Glasgow insurance firm prepares to hit milestone 40th birthday with £15m turnover

A Glasgow based insurance firm is getting ready to celebrate 40 years in the industry with a record turnover of £15m, as its leader looks forward to further growth and evolution.

Founded in 1982 by financial advisors Gordon Smith and Andy McGlennan as a financial services business and estate agency, car and home insurance broker, Kelvin Smith changed tack when direct-sales company Direct Line shook up the industry in the mid-1980s by introducing a single telephone service, “rendering the average high street broker obsolete”.

It was switching its focus to commercial insurance that cemented the company’s success, working in sectors including hospitality, construction and property, as the firm developed the personal service that sees it continuing to expand four decades on.

The firm’s managing director, Stephen Travers, who was Kelvin Smith’s first employee, attributes the firm’s staying power to the strong client relationships and trust in their offerings. He said: “Everyone said we were finished when Direct Line, then Churchill, Esure and Admiral changed the home and car insurance market.

“Although we still broker home and car insurance for high-net-worth individuals, we found real success in business insurance, as businesses really see the value in the fact we make sure that nothing is overlooked. People want to deal with people.”

After joining in 1983, Stephen became a partner in 1990, taking over the business in 1995 when he was 32. Since then, Kelvin Smith has seen its annual income increase 900 per cent from £1.5m to £15m, growing in the last decade by £1m per year.

Stephen has never steered from the values introduced to him by founders Gordon Smith and Andy McGlennan. He said: “They instilled a real honesty in me from the beginning – they made it absolutely clear the importance of giving clients the right advice and making sure clients trust you.

“Their philosophy is still key to the business – first and foremost your clients need to trust you on advice and on price. We’ve grown because our clients trust us, and they tell other people about us. That’s why we have continually expanded the business and will continue to do so.”