Rebranding sees Marsh pursue more growth

INSURANCE: Integration process has taken two years to successfully complete

One of Scotland’s major insurance brokers has completed a rebranding exercise as it pursues continued growth.

Almost two years since Jelf Clark Thomson was acquired by Marsh Commercial, the firm has consolidated under the Marsh name, uniting around 350 staff under a single brand with offices across the UK including Dundee and Perth.

Regional chief executive Ben Bailey said it has taken the time to manage an integration process with minimum business disruption, but now offers more services to clients and better career opportunities for staff.

He said: “What Marsh had coming together in Scotland over the last couple of years was actually four separate entities and some things were more clunky for us to deliver.

“There was a bit of Marsh business, a company called Bluefin, Clark Thomson and Central Insurance in Aberdeen, so actually bringing those four components together in a way that enabled us to try and get the best out of each of them for the future has taken us a couple years.

“We had anticipated that it would take this amount of time and that’s where we’ve got to – it’s quite exciting, finally, for everybody to feel that they are part of one entity rather than separate bits.”

While the rebrand has not brought a change in direction for the firm, it now offers more services for clients including employee retirement and welfare investment planning.

Mr Bailey said although the firm has aspirations to make further acquisitions across Scotland and the UK, it “had paused for the moment” adding it was a case of “finding the right ones that suit the culture of the business rather than simply pursuing scale”.

He said the firm had adapted quickly in response to the Covid-19 pandemic, enabling staff to work from home and assuring employees that no one in the company would lose their job due to the impact of the health crisis.

“We have seen an uptick in Covid-19 related claims which currently fall into three categories.

“The first category is claims that appear to definitely be covered, the second is where claims appear definitely not to be covered and a third which is claims that are ambiguous and that’s what we are working through.”

Mr Bailey added the insurance industry faced rising costs, including vehicle accident claims.

“Vehicles are becoming increasingly sophisticated, for example, and a small bump is no longer just a bumper replacement, it’s all the electronic technology that goes with it, as well as injury claims.”