2018 has been an eventful year for Thomas Carroll. We have grown our team, opened a new office, won awards and a whole lot more. Plus, we had a lot of fun along the way.
In this blog, we reveal our top 10 favourite moments of the year. Before we begin, we would like to say a big thank you to our loyal clients for your continuous support. None of this would have been possible without you…
1. New year, new office
We started the year with a bang by opening our 6th office, this time in Newport. Located in the rapidly developing Clytha Park district and led by director, Claire Humphries, it was important to us to be closer to our clients and professional contacts in the area.
2. Birthday celebrations for our team down west
Our Pembrokeshire office has had a lot to celebrate this year. In line with our business growth in Pembrokeshire, we moved to larger premises on Avallenau Drive in March. Later in the year, we celebrated five years since we opened our doors in Pembrokeshire with our clients, friends and business contacts.
3. The team take on the National Three Peaks Challenge
To mark the 20th anniversary of UNA, members of our Caerphilly and Swansea offices took on the National Three Peaks Challenge. Along with people from the other independent insurance brokers that form the UNA Alliance, our volunteers climbed the three highest peaks of Scotland (Ben Nevis), England (Scafell Pike) and Wales (Snowdon) within 24 hours to raise £13,000 for the British Heart Foundation and Mind Mental Health Charity.
4. New appointments across the business
In 2018, our team continued to grow and develop. In addition to a number of new recruits, including Jo O’Keeffe joining us as a Senior Business Development Executive, we also made a number of appointments internally. Early in the year, we appointed Mark Sullivan, Jeff Partridge and Charlotte Gwenter as directors to lead the growing business insurance team at our Swansea office. Midway through the year, we appointed Emma Buckley as our dedicated Cyber Executive to support an increasing demand for data and cyber risk advice from Welsh Businesses. In addition, we appointed Gareth Cotty as Managing Director of our broking arm, affirming our group’s plan to double in size in the next ten years.
5. Thomas Carroll Charitable Trust
In the Summer, we launched the Thomas Carroll Charitable Trust to support local community initiatives. Each of our offices select an annual charity, and we encourage involvement from all employees. Additional funds raised during events, sporting challenges, dress-down days and raffles are also added to the pot. To increase awareness and local involvement, support requests are welcomed from clients, business contacts, employees and friends. For further information, or to submit a request for charities, grass root sports teams, local schools, litter-picking and community regeneration projects, please email tcct@thomas-carroll.co.uk.
6. Acquiring MBS’s personal insurance business
In November, we announced a new partnership with Monmouthshire Building Society, to offer a local and independent personal insurance broking service to all members. This partnership followed a strategic review of operations by Monmouthshire Building Society, whereby a decision was made to build on the Society’s strong track record and focus on growing its core business, whilst still being able to offer services, such as home insurance, that add value for its members.
7. Award-winning women in business
Recently, three members of our team received awards recognising their hard work and achievements in the insurance industry. Our financial manager, Sarah Edwards, was awarded the UNA Achievement Award at the 2018 UNA Conference. That same night, Head of Legal Indemnities, Sarah Jones, took home the UNA Best Newcomer Achievement Award. Fast-forward a week to the Chartered Insurance Institute dinner and our Cyber Insurance Executive, Emma Buckley was named the CII Young Achiever 2018. Congratulations all, we are proud of your achievements and wish you every success in your futures!
8. John Moore recognised for achievements in the industry
It didn’t end there. Our Chairman, John Moore received the Industry Achiever Award at the Insurance Times Awards 2018. Held at the 5-star InterContinental O2 hotel in London this year, the awards recognise the excellence and achievements across the UK insurance industry. Everyone at Thomas Carroll would like to say a big congratulations to John on his well-deserved win!
9. Grand growth plans for our wealth management division
Thomas Carroll Independent Financial Advisers has expanded our wealth management division. Our IFA team reported an 11% increase in profit after tax for the financial year ending December 2017. The aim with this latest initiative is to create capacity to grow assets under management from £300m to £500m over the next five years. We also welcomed independent Financial Adviser, Craig Butler, to the team in line with our growth plans.
10. We did it! We are Broker of the Year
We were absolutely thrilled to be named Broker of the Year twice in 2018, first at the British Insurance Awards and then at the Insurance Age UK Broker Awards. At the latter awards, we were delighted to also take home the award for Commercial Lines Broker of the Year. These latest accolades serve as a reminder of our commitment to the insurance industry and the continuous efforts of everyone at Thomas Carroll to strive for progress. Thank you to our clients for your ongoing support.
