A new insurance advisory business set to challenge the status quo

This week, a new insurance advisory business entered the insurance marketplace – Partners&. Led by CEO, Phil Barton, Partners& marks a turning point in the way advisers engage with clients. The focus of the business will be high quality, seamless insurance, risk management and employee benefits advice, together with a culture of partnership between their people, clients and their ecosystem.

Building on the best traditions of broking, which place value in relationships and technical knowledge, and leveraging the insights and efficiency derived from state-of-the-art systems and technology, Partners& aims to deliver a new standard of client experience, which, in the view of many insurance industry commentators, has suffered from increasing commoditisation coupled with diminishing client service.

Altogether, five respected insurance broking businesses have come together to form the platform of the new enterprise. They include MRIB and Independents, La Playa, CGI and Versatile – a combination which creates a team of 140 people, based across 9 offices across the South East, Midlands and South West, and which control approximately £65m GWP.

Partners& is committed to offering intelligent, seamless advice across the full spectrum of business insurance, private client insurance, employee benefits, risk management and claims, whilst specialising in key economic sectors, such as science and technology, energy and renewables, construction, media, digital and leisure.

We’re bringing together the best in the industry to create something positive, fresh and innovative. We’re creating a client and people centric culture where ideas are valued and everyone has a voice. The insurance broking sector is ripe for a re-set. I fully agree with MacTavish’s recent report that stated, clients need to understand more about what they’re buying, and why. We want to create a better way. Our unswerving focus on clients and colleagues, will prove vital to our success. We have built an incredibly talented team and we’re creating a vibrant, collaborative culture. Our ambition is not to be the biggest – our focus will be on striving to be the best insurance advisory business in the UK.
Phil Barton, CEO

The Board includes Stuart Reid, as Chair, Alex Rowe, as non-executive director, Jonathan Vickers as CFO and Jonathan Kelly, Partner, Capital Z.

The executive team includes:

Phil Barton, CEO

Jonathan Vickers, CFO

Julia McKee, COO

Natalie McClean, HR Director

Chris Jelf, Group Commercial Director

Mark Boon, Executive Director

Lee Davey, Managing Partner, South West

Ed Finch, Managing Partner, South East

Dan Wilkinson, Managing Partner, Midlands

About Partners&

Partners& is a Chartered insurance broker providing specialist insurance, employee benefits, risk management and claims advice to businesses, as well as private clientele. As the next generation insurance advisory business, Partners& combines the best traditions of insurance broking (relationships and technical knowledge) together with state of the art systems and technology to enhance the client experience.