Robust Systems Keep Turner Insurance Group Operational
Customer Overview
Formed in 1993, Turner Insurance Group provides independant commercial insurance and financial advice to businesses, directors and high net worth individuals. Based in Leicester, the business employs 35 staff and supports a multi-million pound nationwide portfolio of clients.
Hazel Mears
Systems Manager
Turner Insurance Group
Multiple Providers
Before switching to Welcomm, Turner Insurance Group’s business critical software and systems were provided by a number of separate suppliers. As a result of this lack of a central point of contact, when issues did occur, getting help was not always easy and faults took longer to resolve.
Remote Working
As a customer-facing business, Turner Insurance Group needed a way to maintain their relationships with customers, as well as connect and collaborate with their teams internally when national and local lockdowns came into force as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Compliance
In 2018, new compulsory MiFID II regulations came into place for the financial industry, requiring all calls to be recorded and stored for 6 years in a searchable format. To ensure Turner Insurance Group could continue trading, this functionality had to be a part of their phone system.
Why did you choose Welcomm?
Hear from Hazel Mears, Systems Manager at Turner Insurance Group as she discusses her experience of working with Welcomm.
“We have a long standing relationship with Welcomm – in a lot of ways Welcomm had already proven themselves through their handling of our Mobiles and Telephony. Moving our IT Services to a trusted provider was a natural step to take following years of working together.
When lockdown started, Welcomm were the first people to make contact with us – to see what we needed to remain operational. Anna got in touch and offered us a free trial of Horizon Collaborate, which was an absolute game-changer for us. All of a sudden here we were thrust into working from home… Horizon Collaborate changed the way that we were able to work.
Welcomm came to us to find out how they could help us, rather than how they could fit us into an “off the shelf” service. For us, the fact that they proposed a tailor-made, custom-built solution, rather than an out of the box offer set them apart as a supplier, and is a testament to Anna’s understanding as our Account Manager.”
A word from Anna Denton, Account Development Manager at Welcomm Communications:
“We achieved this bespoke solution for Turner Insurance Group following a number of face-to-face and virtual meetings, emails and phone calls. This investment in time allowed us to listen to Hazel and fully understand her business’s needs.
This collaborative process allowed us to explore all of the options available, as we learned where the business wanted to be and how Welcomm could help get them there. After taking that information away and working with our in-house product experts, we were able to consider each solution from a technical point of view – what could go wrong, what challenges would we face, and what would be the best fit for the business.”
The Solution
Click below to learn more from Hazel about the key benefits and outcomes of each service listed below.
Would You Recommend Welcomm?
Hear from Hazel Mears, Systems Manager at Turner Insurance Group
“Yes I would – one hundred percent. Welcomm want to work with you side by side. It’s about partnership, family values and a common goal to get the right solutions for your business.
For me, it’s about the partnership. With Anna, I feel like there’s no such thing as a ‘stupid’ question – I know that you are here to help us with our goals, and our work together proves to be that our values as family businesses are aligned.
In three short months, we have made more than a year’s worth of progress, with even more in the pipeline in 2021. The driving force behind this is our advance planning and discussions, and the gradual and methodical implementation that follows. You work and support us at our pace, and that’s what makes it work.
When presented with a problem, so many suppliers search for a quick fix and a quick win. However, when we presented Welcomm with a long-standing problem, rather than just source a quick fix, your technicians were not afraid to go the extra mile and dig until they found a complete resolution.
If the answer isn’t there immediately, you’ll go away and find it. We’ve not thrown anything at you that you’ve not been able to fix.”
A word from Anna Denton, Account Development Manager at Welcomm
“Hazel’s testimonial is so wonderful to hear. It shows that all of the hard work invested by our teams from across the business is paying off for Turner Insurance Group, and that is exactly what we want.
I am extremely pleased with the MiFID compliant solution we were able to provide for Hazel. Because of our relationship with Gamma, we knew ahead of time the features they needed would soon be available – and so we planned accordingly.
Our Gamma Platinum Partner status allows us to present customer challenges such as this to Gamma directly, ensuring we can work with the networks to find solutions to meet any need.”
Key Solution Outcomes
With such a vast range of products in use at the business, Hazel was keen to walk us through the key solution outcomes they had seen as a result of implementing the following solutions.
SYSTEM SECURITY
WatchGuard Firewall
As a cyber essentials certified insurance broker, we deal with customers that have unfortunately fallen foul of cyber breaches.
Welcomm’s ‘Firewall As A Service’ was particularly attractive to the business as it allows us to pay monthly for the latest technology, ensures our equipment is constantly updated, and scales as we grow – something we’ve not previously seen from a service provider.
With our new WatchGuard Firewall, Welcomm were able to provide a rock solid, stable VPN connection which has changed the way our people work. Laptops for our remote workers will replace hardware in the office, saving us money, and the stable connection ensures our staff can work remotely uninterrupted, increasing productivity.
Datto
We were previously using Datto as backup for our servers, after a backup solution failure led us to seek a more robust provider. However, before speaking to Welcomm, we were not aware of the Microsoft 365 file protection offered by Datto’s SaaS 365 Backup.
