You’re in charge of your own destiny.

With a focus on developing commercial business, the Southwest Somerset agency is growing rapidly. Tony Monnington started as a self-employed Agent of NFU Mutual three years ago, after 35 years in the insurance industry. During his career, he’s done pretty much everything, from underwriting and insurer sales to insurance broking and managing global accounts with major insurance players. We talked to him about the agency’s growth, the clients and life as an Agent of NFU Mutual.

Hi Tony - can you give us a bit more background about your agency?
Around 50% of our business is with commercial clients, including fleet, leisure and farming. So, we've got quite a widespread book, with the majority sitting in the SME market. But our focus at the moment is on bringing in larger commercial clients and raising the average premiums.

I’m one of two Agents in the agency. We share the main responsibilities between us, so I pick up operations and client management and Chris, the other Agent, focuses on new business development. But we’re backed by a team of 15 people, with clearly defined lines between servicing commercial clients and personal lines. But in practice, we all get involved in everything.

It sounds like there’s a lot going on – what plans do you have for the business?
Chris and I have a very clear view in terms of how we want to grow the business and we’re really focusing on developing the commercial book. So, we’re aligning the structure to that. We’ve just appointed a lead generator to focus on the development of commercial clients. And we're looking to develop our teams’ licences, so we have the capability to manage future commercial growth.

That’s one of the reasons why we’re recruiting a third Agent. They can come into the business and have as much input into the strategic development and direction as they want. Their key objective will be to focus on commercial growth, so we want someone with a commercial insurance or broking background who can develop a sustainable pipeline and drive that part of the business forward.

How do you attract commercial clients?
I think NFU Mutual offers an excellent proposition for commercial clients, because they’re an exclusive market with tailored products – which as a tied-agent we have access to, and obviously our agency is local. I believe the claims proposition is second to none in the industry and there’s the Mutual bonus, which means clients can build up an increased discount over five years through mutuality. NFU Mutual also have an excellent retention rate at around 95%, so as representatives we must be doing something right! So, for me, it’s about emphasising to potential clients that we're not just chasing opportunities to quote – we're here to add value.

What support do you get from NFU Mutual?
We’ve got a really good relationship with the NFU Mutual Wholesale Broking and Placement team. Over the last few years, they’ve really helped us with new business. and they’re widening their appetite in terms of commercial business, which is positive for our future growth aspirations. So that relationship works really well.

Aligning closely with the NFU Mutual Underwriting team and developing mutual respect based on how we represent risk and how quickly they can turn those around is crucial. We picked up quite a sizeable account last year, which proved how much we can achieve working together. We have a similar relationship with the NFU Mutual Regional Agency team – we all share the same goals, so we pull together to make it work.

It must have been a big leap from being employed to being self-employed when you joined the agency – what were the deciding factors?
A self-employed position was always aspirational for me, but it had never been the right time. It’s very difficult to launch a business from a standing start, but NFU Mutual provides a perfect opportunity with their Agent proposition. It offers a great opportunity if you want to become self-employed but share an element of risk. NFU Mutual provides support with elements including central IT, telephony and overhead costs, so you can focus on managing your agency’s strategy for growth and the people in your business.

It sounds like you enjoy it – what do you enjoy most?
I think it's that flexibility – you're in charge of your own destiny. I also get a big kick out of enabling people to develop and being able to reward them appropriately. So, it’s personally rewarding to work in a successful environment, surround myself with really good people and help their development.

Tony made the leap to being a self-employed Agent of NFU Mutual and hasn’t looked back. Are you ready to take your next big career step? Find out more about the Agent opportunities here.