The Broker's Role

The Insurance Broker

There are a few myths out there about what we do and whether or not the consumer is better off “cutting out the middle man” and so forth. This is quite hard to respond to within a Facebook update or with only 140 characters at our disposal so we’ve taken the plunge and started a blog to try and dispel a few of these myths, as well as tell you a little bit more about what we do...

Simpson & Parsons Insurance Consultants Ltd

That’s us. We are now as we always have been: an independent, family-owned business based in the heart of the Lake District and later in 2013 we are looking forward to celebrating 30 years of trading!

Why mention our independence? We are not owned by an insurer or aligned to any broker networks, which means that any recommendation provided by us has been selected from one of a large panel of Insurers as opposed to approaching only a select number of "preferred" partners.

We simply recommend the insurer who we feel has best met your requirements, as price is a primary factor for most people, the insurer we recommend will usually also be the most competitive.

We recommend the best option for you, not us.

What sort of insurance do we sell?

Simpson & Parsons are split into three departments:-

Personal Department – Home, Motor (including Motor Fleet) and Travel policies

Hospitality – Hotel, Pub, Guest House, Café, Restaurant etc policies

Commercial – All other business types not specified above.

We also work closely with one of the most successful national Financial Advice Organisations (Torquil Clark) whom will gladly discuss any Life Insurance, Pension, Investment or Inheritance Tax Planning issue that you may face.

So, why should I use a broker when I can buy direct online?

It’s a fair question when there are so many options available to the consumer and where using a broker can be perceived as time consuming or more expensive than simply doing it yourself.

With regards to economy of time, there’s not much difference between sitting at a monitor whilst pecking away at a keyboard than phoning us with your information and letting us do the pecking! Furthermore, we are based on Windermere High Street and welcome any enquiries in person from clients (both new and old) to those who just have a query they want to run by us.

We are not just here to set up your policy. We are here to administer any changes you may have throughout the term of the policy (known in the trade as Mid Term Alterations or MTA’s) and perhaps most importantly, in the event of a claim we are there to provide a helping hand and to guide you through what can be a very complicated process.

However, as a friendly, neighbourhood Insurance Broker you are able to visit the office and discuss any problems or queries you may have in person.

Looking at the expense of a policy, we are currently running a promotion whereby we will price match any Private Car Insurance quotation obtained from the internet. As ever with this kind of promotion, there are certain terms, conditions & caveats, but we are able to cater for the majority of local clients!

Don’t forget that the real value of any policy is to be found in the quality of cover provided and not how cheap you were able to get it for.

So, why use a broker (in particular Simpson & Parsons)?

We find the policy best suited to you at a competitive premium and are there to support and guide you should you suffer a loss. It really is that simple.

If you would like a quotation or simply a free, no-obligation review of your Insurance (Personal or Business), please contact the office on 015394 47387 and speak to any of the department managers (or click the link to email):-

Personal – Luke Thompson

Hospitality – Linsey Mitchell

Commercial – Duncan Cramphorn

Thanks for reading!