Diary of an Insurer: Peach Pi’s Nick Dinsdale

Monday

I recently joined NPA Insurance and Peach Pi as director of underwriting, so every Monday morning feels like it did when I was kid. A mixture of disbelief that the weekend has gone so quickly, but also, excitement at what I am going to learn this week.

I see the family through breakfast and off to school/work, and then it’s into my home office to take stock of any developments over the weekend and plan for the week ahead.

Lockdown taught me that I’m not a natural home-worker and that I thrive on interacting with human beings, so I’m really enjoying being out and about again, rather than holed up in our spare room.  

Mid-morning I always have a catch-up with my new team. It’s a check-in to see if everyone is okay. In this fast-paced environment, where everyone is focused on the next project, I think it’s important to take time to look back on what we achieved last week. So we’ll do that before turning to the week ahead.

I’ve joined at an exciting time. We have a number of in-flight scheme developments to get over the line plus I’ve landed at the start of a number of our reinsurance renewals – more of which later.

Having set some objectives and priorities, I move on to an introductory meeting with an area of the business I’ve not yet met. Today was the financial reporting team, where it was good to learn about the strong financial disciplines in place in NPAI.

Tuesday

Today I stepped into an underwriting surgery with a newer scheme partner. I’ve been impressed by the commitment and spirit of partnership I’ve encountered. Brokers seem genuinely delighted to be working with us to deliver propositions that are new and fresh to the market.

It’s important that I recognise that these scheme relationships started before me, so my role is to assure them of continuity and my commitment, plus adding some value where I can. In this instance, I helped problem solve a knotty wording issue. As my team are already finding out, I’m something of a wording geek, which I hope is helpful for them.

I set aside some time to prepare for the important meetings we have on Wednesdays, before signing off and preparing to be Taxi Dad.

My 14-year-old daughter attends the Chelsea FC Girls Foundation at Cobham. It’s a long haul, as the Highways Agency has been digging up the roads for months, but it’s amazing what the promise of a McDonald’s on the way home does for enthusiasm. Mine, not hers.

Wednesday

I’m up early for a trip to HQ in St Albans, where all the insurance team meet for their ‘anchor day’. There’s a buzz in the office as human beings interact with each other.

There’s the NPAI operational support meeting to attend. All parts of the business bring their priorities for transparency and problem solving. Topics included IT infrastructure developments and most importantly plans for the annual ‘One-NPA’ staff BBQ.

Over lunchtime we have our executive team meeting. It’s a great opportunity to review any business as usual challenges, as well as discuss some of the major strategic decisions we need to make.

Thursday

Muscle memory kicks in as I’m off to London for a day of reinsurer meetings. Joining at the start of our renewal cycle has been terrific, as I’ve needed to quickly get up to speed on our business. It helps that our business is in a real specialist niche and has staff that have served for many years. We have a great story to tell around continuity and purpose, as well as some exciting plans for the future.

I can add a bit of market experience to our reinsurer message plus it’s really good to reconnect with many of the reinsurers I’ve dealt with over the years. I hope they feel the same.

Over lunch I met with our head of distribution, Ryan Bendelow, as we followed up on an opportunity from the British Insurance Brokers’ Association conference. There was lots of interest in the Peach story there. So much so, that we might look at our brand to better reflect that we don’t just do professional indemnity.

In the afternoon the chief executives of NPA and NPAI (Paul Rees and Russell White) hold a weekly Town Hall meeting for all staff. 

We get to hear about all the various initiatives going on across both businesses. This part is new for me, and it’s really interesting to hear the passion that our NPA colleagues have for supporting and nurturing the Community Pharmacy membership. It’s fair to say that the general election has got everyone very excited.

Friday

Friday and it’s back to more reinsurer meetings. These ones are virtual. Lockdown was awful in very many ways but negotiating reinsurance renewals with global reinsurers did become less labour intensive. 

You could be in Hong Kong at breakfast, Europe at lunchtime and Bermuda at tea time, without ever leaving your desk.

Wrap up at teatime to catch up with my daughter and her best friend to find out the latest drama in their friendship group. 

Then it’s back in the Dad Taxi to Chelsea FC. It’s a shame the summer is approaching – one of life’s simple pleasures is turning up at Chelsea FC in my Leeds United woolly hat and scarf.