Meet the co-founder of Emerald Life
Steve Wardlaw is chairman of Emerald Life, the first insurance company ensuring equality for all, particularly women and the LGBT+ community, and a prominent LGBT+ activist.
I’m a former lawyer who has become an LGBT+ activist of over 30 years. I’m also a Stonewall ambassador, serial entrepreneur and now cofounder of an insurtech startup that wants to revolutionise and democratise the insurance industry for marginalised customers. Occasionally I volunteer at schools where I give talks to children about the effects of bullying, especially through an LGBT+ lens. This includes the school in Queensbridge, Birmingham, which – last year - became the epicentre of protesting parents who vehemently disagree to their children being taught about the diversity of modern familial and loving relationships (which is, essentially, the tenets of tolerance and acceptance).
What inspired you to launch your business and what is the end goal?
I left my 25-year career in law because I wanted to go back to my roots. I finished as one of the top oil and gas lawyers in the world, but I wanted to do something different; something that would advocate LGBTQ rights. I initially thought about setting up an LGBT-friendly retirement home. There isn’t currently one in existence.
I don’t know why, but I was inspired by the very community-based Emerald cities in the Wizard of Oz, and had a desire to build and name the real life version, Emerald Villages.
But the financial crisis intervened so our funding was pulled.
I definitely didn’t originally set out to enter the insurance industry. But my friends kept talking about how they hated insurance, how it had discriminated against people living with HIV, and gay people. I’ve heard stories from friends who’d adopted children that they didn’t fall within the insurance company’s definition of ‘family’; men who’ve been turned down for home insurance if they were hairdressers or a florist, plus too many other real life experiences of this ilk that show discrimination to be in rude health.
I wanted to create an enterprise that tackled some of the worst areas of discrimination that people face every day, and the insurance sector is inherently blighted by inequality.
It is difficult to think how insurance providers can deliver adequate and fair cover to the diverse individual life circumstances of people in modern society when those who are delivering such a service are non-diverse and, in many respects, from a position of privilege (the insurance sector is still a predominantly white, astoundingly middle class, almost exclusively heterosexual male industry). It’s one of the very key reasons why, within our own venture, there is diversity in our 12-strong (and growing) team. It’s not about fulfilling quotas or being PC; it’s an economic and business decision that enables us to understand customers more and deliver commercially inclusive services where so many providers are failing to do so.
How do you set yourself apart from other businesses in your industry?
We are the UK’s most inclusive insurer. The insurance industry is incredibly discriminatory to customers who don’t fit the mould of ‘normality’, so we want to change that.
The thing is, discrimination is often indirect or hidden. When I originally researched the market, I saw that there are UK insurance companies that would give you life cover if you are an male airline pilot, but not if you’re male cabin crew; there were travel insurance policies that routinely barred anyone with HIV, even if the person has lived with it for years and has an undetectable viral load. And while industry has caught up somewhat with the most egregious customer-facing service, there are still policy-generating software in today’s archaic systems that cannot process married gay couples with a Mr & Mr heading – instead to bypass this ‘glitch’, they must declare themselves as Mr & Mrs. Plus, there is widespread distrust amongst consumers – not least with society’s marginalised – that when it comes to purchasing cover of any kind, they will be denied access or given a poor deal. And that’s just the product; the problem unfolds further with ill-equipped and poorly trained customer service staff who are unable to deal with the nuances of modern life and modern families that deviate from the traditional nuclear format of husband, wife and 2.4 children.
Unmarried couples, gay couples, mixed race couples, transgender parental figures, parents who do parenting apart, step families, intergenerational families, divorced parents, single parents – it’s clear that the nuclear family, as we know it, is a dying demographic. And yet this traditional model of family structure is, above all, the single most over-represented and over-catered group when it comes to product offering and marketing campaigns.
I saw that there was an opportunity to address this absence commercially with an insurance offering that gives basic equality of experience across the board.
Keeping an eye on the numbers in any business is important. How do you ensure that you’re always up to date?
It’s been a learning experience because there are so many numbers – sales, yes; costs yes, but also costs per acquisition, social media reach and feedback, analytics on each page of an online journey, clicks on different emails campaign etc. It’s a minefield. I have to be honest: it’s not an area I love, so - if you are like me - make sure that you can delegate the task to someone who loves the challenge of analysis and numbers. And make sure you speak to each other every day!
What’s the biggest lesson you’ve learnt so far as an entrepreneur?
Everything that can go wrong will go wrong! Never be scared of failure because it really does teach you. It presents one of the most effective learning opportunities to come your way. I know that sounds trite but sometimes in life you are going to get things wrong. We make mistakes because we didn’t know any better. Without those mistakes, for example, I would know a lot less about social media, digital marketing and analytics. This all leads into a single lesson – don’t micro manage, but do make sure you understand a little of how everything works. If you ask intelligent questions, people will treat you better.
