Nick brings expertise from a 26-year career in health insurance and employee benefits, including roles at Vitality UK and Norwich Union Healthcare (now Aviva).
He is the Founder Director at Hooray’s sister brokerage, Engage Health Group. Together, the companies provide businesses of any size with the expert advice they need.
Nick’s expertise cover the full spectrum of employee benefits and protection policies, from sourcing to implementation, including:
- Group Private Medical Insurance
- Group Income Protection
- Group Critical Illness
- Group Life Insurance
- Group Health Cash Plan
Nick is a keen runner, a season ticket holder at Brighton & Hove Albion and plays football for the Chestnut Tree House Children’s Hospice charity team.
Any words of advice for businesses?
Having spent the last twenty years working in Healthcare Insurance I’ve been through the highs and the lows of the industry but have made sure I’ve always continued with my relevant industry studies passing the IF1, GR1, IF7 & 790 to obtain the Chartered Insurance Institute CERT CII status.
When looking at healthcare make sure your insurance broker knows about all the insurers out there which may be better tailored for you and doesn’t work directly for one individual insurer or have set deals to give all their business to one insurer.
Do you have any favourite instances where you’ve helped customers out?
There have been lots! One personal favourite was taking on a large insurer (on behalf of a customer) who’d refused to pay their claim, leaving the customer with a £4,000 bill to pay themselves. It took me 11 months of battling, call recordings, escalations and getting the Financial Ombudsman involved, but eventually we succeeded, and the customer not only got their £4,000 back, but also all the backdated interest! Ironically, we only earnt around £200 per annum from this customer’s business with us, and some would say it wasn’t worth the time, but getting a great result for a customer against a large corporate organisation was priceless!
What is the most rewarding part of your job?
It’s those moments when we genuinely help people and make a difference to someone’s life, even someone we don’t know. Recently, a client contacted me because one of their female staff had been attacked at a work event and needed to access counselling services. We were part-way though setting up a policy to provide this service for the client in question, but it hadn’t been fully implemented yet. On hearing the news, we rapidly got the right people on the phone at the counselling provider, offering to cover the cost ourselves if needed, and ensured that the colleague in question was able to speak to someone within the hour. When you go home from work in the evening, these are the things you reflect on and realise you really helped someone.
What’s your favourite workplace perk?
I’d have to say our Private Medical Insurance! My aging body combined with my misguided view that I’m the next Alan Shearer, has resulted in a close relationship with a number of physios and orthopaedic consultations!
Any hobbies?
I love playing football (when not injured), reading, swimming, running and going on holiday (is this a hobby?). I also love shouting “You’re welcome” at people when holding a door open for them and they don’t say thank you.
Favourite band/artist?
It’s quite broad but I love everything from Red Hot Chilli Peppers through to a bit classical.
Any guilty pleasures music wise?
My daughters once heard me singing along to McFly on the radio, and mocked me for weeks haha!
Favourite film?
I’m a big fan and have a special love for 80’s films. The Breakfast Club, The Lost Boys, Stand by Me, and The Goonies are some of my favourites!