Member Article

Essex Broker Caps Stellar Year Off With Two Awards

Essex-based insurance broker, Ascend Broking, is ending the year on the crest of a wave, having seen its business increase by 35% in 2022, necessitating a physical expansion that now sees it occupying another 400 square metres of office space.

It is also ending the year with more awards in its trophy cabinet, having just proved triumphant at the Insurance Times Awards 2022. The team, based on the Chelmsford Business Park, left a glittering event at Grosvenor House, London with a Gold Award for Commercial Lines Broker of the Year and a Silver Award for Customer Champion of the Year.

These add to other awards also won in 2022. In the spring, Ascend Broking won the Commercial Lines Broker of the Year Award at the National Insurance Awards. In September, it scooped the Digital Broker of the Year title at the Broker Innovation Awards and the Customer Service Awards at the UK Broker Awards.

The team has increased in size in 2022, from 19 employees to 26. New team members include those in strategic roles within key sectors in which Ascend Broking wishes to secure growth, including the acquisition of SMP Healthcare, Steven Gillespie, who is developing local motor trade and commercial connections and Marianne Turner who joined to strengthen the claims service as a senior claims handler.

2022 has also been the year in which Ascend Broking became the official sponsor of Chelmsford City FC, supporting a team that helps unite much of the local community at sporting occasions that increase pride and passion for the city. With so much good work carried out by the club within the local community, it is an honour for Ascend Broking to be able to provide such important financial support to this local sporting institution.

Ascend Broking’s managing director, Matthew Collins, says, “2022 has been a stellar year for the team at Ascend Broking but we will keep our feet on the ground and go again in 2023. Our main focus will be that of steering businesses through the impending recession and ensuring that their insurance exposures are well covered.

“It will be a year in which our advice will be more important for businesses than ever and where expert guidance on insurance covers, where savings can and cannot be made and where risk management needs bolstering, will be absolutely invaluable. Our success and awards have demonstrated that we have everything in our locker to help local businesses, so we look forward to getting many more requests for support and hearing from companies that just want an honest appraisal of their existing cover and whether it is sufficient.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Jane Hunt .