A message from our Managing Director.
I am very excited to announce that Brownhill Insurance Group is celebrating 40 years in business today and no, its not an April fools joke!
My father, the late John Brownhill, decided on the 1st April 1980 that he would start up his own insurance brokerage after being in the insurance industry for 20 years. Our first office was in Sydenham SE26, we had 4 staff and we only offered life and motor insurance.
I joined the business in 1985 after 3 years working for an insurance company to help start up our personal lines division. In 1986 we launched a household insurance scheme called Neighbourhood Watch and we were the first broker to offer ‘no claim bonus’ discounts to home owners. We worked very closely with the Government and Scotland Yard’s “Operation Bumblebee” in order to reduce crime; as part of the scheme we surveyed every single new client’s home. I am proud to say that we still insure many of those clients today, we have grown with them and enjoyed our long lasting relationships. With the success of the scheme we quickly out grew our premises in Sydenham and moved to Beckenham.
In 1997 my father became ill and left the business for good; in 1999 we completed a management buyout. Our business was then predominately personal lines but realising we needed to expand we decided to concentrate more on commercial business. In 2000 we purchased a commercial broker, continued to grow and decided to move to Bromley, which we did in 2004.
In 2007 we rebranded and changed our name from Brownhill Morris and West Insurance Services Ltd (which was always a mouthful to say over the phone) to Brownhill Insurance Group, the rebrand, including our successful “Love Art” brand were launched at an event at the Dulwich Picture Gallery.
We now employ 29 staff, some of which have been with us for over 25 years. Our business is now split 50/50 in terms of personal and commercial business and we continue to grow and change with the times. I am sure my father would be extremely proud of how far we have come and we are ever thankful to him for taking the plunge on the 1st April 1980. Our business is now into its third generation; we expect to be here for many more years to come, servicing our clients and building on our business relationships with partners.
Thank you all for being part of our journey.
Yours,
Gillian Henderson
Managing Director
