Nigel Wellings – Managing Director
Nigel’s experience in both the Agricultural and Insurance industries is wide and varied. Coming from a farming family in Lincolnshire, Nigel graduated from the Royal Agricultural College in 1988 and went on to work in farm management. It was later that an opening as an NFU Mutual Group Secretary became available.
By 1996 he had become disillusioned with the farm insurance industry. “The overwhelming feeling was that the farmer wasn’t coming first and that the traditional farm insurers were not proactive enough. There was a real opportunity for an Independent Insurance Brokerage that specialised in Agriculture that could rectify this.” That same year Nigel left the NFU Mutual and formed Farmers & Mercantile.
From starting as a one man band, Nigel steadily recruited a multitude of talent to join him at the office in Northampton, as clients mainly from word of mouth. As the client base was nationwide a second branch was opened in Ludlow in 2005 to help service the West of the country. Further branches in Ayr and York quickly followed and now Four offices cover the U.K from Orkney to Cornwall.
When asked about the growth of the company, “Its true that we have been very successful over the last few years. My promise to our clients is that as we grow we will not loose the face to face ‘muddy boots’, approach, that the company was founded on”.
As well as a personal service, Nigel has tried to lead the way in developing new covers for clients “ We were the first Brokers to offer Single Farm Payment protection for contractors and own land. Our Environmental Pollution Policy was the most comprehensive available to farmers and we are have recently developed a product to protect our clients renewable energy risks.” The company continues to keep a close eye on changes to Agricultural practises and laws so it can continually match its insurance to the industries requirements.
With a busy work schedule Nigel still manages to follow his hobbies of agriculture and cricket whilst also enjoying the odd holiday.
With the global demand for food increasing Nigel predicts an increase in fortunes for British Farming and fully intends Farmers & Mercantile to do everything possible to support farmers in the future.
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