A Toast to Our 5th Anniversary

“At this time of year, I am usually thinking about my short speech for our anniversary party. But, with that being on hold for the foreseeable, my thoughts turned instead to short update on how far we’ve come in the past 5 years.

When I look back to the very start of Probitas, there were just 6 of us sat in a small soulless office on Leadenhall Street, with brown furniture, a laptop each and one wastepaper basket between us. Our trajectory to 2020 has seen, amongst other things, us add a lot of colour to the market, we wanted to be different – and we’ve certainly done that.

We’ve stuck to our guns, facing some adversity along the way, but it’s certainly proven the determination our talented and diverse team have.

I’ve always looked for 3 things in my teams – Aptitude, Ambition and Attitude. And, without doubt, we have successfully formed a powerful team at Probitas that have all three of these traits. It feels like a great achievement that we have such strength across the team, everyone pulling together, and a true sense of family.

We don’t have managers at Probitas, just leaders. And I know, without a doubt, that the team are all behind our mission to be a syndicate that is best in class.

But, we’ve not just built a strong, talented team. Over the past five years, we’ve also ticked many of the syndicate’s ambitions off the list:

  • Foster a culture of strong discipline and underwriting framework. Tick
  • Establish a market leading analytics team. Tick
  • Create our own data warehouse. Tick
  • Work with strong, reputable partners. Tick
  • Become a scalable, cost effective business. Tick

So, it’s understandable that we’re excited for the future. Setting out with new ambitions and creating new lists to tick.

With our 2021 business plan approved by Lloyd’s and our own Managing Agency agreed in principal, it’s already shaping up to be a bright future. Add to that the strong market conditions, and we’re optimistic for the next five years.

If our Chapter 1 was about survival – as a start up in a soft market, and Chapter 2 was focused on consolidation, then I believe we’re moving into Chapter 3 – building for the future. We’ve got fantastic opportunities to scale our business and, of course our team.

You may have read this morning, the article in the Insurance Insider, which talks about the new team we’ve brought on board for our Managing Agency. A host of talented individuals in their own fields, with proven track records. All who are ready to join the team and continue to build a business that is fit for the 21st century, that is the best in class and truly performs.

The last 5 years certainly go to prove that if you have a vision and commitment you can succeed. It may be unbelievably hard work at times, but the sense of pride and excitement for the future is, in my view, certainly worth sticking to your resolve during the challenging times.

So, whilst we won’t be raising a glass physically together today to mark our 5th Anniversary, the Probitas team will still come together to toast our achievements and to and exciting future ahead.”