Will’s journey so far…London to Bexhill and Segment Analyst to Segment Manager

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Why did you decide to make the move to Hastings Direct?

It was actually my girlfriend who first got a job at Hastings Direct. She had been looking for a data science position in the same county as where her family lived and that’s when she found a data science role in Bexhill! Lorraine’s parents had always spoken about retiring to Bexhill– we certainly hadn’t expected to beat them down here!

I now live and work five minutes from the beach, in a town where people talk to you in the supermarket, cars actually slow to let you cross the road and that has a good selection of restaurants for a small town. Moving from London to Bexhill halved our rent, significantly reduced our living costs and we went from ‘never going to save enough for a deposit’ to having our own place within a year.

What’s your development journey at Hastings Direct been like so far?

I started at Hastings Direct 18 months ago as a Segment Analyst in the Underwriting department. I had no experience in insurance; I had previously worked as a maths teacher for 5 years. Early support from a great team of people made it really easy to settle in and I soon found that I really enjoyed what I was doing. There is always a new challenge, a new question or a new idea that needed to be investigated, verified, and shared. The rate at which I have continued to learn has been astounding and I continue to develop new technical skills and commercial knowledge. Having recently been promoted to a Segment Manager, I now have further responsibilities and even more new things to learn, and I’m loving every minute of it.

Why would you recommend Hastings Direct as a place to work ?

Hastings Direct really do care about balancing the interests of customers, colleagues, the company and the local community and this results in a fantastic working environment. Colleagues are valued for their skills and varied experiences. Growth over many years has left Hastings Direct as an anomaly - a large insurer that still behaves in some ways like a much smaller company. There is plenty of room for innovation, a willingness to try new things (up to a point, of course) and a certain flexibility of thought that you don’t get in other big insurers. And we’re a short walk to the seaside!

We have a great team of colleagues and we’re always looking for new people who have great potential and personality. Please check out our current Underwriting vacancies here.

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3.6

The shifts in customer service teams are quite colleague friendly. There is free tea and coffee in the call centre, and a subsidised Costa Coffee and canteen. There are lots of incentives to earn more, and a decent social life.

It has a really positive environment with everyone who works there being very helpful. The managers really do go out of their way to assist you. There are a lot of benefits and rewards at Hastings Direct which if you are doing well are quite easy to achieve.

There is a well-rounded approach to the wellbeing of all colleagues, including an inclusive approach to wellbeing activities. Hastings Direct aims to roundly develop colleagues and set them up for future careers within the company.

There is a wonderful work environment, with a strong sense of team work which purveys throughout the business. And there is a sense of friendly competition which works to heighten this.

3.6

As an employer, Hastings Direct offers a lot of company benefits to all employees which are fantastic and I feel this is quite unique. The company culture is inclusive and encourages everyone to participate in local causes.

All employees are well looked after, respected and recognised for the hard work we do for the company. It is a great experience to be working with such amazing team. It much easier for me to balance my work and personal life.

It’s a great place to work with amazing benefits, support and colleagues. Lots of hands on support. Amazing rewards for achieving targets and also plenty of time to get together as a team outside of work and bond with your colleagues.

The company culture, management structure and general atmosphere is really good. The share scheme and Hastings Direct rewards are also fantastic for staff.