YP business profile: Ian Barclay, managing director of Rural Insurance

It is a trait honed on the rugby fields of Lancashire, where the Rural Insurance managing director played more than 300 first team games for his beloved AFC Fylde, predominantly at fly-half.

It is one he carries over into his career in financial services.

From his office at the Rural Insurance headquarters at Hornbeam Park in Harrogate, he makes no secret of it.

“Ultimately I am results driven,” he says.

“We have managed to deliver a huge amount of change whilst delivering financial results.

“That is no mean feat. Staying niche and staying profitable is absolutely critical. To grow you have to do something different.”

Mr Barclay is referring to the big changes that the business has seen in the last few months.

Technological innovation is not something one would normally associate with an insurance firm, least of all one specialising in the rural economy.

However, as those who work in the countryside, particularly in the agricultural sector, technology is playing an ever-increasing role in the profession. From mechanised milking sheds for cattle to self-driving tractors the farm is no longer a snapshot of England frozen in time.

To keep up to speed the firm recently went live with a radical new IT platform, something that has allowed the firm to really move forward. It is this innovation that has driven Mr Barclay’s stewardship of the firm.

Last year the business was crowned winner of the Technology Award at The Yorkshire Post’s Excellence in Business Awards.

And the job, he says, is far from done.

“For us to go live and stay live having done the work ourselves from a standing position, for us to do that and to see the number of releases we can do now on a weekly basis is a fantastic achievement for the organisation.

“We are going to continue to invest. Digital is really the big area for us to focus on going forward.”

Rural Insurance was founded 21 years ago and has always been based on the Hornbeam Park every since, albeit in a variety of buildings.

Now home to 90 members of staff and with just over £40m in premiums it is taking the fight to NFU Mutual, the dominant player in the rural insurance market.

Mr Barclay has spent his life working in financial services, holding a number of senior positions with the likes of Axa and A.on.

He joined Rural Insurance just over three years ago, relocating his family to Yorkshire.

“The business has grown quite a bit but has remained within the rural and agricultural sector,” he says.

“But at the same time we have tried to position it as a more forward thinking and forward looking business in what is quite a traditional sector, ie. insurance, but also within rural sectors which is seen as being quite traditional. But I think that is changing.”

Rural Insurance occupies a position as an MGA, or a Managing General Agent, which means it sits between the broker and the insurer itself.

“We only distribute by brokers, we don’t sell direct to consumers,” he says.

“And in most cases those independent brokers are actually embedded in those rural communities. And that is hugely important for us as it allows us to rely on their expertise to work in partnership with those communities.

“But we are responsible for all parts of the value chain from marketing and sales through to the actuarial and pricing of the product itself.

“We are very much a Yorkshire business. Most of the people we recruit are from this area, with some exceptions, myself included. We have a number of people who have come direct from the local schools.

“I am pleased to say we still have a day one employee, which is quite important for us in terms of the DNA of the business and the culture we are trying to maintain.”

Mr Barclay’s career has seen him work in a variety of global businesses and he has spent a lifetime getting start-ups working and putting technology into those strategies.

When initially offered the role with Rural Insurance he was, as all of us are when offered a job in a new location, somewhat sceptical about what relocating his wife and three daughters would involve.

However spend any time with Mr Barclay and his passion and affection for the business, the customers it serves, and the area it is located in, is palpable.

“I can honestly say since I have arrived here I have not regretted the decision once,” he said. “Whilst I didn’t know the agricultural sector per se I saw it as the closest to the private client market which I was very familiar with. The business is relationship based and very much traditional in a positive sense.

“As a small business where the market is dominated by one large player, that excited me to see what we could do.

“Having worked in a variety of roles and sectors I have learned that my role is not to be the expert. I don’t think everybody can be an expert in everything.”

When asked about what the highlight is of his career so far Mr Barclay thinks long and hard.

“On a personal level I get a huge amount of enjoyment from seeing people develop and grow. Because of the journey we have been on over the last few years we have been at the edge of comfortable. I believe that is the point where you grow the most and seeing these individuals respond to that and come out the other side more confident gives me a great deal of satisfaction.”