Insurance industry figures Matthew Mawson and Steven Burley have unveiled a new business venture, Eximia Broking, which promises to offer a more customer-centric, expert-led and better value insurance broking service for firms in the city.

Eximia - meaning ‘exceptional’ in Latin - has been founded by Matthew and Steven, both veterans in corporate insurance who have family roots in the sector which date back to the 1950s.

The company’s unique, customer-focussed mission statement is also born out of their many decades of hands-on experience and expertise, as well as a desire to ensure that clients get to speak with real people, instead of being handled by automated phone lines and chatbots or being passed around different teams.

The start of this new enterprise has also strategically come at a time where Sheffield has seen a number of existing insurance brokers being acquired and subsequently consolidated by larger firms. This being something Matthew believes has since left a gap in the market for Eximia to fill - positioning themselves as one of the city’s most experienced independent brokerages that are able offer customers looking for business insurance a high quality and more-direct service.

placeholder image — Eximia Broking founder, Matthew Mawson

Matthew offered these comments on the launch of the new business: “For too long the insurance broking world has been a race to the bottom, service has gone out of the window. We don’t want to be in this world, and with Eximia, our focus is on ensuring clients get the personal, expert-led service they deserve that brings them the best value in the long run.’

“It’s also fair to say that the wider insurance sector view in South Yorkshire isn’t brilliant reading for customers in the local markets. It’s no secret that a number of separate brokers have now been amalgamated into one and unfortunately when these situations occur, it invariably means that the customers lose out. Clients lose continuity and the trust they had disappears.”

Matthew also explained more about Eximia’s ethos: “Putting the customer first is the key aspect here at Eximia. I’ve seen it before with businesses that rely purely on customer automation, time and time again the value of the relationship just gets lost. While we do understand there is of course still a place for technology to support the customer experience, you just can’t beat having that direct personal contact.

“With our approach, I like to think of Eximia as a modern, fast-paced business that both utilises modern technology, but is actually working in a more ‘traditional’ way, to deliver the exceptional.

“Our team will come and see you, we'll have a real conversation, or if you pick up the phone, you'll speak to somebody directly, you'll not get a series of ‘dial 9’ for this or ‘dial 1’ for that and most importantly, you’ll never have to deal with a chatbot. At the same time, if you do speak to us on the telephone, you won’t be lost on the inside of a computer somewhere. You’ll deal with the same person and not get passed around. This is what we’re about and we’ve already had numerous customers commending us on the high quality of our services.”

With its headquarters in Sheffield Business Park, Eximia wants to primarily work with businesses within the city and within the S postcode area in need of commercial insurance, and it already has a growing customer portfolio within this region of South Yorkshire. Additionally, the firm also has a variety of insurance specialisms with its broking services, specifically within the haulage and logistics, waste and recycling, construction and manufacturing sectors.