As another year comes to an end we thought it would be good to take a look back at the last 12 months and what has been the busiest and most successful year ever for JMP.
Company founder and Managing Director, John Phillips has put together his top highlights and reflects back on 2019.
Private Client Focus
Something which I have wanted to do; for longer then I care to say, is officially launch JMP Private Clients. The specialist arm of JMP offering bespoke insurance for high net worth individuals. I have been in insurance for 35 years and have always provided high net worth insurance. But I wanted to do more than just the ad hoc home and motor. In March 2019 I took the decision to expand our team and employed Daniella Rosser. After just a few months of jolly hard work and development, JMP Private Clients was ready to launch with a brochure, new look website, and a team to service and support this part of the business.
The Launch
The brochure was initially launched back in September at the Castle Fine Art Gallery in Cheltenham to our key friends and partners who attended this fabulous event. The Brochure really is the backbone of this offering and really highlights what we do and how we achieve it. I am very proud of this and it really showcases how we strive for the very best in service, expertise, and cover.
Our second launch was a huge success, held at the Aston Martin Garage for our business partners and clients. We were entertained by the wonderful Richard Parsons, wined by Laithwaites Wines and dined by Love Bites catering. We are still getting comments now on what a great night it was and we are thrilled everyone loved it as much as we hoped. Everyone needs insurance and it is one of those necessary purchases which you usually begrudge paying. At JMP we want to offer not just the best insurance for your needs and ensure your claims are dealt with in the best way but provide some fun along the way. We hope being a client of JMP’s is like no other broker experience you will have. We are planning our 2020 events now so watch this space!
The feedback has been amazing from both the local community and UK insurers, we really hit the mark. So following this success, we announced our very own networking group for those businesses and individuals who work within the private client sector. So once a month we host a fabulous breakfast at The Ivy in Cheltenham and this is a real opportunity for like-minded people and businesses to get together and create a network in Cheltenham like no other. I am very much looking forward to our next breakfast on the 7th of January 2020 to keep the momentum going.
Cookery Schools
Colin Jones, our commercial senior business developer here at JMP has always had a passion for cooking and for the last three years has been working on a product specifically for cookery schools. After attending many classes, he realised that current insurance policies were not providing cover for everything a school offered. In March 2019 we launched with a panel of insurers who all cater to the specific needs of this industry and we really are supporting this industry with the right cover at the best price. You can see more about how we do this here.
As part of this, we decided to sponsor Cotswold Life – Chef of the year, which has been one of my favourite things I have ever done in business and will be doing again in 2020. Colin and I got to eat some fantastic food, in three wonderful restaurants and picking just one winner were so very difficult. The awards are a great showcase of the food and drink available in the Cotswolds and supporting this through the sponsorship was most certainly a highlight for me not just for 2019 but in JMP history.
Following the launch of JMP Cookery School Insurance, we were approached by the Independent Cookery School Association (ICSA) to become the insurer partner for their members. To be recognised by ICSA as providing a specialist product and unique option for their cookery school members is a real honour. They are currently the only association for cookery schools and we are excited to work with them and their members in 2020.
Insurers
Our clients are important to us but without insurer support, we wouldn’t be able to offer the best products and services that we do to those clients. We understand the importance of this and decided to treat some of our insurers to a day at the races back in October 2019 for the Showcase day. Despite the awful weather, everyone turned up in their best race day gear and although more losing than winning occurred, everyone had a fantastic time. This is now firmly fixed in the calendar as an annual event!
Charity
JMP has always supported fundraising and the local community but we have never had our own dedicated charity to support. I took the decision at the end of 2019 that I wanted to give something back and announced LINC as our chosen charity for 2020. LINC is a small charity based in Cheltenham & Gloucester Hospital which provides support to individuals and their families who are going through intensive therapy for leukemia. You can see more about what they do and how they support on their website here.
To raise money and awareness I have decided to challenge myself and will be walking Hadrian’s Wall in the summer of 2020, ‘LINCing’ the two sides of the country together, and have set the fundraising target at £10,000. More details will be announced soon on how you can support and/ or join in.
One final note from me; I want to say thank you to all those who have supported JMP from the very beginning and along the way, especially this year with the launch of our specialist offerings. Also to all of our clients, without their loyalty and support, JMP wouldn’t be the company it is after 11 years in business. It has been a very exciting 2019 and myself and the JMP team are very much looking forward to what 2020 will bring.
Happy New Year!