Specialist Spotlight: Sam Churchman

We sat down with New Business Manager, Sam Churchman, to learn more about his role in New Business and his view on the current trends he is observing in the London Liability Market.

Meet Sam Churchman

Sam’s insurance career began when a recruitment agency placed him in his first job after leaving school. He subsequently worked as a Development Underwriter for recruitment insurance, before joining Miles Smith nine years ago, and has been involved in the growth of our Waste portfolio and our core high-risk Liability offering.

Sam was an Account Handler in the New Business team at Miles Smith for three years, before being promoted to the manager of the team after showing natural leadership skills. He has been the New Business Manager for six years now, with a team of eight, providing London Market solutions to broker partners across the UK for their complex risks.

Sam shares his thoughts on the trends he's observed in the Liability market this year and how the teams at Miles Smith have adjusted to support our broker partners

Inflation continues to have an impact in all markets, this is particularly felt in the construction industry, where the cost of materials has increased throughout the supply chain. Businesses that have not seen ‘real’ growth in inflationary terms have been stung by the increase in cost of materials, distorting their true turnover both at the point of purchase and at renewal following year end declarations. This is something we have experienced both in placing new business and at renewal.

Despite this, the construction market has been quite stable this year and we are continuing to support our broker partners with solutions for a plethora of risks from across the industry.

Because we have been specialists in the industry for so long, we have a deservedly strong reputation for placing complex trades at Miles Smith. Our experience therefore allows us to find solutions for even the most complex risks.

We support our broker partners with:

• A determination to deliver no matter how complex the risk
• A specialist New Business team who work with you to win new clients
• Quick turnaround times from initial enquiry to quote
• Outstanding relationships with Lloyd’s and London Markets

What is the most common type of industry we support?

Across Miles Smith, we place business in various high-risk trades including Waste, Scaffolding, Demolition and Civil Engineering and have been providing insurance solutions in this area for over 30 years.

We have specific schemes for these high-risk industries and this is what Miles Smith is known for. It is a limited market as these risks are often very complex and written on specialist wordings. These sectors require a lot of care and attention due to the unique risks they face, and with our combined years of experience, the team has built specialist knowledge to place such specific risks.

We also provide cross-class solutions for Fleet, Property, and Liability, to further support our brokers with clients with complex insurance requirements.

Sam’s advice for brokers and their clients sourcing high-risk Liability cover

With such specific risks in this industry, it is important for clients to pay attention to the limits and restrictions noted in the policy wordings. At Miles Smith, we have no limits for height or depth in our exclusive wordings, and no restrictions on hazardous locations.

Finally, Sam shares his favourite things about his job as New Business Manager

Sam enjoys winning new business across a variety of different industries using our expertise and relationships to effectively utilise the power of the Lloyd’s market and place risks that other brokers cannot.

Read our previous Specialist Spotlight on Financial Lines Broker, Fin Vollans, here.