JLT appointed to advise grain firm

THE Birmingham office of insurance broker Jardine Lloyd Thompson has been appointed as advisers to Openfield, the UK’s largest grain marketing business.

The specialist Food and Drink team, based at St Philips Point in Temple Row, worked with Openfield to review its insurance programme and advise the company on obtaining appropriate cover and cost-effective premiums in the current market.

JLT’s Jonathan Miller has worked closely with Openfield since it was formed from a merger between Grainfarmers and Centaur Grain in November 2008.

He said: “The reason we won this account is we had the desire and the ability to fully understand the component parts of the business.

“We take the acquisition of new businesses very seriously and went as far as we could to understand Openfield.

“JLT has enviable experience in this sector and were able to use this to ensure deficiencies in cover were discovered and rectified.”
 
Alan Murray, Finance Director of Openfield, said it had appointed JLT because of its good understanding of the sector and it took the time to fully understand the diverse nature of the business.

“They were also able to translate this knowledge into a tailored and cost-efficient solution for Openfield, giving us greater comfort over the scope and effectiveness of our insurance programme,” he said.

“Having spoken to a number of potential insurance brokers, it was clear that their Food & Drink Practice was a natural fit for us. Once we had made the decision we were also impressed by the manner in which the transition was managed, especially given the tight timescales.”