Alan Watson, Executive Director
I’m responsible for the Commercial and Motor Trade Departments at ABL Group. As a financial services organisation, we are of course heavily focused on the numbers but I’m lucky enough that my role doesn’t just involve spreadsheets and formulas. I’m also responsible for our non-financial objectives such as customer service, customer satisfaction and promotion of my department’s insurance services to SMEs in Northern Ireland
I started my career in insurance as a trainee underwriter for a major UK insurance firm and progressed to a team leader in the motor trade and fleet department. After almost ten years I moved to ABL to take up a role as an account handler in the motor trade insurance department and progressed to manager of the team after three years.
In 2017 I took responsibility for the management of the commercial insurance department and was appointed as Associate Director in the company. More recently I have been appointed to manage the Personal Lines department and was promoted to Executive Director for Commercial and Motor Trade Insurance.
The thing I love most about working at ABL Group is being part of a company that is ambitious to grow its business alongside developing its people. The company invests significantly in training and understand that our greatest asset is the knowledge and the years of experience the team have built up here.
The ABL team is a fantastic group of people who have embraced the many changes of recent years and keep rolling their sleeves up and delivering. You could not ask to work with better people.
In my time in the industry, I’ve seen the changes wrought by technology and understand some of the many challenges and opportunities evolving tech brings to the insurance sector. This might mean changes to the way we write business, the way we service our clients or the competition we face from other firms.
However, I wholeheartedly believe that personal relationships will always be the most important factor in commercial insurance and that is something we excel at in ABL Group.
I live with my family just a short commute away from our new headquarters in Belfast City Quays and in my spare time, I coach mini-rugby for CIYMS, attempt to play five a side football twice a week and play the odd game of golf.
I enjoy spending time with my family, listening to music and watching documentary films when I get the time!