There’s no better time than now to join the world of insurance broking. Across the country, brokers have come to be trusted advisors for their clients, and this only has become more prevalent during the pandemic.

If you’re looking for a client focused role that can make a difference, a career in insurance broking could be for you. We’re going through a period of positive change and have ambitious growth plans; after supporting our clients throughout the pandemic like never before, we’re stronger than ever. As the employment market is seeing an uptick in job seekers, we’re looking to expand our experienced team with skilled and driven individuals.

At Safeguard, we have two main aims; our first is to offer our people a supportive environment where they can build a career. Our second aim is to provide peace of mind for our clients, so they can reach their business goals knowing they’re protected by robust insurance policies.

Who we are

We’re a boutique insurance broker, established more than 50 years ago. We’re a close-knit team and our MD, Stewart Johns, has been with business for 20 years. We specialise in covering distribution and construction companies and other enterprises operating outside of the UK, as well as marine businesses with a minimum turnover of £300k.

We’ve embraced digital working practices and went Cloud-based in December 2018. Our new website went live in January 2021.

We’re growing, enthusiastic and highly successful business that strives to deliver best practice, a market leading service and client-focussed solutions. As one of our Account Handlers puts it: “From little acorns, big oak trees grow. As a team we do not overlook the small policies, as we know these clients can be equally important and grow.”

What we can offer

After trading for over 50 years, we are well connected in the insurance industry and have lots to offer anyone who is looking for a career change, including progression and flexibility.

“From the top down, we continually strive to develop our existing talents and build ongoing relationships,” says our MD, Stewart Johns. “I believe we all get given gifts in life, and you choose how you use them – we want to facilitate that and play to people’s strengths. Whoever joins the business has the opportunity to grow and develop to the next level."

Our company values are:

• Flexible working
• Client-centric
• Genuine progression opportunity
• Independently owned
• Insurers in walking distance of the office
• Care for employees and their needs

The Safeguard way

At Safeguard, we like to do things a bit differently, putting our people and clients at the heart of our business. We pride ourselves on offering flexible working for all. We believe flexible working is about creating an environment that suits employees’ individual needs, as well as allowing us to come together to support one another and celebrate the big and small wins.

We have a healthy mix of in-person and remote working with a few fixed days in the office, along with the opportunity to work from home a few days per week on a rota system. This is combined with core working hours. We believe this approach allows our people to have a good work life balance, while still working collaboratively as a team to achieve our business goals together.

If you join Safeguard, you’ll also be teamed up with a ‘buddy’, who’ll be there to support you and show you the ropes. The last person to join Safeguard becomes a ‘buddy’ to our newest starter. The idea behind the initiative is to help each other: this could be a friendly chat, sympathetic ear or to generally make sure new recruits are ok.

Ready to join Safeguard?

Click here for our current vacancies. If you don’t see a role that matches your expertise, we love hearing from people who are interested in becoming part of the team. If you feel like you’d be the right fit for Safeguard, please send your CV to recruitment@safeguardinsurance.co.uk.

The following document contains important information about your motor policy with regards to leaving the EU.

Read article

However you feel about the UK’s exit from the EU on 30^th March 2019, there is no doubting that it will have a far-reaching and detailed impact on multiple areas of British industry. Relying on global collaboration, funding, research and shared information, the ever-growing UK life science community is understandably concerned. What has happened so far? The value of the UK's quoted healthcare sector grew by £40bn between 2015 and 2016 –and according to speakers at January 2017’s Future of Healthcare Investor Forum, hosted by the London Stock Exchange (LSE), uncertainty in global markets and political change was still not derailing investment in life sciences, which more than tripled on the year before. Dr Eliot Forster, chairman of MedCity and chief executive of Immunocore, said, “The investments that were made into the whole sector over the past three years will begin to generate data and some of that will fail, but some will work and we will see growth there.” Just over one year on, what do researchers and industry leaders think the biggest impacts of Brexit will be on the medical science community?

• Regulation changes November 2017 saw the decision to move the European Medicines Agency (EMA) from its historic and current home in London to Amsterdam in the Netherlands. After leaving the EU, the UK will cease to be part of the EMA. With no precedent for a member state leaving the EU, it is unclear how other legal and regulatory environments may change business for the biopharmaceutical industry – but restrictions on the movement of people and materials is certain to make things more difficult.

Industry representatives recently named manufacturing supply issues as one of their biggest single concerns during the transition, according to the European Pharmaceutical Review.

• Research collaboration Any restriction of movement between the UK and European countries is likely to make it more time consuming to conduct collaborative research and clinical trials. Clinical trials are currently authorised and monitored by national regulatory bodies, not the EMA, so sponsors must apply for authorisation in each country they wish to conduct a trial in. But in 2018, the new EU Clinical Trials Regulation will streamline this process with one single application allowing access to all Member States – but the UK won’t benefit once it leaves. Will this see businesses skip over the UK in favour of less paperwork?

 

• Expensive exports In economic terms, once the UK leaves the EU and EMA it will be considered a “third country”. This means any active substances or finished medicinal products manufactured in the UK will need to be tested to ensure they comply with EU Good Manufacturing Practice regulations, then imported into the EU by an authorised importer – unless the UK negotiates free trade of biopharmaceutical products within the EU.

While it is nearly impossible to predict every financial problem your business might face, you can help ease the worry with a dedicated Life Science insurance package, arranged by Safeguard’s expert team. Get in touch on 08456 888 284 to talk to the team.

Are Life Science businesses putting off their cyber defenses because they don’t believe their business to be at risk, or because they don’t know where to start? In 2011, the government and IT specialists Detica undertook a study which suggested that hi-tech manufacturers, including those working in pharmaceuticals, were high-risk targets for cyber crime. Yet despite this caution, still less than a third (31%) of manufacturers see cyber security as a high priority. This is in contrast to the financial services, 60% of whom rated cyber security as a very high priority, and is even less than retailers at 39%. This lax attitude is disproportionate to the threat facing the manufacturing industry, as Robert Holmes, vice-president of products at IT security provider, Proofpoint, explains. “The irony is that manufacturers are in reality a prime target, not just in terms of the value of the assets that they have exposed to cyber security risk, but also the velocity of their transactions – a velocity that means that there’s a higher chance that a cyber attack might be successful,” he says. “So when looking at manufacturing businesses, attackers see opportunities to help themselves to both cash and data, which when coupled with an apparent lack of cyber security awareness among manufacturers tends to make such thefts easier to carry out.” Pharmaceutical, Medical and Cosmetic Manufacturers With automated equipment, intellectual property, data and payment systems to protect, businesses which research, develop or manufacture Life Science products have plenty to lose. Stuart Reed, senior director for market strategy at NTT Security urges business not to get overwhelmed by the task at hand. “Get the basics right: without the right practical fundamentals in place, attacks do not need to be advanced to succeed,” he says. Manufacturers spent a staggering 89% more on cyber insurance in 2016 than the year before, perhaps showing they are beginning to understand the potential chaos a hack could cause.   A breach could easily threaten the security of the whole company, potentially stopping production and trading until the source is discovered, the damage limited and the incident investigated.   On top of hacked bank accounts leaving you in financial turmoil, stolen data could compromise your clients’ payment information, intellectual property and your contractual obligations, all of which could see you facing an expensive court case.   Safeguard are specialists in Life Science Insurance. If you are concerned about your business’s cyber security risks, get in touch on 08456 888 284.