Prestige Underwriting reflect on the last 12 months working and how routines have changed

Pre March 2020 life was a bubble of daily commutes, a long 8-9 hour days in the bustling office, fuelled by tea breaks and familiar faces. Our daily working life would probably have been described as repetitive with some days mundane. How things have changed!

Now we are pretty sure many of us would jump at the chance to sit with our colleagues, gossip over a cup of tea or coffee and enjoy a biscuit or two. The last 12 months have been challenging in many ways. The transition from the former office environment to remote home working being the main one. Plus, the switch from face-to-face meetings to online Microsoft Teams / Zoom meeting. No doubt the initial few weeks and months had some form of teething problems for many and as a team we are delighted to have made a smooth transition to home working. Although we don’t deny still today, after 12 months of remote working we still experience…can you see me? Is my camera on? Can you hear me? You’re on mute! It has certainly been an eventful working year.

Aside from the physical working environment some homeowners home insurance may have had to make accommodations for the new way of working. Whilst many companies already allowed clerical only work from home, of course there are some businesses where there may be slightly more involved. Whether you hold occasional meetings face to face (when restrictions allow), have business clients visiting the home or whether the nature of your work / business is more technical as opposed to the more standard clerical tasks. Together this will affect individuals home insurance policies and insurers have had to adapt and accommodate such changes outside of many employers and employees’ control.

It has been a challenging year with lots of hurdles along the way and 2020 and early 2021 are years we will not forget in a hurry, but we embrace the changes coming and look forward to the light at the end of the tunnel as the light is finally starting to shine.

If anything, the last 12 months has shown we’re all capable of handling anything that might be thrown at us. As a team we look forward to reconnecting with our colleagues and partners in a face-to-face capacity when the Government guidelines allow. Until them we hope you all continue to remain positive and keep safe.