GreenKite’s Ask me Anything – Q&A with Sara Ager

What inspired you to pursue a career in the insurance industry?

I qualified as a lawyer in 1998 and began my career as a litigator but found litigation repetitive and court-heavy, which was not necessarily my interest. I wanted to move into a new sector where I could use the professional standards and skills that I had developed whilst a lawyer but in a new landscape – I chose insurance as a sector where I could use my skills to help firms improve. Initially, I worked for Catlin as a claims counsel and then claims manager, where I led several litigious after-the-event litigation funding schemes in run off.

This was my first entry into insurance, and I haven’t looked back! The great thing about insurance is that I can use all my life skills, legal education, and training to build an exciting and varied career, whilst meeting interesting and fun peers! What I really enjoy about insurance is the opportunity to work with people from different backgrounds, with different skill sets and from all different areas of the insurance business.

What do you consider to be your strengths, and how do you leverage them in your work?

I think that my two key strengths are that I’m hardworking and focused. I also have views on many things, and I am happy to share those views with others, especially when I can back up that view with experience and evidence. I am open to challenges and accept feedback readily, even negative. I am happy not to be ‘Miss Popular’ and often play devil’s advocate, which is an essential part of a consultant’s role in order to get the best outcome for the firms I work with.

How do you measure success in your line of work?

There are many ways of measuring success. For me, now that I run my own business, it’s about an ability to attract and retain clients and staff, and I’m delighted that lots of people I’ve worked with in the past are now coming to GreenKite to provide them with services or they want to work with me and the GreenKite team – that’s the best compliment anyone can ever pay. I believe that the best measure of success is the ability to maintain lasting relationships and I am now seeing the seeds I have sown flourish.

How do you stay motivated and overcome obstacles?

I try and work alongside people who are supportive, encouraging and who also challenge me. I choose to work with others who enjoy their work and have energy and are happy to share new ideas. Outside of work, I make sure that I regularly walk my dogs on Clapham Common, and I combat the stresses and strains of everyday corporate life by lifting kettlebells!

How do you balance the competing demands of your role and manage your time effectively?

When you are building a business, you are always trying to be the best that you can be, and it’s very often difficult to balance what you can achieve with what you want to achieve in the time that is available.

I think that this is a constant challenge and one I am not sure I have fully found the answer to yet…

How do you stay current with industry developments and trends?

By attending events, seminars and webinars; by listening to my team, who are out in the field, always reading and learning new stuff and making sure to share with the team; by listening and observing clients and by making sure that the people I mix with and the information I need is current and relevant: That’s both inside and outside of work because if you want to stay relevant within insurance, you need to know what wider societal demands are and what people expect from insurance and from you.

Can you share your thoughts on the future of the delegated authority space?

Delegation will become increasingly important, in my view, as insurers concentrate on solvency margins and making a profit. The think the future for insurers is to ensure they have in place adequate controls around managing capacity and are better on top of the risks in managing capacity that they delegate to third parties. It is all about finding the right partners to work with and alongside. This in my view has always been key, but now it is ever more critical.

Consumer Duty and regulatory expectations around consumer obligations and a focus on customer outcomes rather than the provision of a product is a seismic change for the insurance industry: it has huge ramifications in the delegated space. It will be the differentiator between those who survive and those who don’t.

I believe that there needs to be more control of capacity given to MGA businesses and delegated businesses, and the only way to control another business is by ensuring that the data and information they share is open, honest and fully transparent. Within the insurance industry, the sharing of information has never been open and/or equal, and I think that this needs to change.

I think understanding that having an ecosystem of players all looking out for and providing the customer with insurance coverage and protection is where those who do delegated right will end up.

What do you see as your biggest accomplishment so far, and why is it meaningful to you?

I think my biggest business accomplishment so far is being the CEO and major shareholder of a growing and successful business that I set up just four years ago. We are attracting some major talent, and our growth trajectory is exciting. I am very proud of the GreenKite brand, our team is fantastic, and I am very grateful for this opportunity.