An insurance consultant that based her decision to set up as an independent on her ‘principles’ and ‘loyalty’ is celebrating her first year in business with ‘no regrets’.
Despite being in the middle of a recession, Lisa Bishop, formerly of Peter Goord Insurance, made the decision to work alone after the well respected local business was sold to a national company in March 2011. As she discovered that working for them would mean contradicting her personal values, she knew that she would have to come to some very hard decisions.
She said; “Working for an independent was important to me and I thought I’d have a job with them for life. It was a wrench for me when I decided to leave the company but I knew that it was the right thing to do; I felt that working for a national business went against every principal I had and I became less and less comfortable with the new company’s sales methods and levels of customer care. It had been important to me to do the best, most personal service for every customer I worked with. When I decided to leave, I knew I had done the right thing - I have been busy ever since!”
Lisa was offered work as a consultant at Creative Wealth Ltd and began working on a self-employed basis dealing solely in Property Insurance. Although the prospect of being self employed was terrifying, Lisa was driven by the knowledge that she was doing a job she loved and doing it her way; “It gives me the freedom to visit clients and to build a relationship with them. I can have a cup of tea and a natter, just like Peter Goord himself used to when he started off. Also, it can be incredibly useful to actually visit someone’s home, particularly if it is of an unusual build type or if they have unique antiques or jewellery. If I’ve actually seen the items or the property then describing them to insurers is so much easier.”
Lisa’s decision to leave the pressures and ethics of a nationwide company has gone down well with her customers. Michell Vai from Plymouth said; “Lisa always takes the time to give good, quality advice. She puts in the effort and hard work, which means that I don't have to worry about it - and she always comes back with a competitive rate. She’s helped me with Car insurance, Motorcycle insurance and more recently, Home and Contents Insurance.”
Lisa added; “The best bit about my job is the people that I’ve dealt with for years who’ve become more friends than clients. I love being able to save people money if I can, very often I can do that AND improve on their cover. I can give them the personal touch – and unlike a big company, I don’t ask them to get their credit card out then and there! It doesn’t matter if you have a mansion or a maisonette; I help homeowners, tenants and landlords with buildings or contents Insurance. Times are hard for everyone at the moment and I like to think I can do my bit to make things easier.”
Lisa is celebrating her year in business with no regrets. Born and brought up in Plymouth she feels grateful to be able to stay here; “Us Plymothians take our City very much for granted, it’s only when you show friends that you see how beautiful it is through their eyes. We face the sea, have majestic Dartmoor on our doorstep, and we are the gateway to the beauty of Cornwall – we really do have it all. Word of mouth recommendation is all I need to get by and so being a local girl and passionate about my work is enough for me – and it’s proving to be enough for my customers too.”
You can contact Lisa on 01752 772249, 07704217065, or by email – This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
ENDS