London’s Direct Insurance first to commit to permanent homeworking even after COVID-19

As the re/insurance industry adjusts to life during and after the coronavirus pandemic, Direct Insurance Group, a global speciality insurance business based in London, has become the first insurance group to formally commit to a remote working policy for all staff permanently.

All staff within its business who want to work from home, can continue to do so indefinitely after the lockdown finishes, the business has said. The Group will continue to maintain its eight offices located in UK, Europe and North America and will remain headquartered in London, but from the end of the lockdown, staff will have the choice of office, homeworking or a combination of both, based on business and personal needs.

David Bearman, CEO for Direct Insurance Group comments: “I’m excited and delighted to be the first insurance company to formally announce this. Embracing remote working permanently is primarily about the wellbeing of our staff and we have seen how effective ‘working-from-home’ can be. Over the last nine weeks our group has not merely survived the lockdown, we’ve actually thrived.

“Our staff have saved money and countless hours by skipping the daily commute; time that is now spent learning, innovating, exercising, connecting and collaborating. For many there is also more time left over at the end of the day for friends, family and leisure. That is all against a backdrop of financials that show we are 26% up in terms of enquiries since we started remote working mid-March.

“In many ways this period of working from home has been a natural extension of our existing culture; we’ve always focussed on ‘outcomes’ rather than how much time people spend at their desk. We employ good people and trust them to do a good job.”