Inside an agency
Join a local business at the heart of its community
Inside an agency of NFU Mutual
NFU Mutual has a network of Appointed Representative tied Agents nationwide who run their own local agency business of NFU Mutual. Join one of these agencies and you’ll be joining a local business at the heart of its community, supporting agricultural, commercial and high net worth business customers. So, you’ll be in the front line, dealing with customers almost every day.
There’s no typical agency, as the size and structure of the business and the nature of the specialisms varies, depending on the location and the customers it serves. But they all share a commitment to giving customers a valued, personal service. That means Agents look for people who are confident communicators with a good commercial understanding.
Agents generally tend to recruit into the following types of roles:
Customer Service and Support
You’ll be the first point of call for a variety of customers, taking their calls and renewing and amending insurance policies. At the same time, you’ll use your commercial skills to understand their needs and spot opportunities to sell additional relevant products.
It’s a great place to start your career in insurance. You’ll learn about NFU Mutual’s full range of products and as you develop your knowledge, you’ll also be able to work towards relevant industry qualifications, so you can further your career.
Customer Account Management
Sales are never about the hard sell. It’s about building strong customer relationships, getting to know their business needs, and providing the right advice and products. In this role, you’ll spend a lot of your time out on the road, visiting farms and businesses, understanding their requirements and identifying sales opportunities. That means you’ll ideally have some sales experience in any industry, with a willingness to study for and gain relevant professional licences and qualifications.
New Business Sales
The sales teams are at the sharp end of our agencies, identifying new prospects, building relationships and maximising revenue. Whether you’re an Account Manager or an Account Executive providing vital sales support, you’ll play a key role in growing your agency’s business. Ideally, you’ll have a sales background and the ability to communicate effectively at all levels. You’ll also recognise commercial opportunities and have the ability to manage the entire sales process. In return, you can look forward to full training and support to gain relevant professional qualifications.
Office Management
You’ll be at the heart of your agency, making sure that everything runs smoothly. Depending on the agency you join, you could be involved in everything from opening the office each day and answering calls, to dealing with billings, payroll or compliance, so everything operates effectively. You’ll be working closely with everyone in the agency, so you’ll need to be an effective communicator, with strong organisational skills. You’ll also need the ability to learn about, understand and follow relevant NFU Mutual policies and processes.
Commercial Account Handler, Claims
You’ll be a friendly, reassuring presence for customers when they make a claim, taking the initial call, dealing with paperwork, and working with business partners to resolve claims efficiently and effectively. Working closely with the Agents and sales teams to make sure customers are always happy, you’ll need a can-do attitude, good communication skills and a strong focus on customer service, together with the ability to adapt to a variety of challenges. In return, you can look forward to full training and all the support you need.
Life Lead Coordinator
This is a vital agency role, introducing and qualifying financial services leads and booking sales appointments for the Financial Advisor. This means you’ll need the ability to build strong working relationships with existing and potential new customers, identify their needs and understand how the range of NFU Mutual pensions, investments and life insurance products can meet them. You’ll also need to be a confident communicator, with good telephone skills, a commitment to delivering excellent customer service and the resilience to consistently meet targets.
Risk Management Coordinator
You’ll be driving and supporting the generation of new risk management leads for your agency. This involves contacting current and potential customers to generate leads yourself, as well as managing leads from the agency teams. Working closely with the Risk Management Consultant, you’ll book customer meetings and presentations for them, review how leads progress, discuss next actions and organise relevant agency training to ensure targets are met. So, you’ll need to be well-organised and a confident communicator, with the commercial knowledge to understand customer needs.
How your Agents will support you
Whatever your role, as a key member of your agency team, you’ll enjoy the chance to develop your insurance industry knowledge and skills and build a rewarding career. For most roles you won’t necessarily need an insurance background. It’s more about your personal qualities – your ability to learn quickly, develop strong working relationships with a range of different people and give customers excellent service, with trusted advice and products.
Bring these qualities and you’ll be supported with a full range of training and development opportunities so you can build the career you want. These include the chance to gain an apprenticeship, as well as support to study for professional qualifications and full training in all aspects of the insurance industry.