With all the success stories around entrepreneurship and how innovative people have to be to take the leap. How do you think you’ve innovated your sector and why?
It’s difficult to get excited about insurance as a product; we always say it’s ‘boring but important’. It’s also an old dinosaur of an industry that is crying out for innovation. The incumbents are the behemoth corporates operating on tech systems that were coded back in the 80s, and forms the platform upon which the insurance industry was built. Because the job of modernising systems is too complex and painstaking a task, large insurance organisations are not incentivised to change. They just don’t care enough. So it’s pretty remarkable that, for all the tech innovation that has emerged and disrupted nearly all areas of our life, from the way we bank to the way we hail a cab – how we shop for insurance remains relatively untouched.
A lot of insurances are now based online, but the systems are largely very poor in supporting the overall customer journey and the end sale of quite complex financial products. Given that insurance is such a personalised product, sales processes tend to be less than personable. If people are to trust insurers more, companies must think back to perfecting the basics, which means delivering exceptional human-centric customer service and trying to understand people’s individual needs, rather than offering a one-size-fits-all (or more likely a one-size-fits-none) product. This is what we are intending to do.
What are your thoughts on failure?
It changes you but it’s an essential part of how you develop any concept into a successful business. Never blame people for failure but don’t keep failing at the same thing. You may love your concept but there are plenty that don’t work – and don’t beat yourself up if you are in that category.
Do you have a morning routine or ritual to get your day started on the right foot?
At 5.30am, my dogs start bouncing on my bed and playing, so I get up, let the dogs out, shower whilst listening to Radio 4, take my Vitamin C and tablets and then do a daily meditation. I try (usually successfully) to be off my phone before then.
If you could be in a room with 4 entrepreneurs, who would they be and why?
Steve Jobs - to understand that drive for perfection; Lord Harris of Peckham - because his life story is so interesting; Isambard Kingdom Brunel to imagine what changes he brought to the world, and Nicolas Tesla, as I am an electricity nerd.
What are your top tips for entrepreneurs wanting to get their business out there?
I would say: always look at your supply chain - you can have the best idea ever but if one tiny widget can’t get to you, you’re destined for failure. The same goes for service sectors as well – including the insurance sector. As our business grows, we are getting better at securing deals from our underwriters and we keep asking for more so that we can continuously improve what we do for customers.
A tip that is less operational, but intrinsic to the entrepreneurial brain: remember your role models when they’ve gone. Your younger life is shaped not just by family but by teachers, mentors and older friends. Never forget the effort they put in to make your life better today.
I think it’s also important to remember that every ‘journey’ – business or otherwise – has potholes. To embark on a business venture requires us to pursue our passions and dreams without becoming deluded. The real world is not an Instagram feed and you’ll get damaged believing otherwise.
Finally, take a leap. Take that risk. My husband and I decided to move to Moscow so that I could run a law firm there. We’d never been and spoke no Russian. It was the best eight years of my life and those experiences and friends will be with us forever.
What plans do you have for your business over the next two years?
Given our focus on inclusion and diversity, we also want to fundamentally change the sector – breaking into the actuarial sector and talking more about areas where more education is needed, such as trans customers and those living with HIV. Currently, people living with HIV can’t get certain longer-term insurances such as critical illness and income protection cover, and we can see no reason for that discrepancy. Equally, we know insurers who don’t want to offer life insurance to trans customers because they simply don’t understand the issues. We have been working with underwriters just to talk, to educate, and to help them on these matters.
How important is company culture and what is your top tip to get it right?
Company culture is key to the success of any business, and if you don’t nurture and monitor it properly, it can cause real problems in terms of staff engagement, happiness and retention. Training staff well from the onset and ensuring they are invested in your vision is really important – it helps motivate and underlines the role in which individuals play in the overall success of an organisation, giving a clear sense of purpose. Startups and SMEs are able to shape and change company culture easily versus big corporates where culture management can pose a conundrum. But, for any business of any size, good culture is vital for longevity and growth.
Any new product launches we should know about?
We are looking at providing insurance products and services that support small businesses, as well as provide event insurance. We want to be a one-stop solution for the groups we aim to serve. What has been lost in the insurance sector recently is trust. In the old days, you had a man who came every month to collect your premium; but that meant that your insurer knew about your circumstances. We don’t go door-to-door any more, but we can show the communities we serve that we understand their particular issues – like a virtual ‘man from the Pru’. Being a same-sex parent family may not affect your small business insurance, but you need to know that the company that provides your essential cover understands your issues and who you are.
