How insurance specialism is being received by our clients – a Q&A with Susan Young

With almost three decades of experience on the client side of the insurance sector, Susan Young, our Group Director of Insurance, formally joined us in January this year to spearhead our growth in the industry. As one of the insurance outsourcing companies supporting insurers across the UK, Sigma is focused on building relationships and partnerships, defining our insurance strategy, and identifying new opportunities.  

Now six months into her role, we took the opportunity to catch up with Susan to discuss progress and how her sector specialism is being received by our clients. 

Q. Can you give us an overview of your experience.  

Susan: 

It’s great to have the chance to talk more about what we’re doing in the insurance industry and have the opportunity to chat through our progress and plans. 

So, in terms of my own journey, towards the end of last year I was consulting for Sigma Connected and in January 2024 joined into the new role of Group Director of Insurance Services. 

Before joining Sigma Connected, I worked for Gallagher Insurance in a variety of senior roles. This included 18 years at Giles Insurance ahead of its high-profile 2013 acquisition by Gallagher. My experience has mainly been across the personal lines and private client’s sector, so high net worth, motor, home and travel insurance.  

Q. What about Sigma Connected’s place in the insurance market. How have you seen that change? 

Susan: 

Insurance is a new industry sector for us. The past few months have been about defining our external strategy, sharing the Sigma Connected story and onboarding new clients. 

That is going extremely well, and we are working hard to ensure we position ourselves correctly and ensure potential clients understand our offering and what makes us different to others in the market. The other side of that coin is the internal part, and how we build out our internal proposition. So, as you can imagine, it’s been a very busy and productive few months. 

As a BPO, I really see us specialising in more bespoke insurance lines because we have that breadth of knowledge in the business, rather than having that ‘cookie cutter’ approach. As always, it’s really about working with the client to understand their business and then where we can use our expertise to help them grow. Having a sector specialist role like mine within the business really can make a big difference, especially when it comes to regulatory compliance and governance.   

Q. What kind of challenges have you been facing? 

Susan: 

It’s a complex industry so there’s always something to address.  

I have a unique view as I was a broker and was therefore a client of insurers. That means I understand what their business challenges are in terms of performance. So, I can understand what is keeping them awake at night, but it’s all about coming up with solutions. One of those solutions is people and therefore outsourcing to Cape Town is a great example where we can add value.   

We have incredibly low attrition in Cape Town which means we have tenured and experienced people who love being part of the business and its unique culture.  

Q. You mentioned briefly earlier about the benefit of dedicated sector specialists here at Sigma Connected. Why do you think that’s so important? 

Susan: 

There are countless benefits and I think it’s a real USP for us to have that senior overview from people experienced in that sector, not only in insurance, but across all sectors we work in which is unusual.  

For example, if we have a campaign focused on sales, I can look at that in detail and, with my former broker hat on, give them insight into what their competitors do so they can improve that area of their business. That can be quite powerful.  

When we bring a client onboard, we will get the fundamentals right, and we will be servicing their customers well, but how do we work together to drive improvements in their business? It’s at that point that I can draw on my own experience and share how I overcame challenges of a similar nature. I think that gives clients a unique view and I am already finding that they are asking me for strategy sessions to share ideas and experiences. 

From a BPO perspective, I am not so concerned about what the competitors are doing day-to-day, as you can spend too much time looking at what other businesses are doing rather than focusing on yourselves. My mind is on what our strategy is and how we execute it. That’s how we will outperform other companies and build a reputation for quality service. 

For me, it’s about setting us apart from the rest. We’re bespoke, we’re in-tune with clients and we understand the insurance market. That’s a great place to be. 

Q. What do you think makes us so different in the insurance sector? 

Susan: 

I think there are a number of key things to highlight.  

Firstly, the dedicated offshoring model with our team of specialists in Cape Town can really have an impact. We are also building out a strong Insurance team in the UK. We have an experienced operational leader in Donna Hunt who comes from an insurance background and has led several contact centre operations. We also have Peter Hopgood-Gravett, our Director of Compliance, Risk and Audit, he too comes from an insurance background and adds to our experienced leadership team.  

I think another differentiator is that we really want to start sharing knowledge and customer insight back to our clients and help them deliver their vision. Afterall it’s our teams who are speaking to their customers on a daily basis. 

Then there is our culture. When I first went to visit the offices in Cape Town I went out with the mindset that I was a client rather than a colleague, as I wanted to understand and see for myself. I was blown away with the caliber and passion of the people and in fact came back thinking, that could have solved a few problems for me over the years if only I had known a little more about BPOs. 

Witnessing the energy, the desire to help the customer and do the right thing by them is so powerful and fantastic to be part of. It is a business which really does live by its values, which are so much more than words on a piece of paper. 

Lastly, there is our size. We are big enough to deliver, but small enough to care. One of the reasons why people like working with us is they do not just get lumped into a pot. Every one of our clients is special to us and gets treated that way. It is important clients feel understood. We take time, and put effort and energy, into listening to them with the goal of being a seamless extension of their team. 

That’s just a snapshot but these are the key things which I believe make us such an unbeatable proposition.  

As the insurance landscape continues to evolve, outsourcing for insurance companies will remain central to how Sigma delivers flexible, scalable support to the sector.

Further information. 

If you’re an insurance provider and would like more information on how Susan and the team can advise and support you, please email susan.young@sigmaconnected.com. Readers can also connect with Susan on LinkedIn.