Diary of an Insurance PR: Haggie Partners’ Caroline Klein

Monday

I start the week dropping off my daughter at school and not worrying about commuting as it is a work-from-home day.

It is a great day to get writing and thinking done so I plough through a proposal for a potential new client and feel that I’ve really broken the back of it by the end of the day. Then it’s off to repair my back at a local pilates class.

Tuesday

I head into the office, which is very buzzy as we have a team meeting that means almost everyone is in.

We talk through market issues and establish what media opportunities are coming up that our clients might be interested in.

The number of specialist insurance and finance publications in the UK and globally is impressive and we know many of the journalists really well, which helps to make sure we hear about article and interview opportunities early.

Then we set to work talking to our clients about how those could work for them. With clients and journalists in different time zones, an email can be simplest, but sometimes it’s good to pick up the phone and talk it through.

In the afternoon there’s an event at Lloyd’s, looking at the future of autonomous cars that a client of ours is involved in – the discussion about how they will develop and how the partnership with insurance can work is fascinating, and we meet a great variety of people at the drinks afterwards.

Wednesday

On Wednesdays I try to cycle into work if I can. It’s certainly more time-consuming than the Tube – don’t ask my speed! – but it’s a great way to get some exercise at least once a week.

I also enjoy the views, as my route takes me though Hyde Park, St James’s Park and then past Buckingham Palace, Westminster, and along the river. It’s a classic sightseeing route every time.

Once I’ve recovered from that effort, I have meetings with clients, where we catch up on their PR strategy for the year ahead, plan some media training for new arrivals and talk about upcoming conference speaking opportunities.

Thursday

This Thursday I go out for coffee with one of our team for whom I’m a mentor. Although we’re a small team, we still make sure everyone has an internal mentor and it’s good to get out of the office regularly to check in, see how they’re doing, and where I can challenge them.

We have a young team, and I often feel I learn as much from them as the other way around – especially when it comes to social media and Reddit threads.

We’re also filming. We regularly to shoot our own videos where we talk about issues in communications and marketing; offering some insights for our clients, or simply explaining more about Haggie Partners – who we are and what we do.

Some shots of the office are also taken “for stock,” which involves frantic tidying of desks by the team so no one else will know how much chocolate and cake we eat each day.

Finally, I head off to Lloyd’s for a Lloyd’s Foundation meeting.

I’ve been a trustee for a few years now – starting with involvement with the Lloyd’s Charities Trust before the foundation was established.

It’s incredible how much work goes on behind the scenes from the Lloyd’s Communities Engagement Team to make sure that Lloyd’s staff and market participants have the opportunity to give back through all the programmes around issues like literacy, numeracy and mentoring.

It’s also interesting to work with trustees who come from outside the insurance market and give us the benefit of their non-governmental organisation backgrounds and wisdom.

Friday

I’m working from home again, so my daughter and I can cycle to school a bit more slowly while I test her on her spellings.

Once I’m back, I sit in on a video interview with a client and an insurance magazine.

Although it’s not quite the same as in person for establishing a rapport, it has made scheduling so much easier than in the past.

It’s great to be able to organise a quick call on a particular topic that a client can add expert commentary on without all the logistics of in person meetings.

I send off the new business proposal I’ve been tweaking since Monday and cross that off the to do list. Then I close the laptop for the weekend and start on the family to do list.