UNAversity Challenge for Russell Scanlan Account Handler
Our Commercial Account Handler, Daniel Torr, was recently hand-picked from over 1,000 candidates across the country to join a specially selected team of insurance broking professionals at the ‘UNAversity’ residential programme.
The two-part programme was created by UNA Alliance, the leading Independent Insurance Broker Alliance in the UK. 25 leading professionals in the industry were brought together for their high potential and promising talent in the commercial insurance sector. Here, Daniel tells us about his experiences of the programme.
I’ve been working in Russell Scanlan’s commercial department for three years now and it was an honour to represent the company on a national scale like this for the three-day course.
The first part of the programme focused on sales, communication and presentation skills, teamwork, competitive advantages, commercial awareness, financial understanding and business acumen. The second part of the course will take place in February, with a narrower personal development theme, focusing on personal perception and customer service.
As part of the programme, we worked in teams of around four or five people, immersing ourselves in a theoretical competitive market environment. Within our teams, we had to agree a company strategy for each theoretical business year, making key decisions throughout the business’s financial year. We then had to live with the consequences!
The UNAversity experience has raised my awareness of the overall financial pressures a business faces and brought into focus the fact that insurance is one element of a long and complex list. We developed invaluable new pitching skills, building upon my previous experience of drafting proposals for new and existing clients. Having worked in the insurance industry for nine years, it was brilliant to keep on top of continual innovations and developments in our sector, refreshing our knowledge in order to differentiate Russell Scanlan from the competition and succeed as a result.
I was delighted to get the opportunity to network with other UNA members – gaining valuable insights into the methods of other leading industry professionals. The main points I’ll take away from the experience are key pitching tips on how to deliver simple yet effective proposals, plus some brilliant time management techniques. This was a learning experience that not only benefited me, but will help build upon the strengths of the whole Russell Scanlan team and I’m looking forward to part two!