Having SaaS 365 backup built in to Welcomm’s IT Support package made far more comfortable migrating our files and data to SharePoint. Because we know the Datto brand and trust the service they provide, we have full assurance that our data is safe and real confidence in Microsoft 365.
COLLABORATIVE WORKING IN THE CLOUD
Microsoft 365
The business had previously paid upfront for annual Microsoft 365 licences elsewhere. Despite not purchasing initially from Welcomm, our level of support and service has not been hindered in any way – in fact, Welcomm jumped straight into managing our tenant to ensure we had full support from day one.
We’ve talked in the past about moving our file storage to the cloud, but have always held back due to our confidence in a reliable backup solution. With our files fully protected by Datto SaaS 365 Backup, we have the reassurance we need to proceed.
Moving to Sharepoint
Our teams have a large amount of forms and data they require constant access to in order to deal with insurers. The fact that our Account Directors can have access to their files at any time is a huge operational benefit for us.
Completing the move to Sharepoint will give all of our staff the files they need without having to connect to the office directly. This will directly benefit our life and pensions department for example, giving them the ability to collaborate on multiple documents simultaneously wherever they are working.
MiFID II COMPLIANT CALL RECORDING
MiFID II Compliance
In order to ensure our business remains compliant with new MiFID II regulations introduced in 2018, all calls made to and from the business must be recorded and stored for 6 years in a searchable format.
After regulators announced these new compulsory requirements, Gamma were the first telecommunications providers to produce a solution. Welcomm’s strong relationship with Gamma ensured that Turner Insurance Group were one of the first in our industry to have a MiFID II compliant solution in place, something our competitors were not able to achieve as quickly.
What had the potential to be a huge headache for the whole business was easily resolved, keeping us running and compliant from day one of these regulations being enforced. This was instrumental in us moving to Welcomm.
PROTECTING SENSITIVE DATA ON STAFF DEVICES
MaaS 360 Mobile Device Management
Like every business, we sincerely hope that nobody’s laptop or mobile ever gets stolen. However, because of the sensitive data we have to hold, having the ability to wipe a device and locate a lost device is very reassuring for us and our clients.
MaaS360 gives us this functionality. If our kit fell into the wrong hands, we can disable it instantly, minimising risk and protecting the data contained within.
We needed something that we knew was bullet proof, which is why MaaS360 is installed on all of our PCs, laptops and mobiles. It provides such detailed reporting to us and is easy to manage from a central dashboard. As we get new devices or onboard new people, the tool is scalable for us which is great as I don’t have to learn a new system.
COMMUNICATION WITH CUSTOMERS IS UNAFFECTED
Horizon Hosted Telephony
Despite COVID restrictions effectively requiring us to work remotely overnight, customers have continued to be able to contact us wherever we are working. This has been vital to our business because we pride ourselves on the relationships we build with our clients – unfortunately, we have seen other businesses fold who have not been able to adapt.
We’ve been able to support our customers as best as we can because there’s nothing that we can’t do at home, that we can do in the office – which in comparison with many of our peers in industry, is amazing.
Because we invested in our IT and Communication systems before the lockdowns were enforced, being able to connect with our teams internally and with customers face-to-face (via video call) was able to happen instantly. We are sometimes dealing with sensitive issues and so the face-to-face contact (even via video call) is greatly reassuring for all of our clients.
BUSINESS-WIDE CALL VISIBILITY
Akixi Call Reporting
We have 35 users making calls within the business, so our distribution is relatively small. However, our previous system made managing calls and distributing them difficult. Implementing Akixi and Horizon saw a huge reduction in call volumes, as incoming calls now reached the right place at the right time, every time.
The business loves that Akixi gives us real-time visibility. Using the wallboard, we can see straight away if phones are out of action, see the distribution of calls, and we know at a glance if someone’s been waiting for 30 seconds or more.
In addition, the integration with Horizon is fantastic, giving us automated reporting and highlighting any problems immediately. The system also works well remotely, allowing me to catch up on calls reallocate capacity wherever I am through a simple web browser interface.
A word from Anna Denton, Account Development Manager at Welcomm Communications:
Despite our own business working from home in response to enforced lockdowns, we were still able to give Hazel the critical support she needed, ensuring that her business received the best customer experience possible. The staff at Turner Insurance Group continued to work remotely, just as they would in the office, and Hazel didn’t have the worry that they weren’t able to answer the phone or that calls were being missed – Welcomm’s Technical Support team set up and trained end-users across every solution we implemented. We took the challenge away from Hazel, providing regular support and contact to ensure all systems were working as desired.
Start your journey with Welcomm
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Award winning customer service, digital knowledge and operational support recognised by the major Networks
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50% of our staff work in support functions and are trained to the highest level to maintain our Platinum Partner status
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Our partnership philosophy and dedicated account management service mean we take the time to understand business requirements before making recommendations
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Our UK based Customer Care team operate a ‘3 Ring Call to Care’ policy, with one freephone number to call for help with all products and services – 0800 064 64 64
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We have in-house expertise across all services, and as an SME we are able to remain agile and adaptable to business needs
