You can make it as exciting as you want it to be.

After 10 years as a corporate insurance broker, John Herbert joined an NFU Mutual Agency in Somerset as a corporate sales executive, looking to build the Agency’s corporate client base. Four years later, when he realised how well his values aligned with the values at NFU Mutual, he became a self-employed Agent of NFU Mutual. In the past nine years, he’s seen his agency business grow by 80%. We caught up with him to find out more about his background and how he helped to build such a successful agency.

John, you went from broking to becoming a self-employed Agent of NFU Mutual. How did that come about?
I was actually looking for a commercial sales role in broking, but I saw an advert for a role as a corporate sales executive in an NFU Mutual Agency and thought it sounded like something I’d enjoy. At the time, the agency I joined was very focused on farming, but they were looking to expand their number of commercial clients. Although I was corporate through and through and ready to help with commercial clients, I was acutely aware that I didn’t have a farming background. To help with my understanding of farming, I voluntarily did work experience with some of the farming clients. So, I've made cheese and I've been out on the farm – I think that gave me some credibility and definitely gave me the confidence to talk to farming clients about insurance.

While I was working at the agency, I saw all the amazing things NFU Mutual do. And I could see the opportunity for business growth and the impact that I could have. So, I decided that a self-employed Agent role was the road I wanted to go down. I waited for the right opportunity and when the timing was right, I became an Agent. That was nine years ago. I think having a background in broking means I can have more rounded conversations with clients, because I have a better insight into how brokers work. I can help clients when brokers don't release confirmed claims experience or schedules, because I know how to overcome it. So, I personally feel it's a natural fit.

Tell us about your agency – what’s the set-up and what kind of clients do you deal with now?
We have three Agents and 14 staff. When I came in, I started to restructure the agency into a similar model to that of a broker. We have a lot of big clients who want to be able to get hold of someone immediately, so, we have account handlers who manage our accounts day-to-day. Then we have a farm renewal executive, who looks after the majority of our smaller farming clients – the three Agents look after the larger ones. And we have separate customer service and corporate teams, with a commercial sales executive on the road.

Roughly 40% of the clients are in farming, and we work with commercial clients all over the UK. I foresee in the next 10 years, farming will be around 20% of our business – not by reducing our commitment to farming, but mainly by expanding in other areas.

At the moment, we have a number of large corporate clients – manufacturers, wholesalers, retailers, museums, hospitality, leisure sites and manufacturing, so a real mix. Some are underwritten regionally in Bristol and the really big or complex players are underwritten on a specialist basis nationally.

It's a really good business setup and we've grown from a £7.5m agency to £12.5m in nine years, with a further million pounds through the NFU Mutual Wholesale Broking and Outplacement team – NFU Mutual’s internal broking arm. So technically, we're at about £13.5m.

How do you think commercial clients view NFU Mutual?
I think they like the fact we’re a mutual – that’s the bit they’re interested in, because there are no big shareholders to pay at the top. But I think they buy from Agents because they trust them, and they know there's an amazing brand behind them.

But I think what they get from us is more than they’d get from another insurer. For instance, I’m going to a client board meeting next week to help educate their board members on the importance of insurance and policy restrictions. To me that’s really important, because if there’s a claim, they’ll know if they’re covered or not. It’s about understanding the client and making sure they understand what they're buying. That’s a big one for me – we only insure something we understand. For anything else we use a broker through the NFU Mutual Wholesale Broking and Outplacement team.

You obviously enjoy being self-employed – what are the best aspects for you?
You reap the rewards from your own drive and ambition. And there’s a sense of pride in being able to say, "I run a successful business and I work with NFU Mutual." And personally, the reward is huge. I have the flexibility and freedom to make sure that I don't miss anything important with my family.

Also, I think with the self-employed model at NFU Mutual, the extra benefit comes from how hard you choose to push your own growth. And NFU Mutual are really hands-on and supportive. We've got a sales development manager and a regional manager, and when I talk with them about my business plan, they'll say, "What do you need from us to help you to grow your business by that level?" And directors from head office sometimes come to my business planning too because they're really interested to understand what we want to achieve.

What do you think makes being an Agent of NFU Mutual so interesting and enjoyable?
You can teach people insurance, but you can't teach them drive, ambition and motivation. So, if you've got those skills already, I think it naturally becomes a really interesting role and you've got so much opportunity to make it as exciting as you want it to be. You get to shape your own future and work with some great people – at NFU Mutual and in your agency – I've got a fantastic team of people and trust them implicitly. That all contributes to the success of the agency.

John obviously has the drive and ambition to continue growing his agency. If you share the same ambition to run your own business with the backing of a major UK insurer, find out more about becoming a self-employed Agent of NFU Mutual here.