I know that when it comes to insurance and finances in general, having access to a disability friendly service is not the first thing that springs to mind. We are here to change that.
Cura is a small family run insurance broker owned by Alan and Kathryn Knowles (me!).
I have a number of medical conditions myself and have previously found it difficult to get protection insurance, something that really struck a chord with me as an insurance broker, this was something I did day in and day out but I was hitting barriers everywhere. That is why my husband and I made it our mission to develop an insurance company that is empathetic and supportive of the individual and not something focused on a ‘computer says no’ environment.
Our commitment to people in the disabled community is to listen and hear you, not just the list of conditions or medications that you take. We treat everyone as an individual and challenge insurers to provide fair terms of cover for life insurance, critical illness cover and income protection. Our view is to never take no for an answer. Most of our customers have been told that they are uninsurable and we have won multiple national awards proving that is not the case.
When people speak to us, our job is to fight their corner and even more importantly, be upfront and realistic. Honestly, there are times that a disability will not have much bearing on the terms of an insurance policy, other times it will have quite an impact. Our team of advisers go through extensive insurance and disability training, so that they can assess which routes of insurance are right for you. The team will be honest about what insurances are available, they are trained to manage expectations and to not promise the earth.
We are also a Disability Confident organisation. Many of our employees have a range of health conditions, both physical and mental. We adapt our work process to suit the individual employee, whether that is reduced working hours, being able to work from home, having time to go for a coffee and a cuddle if times are feeling a bit tough. This all adds to the family atmosphere that we have built at Cura.
Every month we champion a different charity that is close to our hearts. This could be due to something that is currently affecting one of our employees or a cause that has made an impact in our local community. We do this by donating money, but also by taking part in events like zumbathons, bubble runs, coffee mornings, curry and chat days. We also support staff who give blood by donating to a charity of their choice for every donation.
We have a vision where every person is listened to, respected and seen as a human, not a tick box. We have made it our mission to improve access to insurance and to reach a time where no-one is told that they are uninsurable.
We are working directly with insurers and reinsurers (the people who make the big decisions in the background) to change the way that the insurance industry views the modern person. Having a disability doesn’t necessarily stop someone from working, having a family or getting a mortgage. Disabled people have just as much need for protection insurance as anyone else. Participating in Purple Tuesday and being a member of Purple, has really helped us address these issues and would recommend any organisation looking to become more disability inclusive to get involved too.
If you would like to know more about us please have a look at our, who we are page. I regularly write for industry publications and if you do a quick search of my name and the word ‘insurance’ on google, you can see a lot of the good work that we are doing. I am also very active on twitter, @Kathryn_Cura, and please do pop and say hi to me and watch out for my rather random thoughts on all things in life (not just insurance jargon, I promise)
Kathryn Knowles
Managing Director of Cura Financial Services
4 January 2020