Claire Watts (Locum Agent)

How would I sum up my job? I’m a bit of a girl-Friday, moving round the 33 offices I cover and helping out where the need’s greatest. It’s a really varied role and there’s never a dull moment: one day I might be manning the phones when an agency is short staffed, and the next bridging the gap when there’s a vacancy. Sometimes I’m in an office just for the day, though I can end up lending a hand for weeks at a time.

I was NFU Mutual’s very first Locum Agent, and have always felt welcomed whenever I arrived at my agency offices – after all, I’m there to help, but I’ve found you do need an element of diplomacy and an ability to get on well and quickly with people to settle into the job. The other thing that I’ve found essential is background knowledge of insurance – you need it to feel confident meeting and talking to customers about their policies.

Why do I stay? As well as the variety and the satisfaction of helping my colleagues, it’s nice that NFU Mutual is such a unique organisation with its network of agency offices. It’s also good to be part of a business that is trustworthy and well thought of, with great customer retention.