Side-by-side approach

Another upside to being lean is proximity between teams: underwriting sits side-by-side with sales on the same floor in the office in Guernsey. If a broker calls the sales team with a case and they’re not 100% sure if it’s right for Skipton, the sales rep can literally walk across the office, speak to an underwriter, and get their view on whether the decision is suitable. And unlike many of the high street banks, applications aren’t delayed by being sent to other buildings, potentially in other parts of the country, meaning Skipton expediates applications efficiently. This goes back to that nimbleness, Gauvain noted, and Skipton International’s ability to make a decision fairly quickly.

“We don’t have to refer things up multiple chains to get a response,” he said. “We can react fast once we’ve got all the appropriate information.”

The team approach extends to the brokers as well, with Gauvain calling out an unfair view that underwriters “are there to say ‘no’, but that’s absolutely not our job — and there’s the same amount of work in declines as in agreements.”

The key phrase is “once we’ve got all the appropriate information,” and while he appreciates it can be frustrating for a broker to be asked to supply anything further, Gauvain refers back to the changing world, which includes increasingly sophisticated threats and risk to businesses.

“As a regulated business, we move with the times and stay on top of threats. Whenever we ask for something, it’s not done just to be difficult, it’s essential to keeps us safe, the customer safe, and brokers safe,” he said. “We only ask for additional information when absolutely necessary. We want to underwrite that business and always do our best to do that — we’re all working together here.”