grow the accounts they have with all of our brokers. The best way to do that is to provide the best service in London and that’s what we strive to do each day.

Talk us through some of the changes you made and what sets you apart from other Lloyds Brokers?

The biggest change for us was allocating each of our brokers their own dedicated Account Executive. One of the most common complaints towards Lloyds Brokers is the service levels and turnaround times. By allocating each broker their own dedicated Account Executive they have a consistent point of contact 24/7 and someone they can turn to when they need a response. We also invested in an Irish Country Manager who was centre to these changes and brought us closer to our brokers.

Tell us more about your presence in Ireland?

Declan Reilly is our Irish Country Manager/Associate Director. In my opinion, Declan is the single largest factor behind our growth in Ireland. He’s incredibly popular with our brokers and having someone on the ground in Ireland has been a huge positive for Citynet. Declan works very closely with the account executives in the placement of business into London and has been very successful in identifying and developing a number of bespoke facilities and schemes for some of our Irish Brokers. Having Declan based in Ireland gives each broker a platform to tell us exactly what they need from Citynet and this has allowed us to tailor our products and services to fit their needs.

Why do Irish Brokers choose Citynet?

Other than the products and services we have already discussed one of the biggest factors is the relationships we have with our underwriters. We have many years of London market experience within the team and all of our Account Executives have very strong and longstanding relationships with the markets we use. As a result, our brokers know when they send us an enquiry they will be getting the best possible solution for their client. All of this is backed up by one of the best claims departments in London who work closely with our brokers and Insured’s on claim prevention and are always on hand to assist when a claim occurs.

What does the future hold for Citynet in Ireland?

In the short term, we have a big challenge in navigating our way through the uncertainty of Brexit. Citynet has plans in place (deal or no deal), to make sure we provide a seamless transition for our brokers and clients and continue to provide the same levels of service post Brexit. If any of our Brokers have any particular concerns I would encourage them to contact us and we can discuss their needs in detail. Away from Brexit, we continue to grow our underwriting department with new insurers and products coming on stream so watch this space for exciting news to come on that front. Certain brokers have had huge success recently in setting up niche schemes via Citynet and we are in the process of rolling out more of these in the coming months. The schemes allow us to provide a truly bespoke solution for a particular trade sector maximising both premium saving and coverage for the Insured. Again, if any of our brokers would like to discuss a potential scheme please get in touch with either myself, Declan or your Account Executive. Finally and most importantly we will continue to do what has been successful for us over the last 5 years and that is making sure we are providing the best possible products and services for all our brokers.

Feel free to contact Citynet Insurance Brokers  on 020 7488 7950 / [email protected] if you wish to discuss any of the above further or talk directly to Andy Reason ([email protected]) or Declan Reilly ([email protected]/ 07501 010 284).

Citynet Insurance Brokers appoints Head of Property and Casualty for their UK business.

Established almost two decades ago, wholesaler Citynet Insurance Brokers have appointed industry specialist, Lawrence Shortland as their new UK Head of Property and Casualty.

With over 30 years’ experience within the insurance industry, Lawrence joins from the Wrightsure Group where he has been the Wholesale Director for the last 5 years. He has also previously been a Director at Miles Smith and prior to that worked for RL Davison Lloyd’s Brokers for 18 years where he was the Chief Executive and Managing Director.

In his new role, Lawrence will lead his new team through a new phase of development and growth. The main focus will be expanding the UK account further by nurturing Citynet’s relationships with new and existing intermediaries around the UK as well as helping to develop their facilities with new and existing markets.

Andrew Walsh, Managing Director at Citynet commented: “We are delighted to have an individual of this calibre on board. Lawrence’s experience and track record speak for itself and I am tremendously excited to be working alongside him once again.”

Lawrence Shortland added: “I am thrilled to be joining Citynet, one of the fastest growing and market leading wholesale brokers, and to become part of the exceptional team of people they have there.”