Diary of an Insurer: QBE’s David Round

Monday

After a coffee with my wife, I jump on the train to Birmingham and I use that journey to check emails and plan my week ahead.

I then whip out the step calculator and walk to the office – we are about to embark on a company-wide challenge to get healthier, so I may as well start training now.

I join a psycho-educational call on ADHD. My daughter has recently been diagnosed with the condition and I’m grateful QBE provides me with this support.

Next, a call with the other five heads of trading across the UK network, where we share our insights and some of the challenges we face. 

The heads of trading role is a new one. We are here to give brokers a local focus, and make sure there is a point of escalation.

Hearing from my colleagues in Leeds, Manchester, Chelmsford, Glasgow, Bristol and London helps me better advise businesses in the West Midlands.

Networking is a key part of my role. I meet the head of office of one of our major broker partners in Birmingham to discuss a few complex renewals and the pipeline of new opportunities.

After work, I drag myself to the gym for a kettlebell class, it helps me relax and it’s part of my plan to get more active.

Tuesday

I work from home, so the alarm goes off a little later and I squeeze in a walk with my two dogs, Nige and Betty. When my two children get up, we all have breakfast together.

To piece together a client pitch, I meet with claims, risk management, underwriting and marketing colleagues to finalise the presentation for Thursday.

After a quick sandwich for lunch, I join the weekly leadership meeting and have a call with one of our key brokers to discuss strategy on an upcoming renewal.

Tonight, it’s badminton with friends.

Wednesday

Back to the office, I join our property and package call to discuss the pipeline.

In our weekly trading meeting, we explore future opportunities and the threats to our renewal portfolio.

A contact from Leeds is in town, and so we catch up.

In the afternoon, a client comes to the office and we go through their Minds in Business assessment. It’s a fairly new offering we hope will result in businesses having healthier and happier employees, and so fewer workplace incidents and fewer claims.

I take an early train to watch my son’s cricket match. He takes two wickets but I need to focus on the rest of the game too as I’m scoring.

Thursday

It’s an early start with a train to London. At our Fenchurch Street office, I catch up with my mentor and then join our Birmingham leadership call.

Today it is the pitch day for a potential client. I catch up with the team to make sure everyone is comfortable with the content before heading to the broker’s office.

The client presents to us and then we give them an overview of our offering and how we can help them. Fingers crossed we land this.

Friday

Working from home, I use the extra time to tidy up my notes from my various meetings and make sure that actions have been completed.

I take a quick review of branch numbers, what’s been processed and what’s coming up. 

This helps with next week’s heads of trading away day and the planning for the rest of 2024 and 2025. I send a note to the team with how we are tracking as a branch.

In the afternoon, I have a few broker meetings to discuss some upcoming opportunities.

To complete the week, I go to Doncaster to watch Crewe play in the playoff semi-finals. It’s a long night with extra time and penalties. After a mighty win, we are off to Wembley.