Quality drives Patons Insurance’s new sales manager

Patons is a family business with quality at the heart of everything it does. And that drive has been strengthened with the arrival of insurance industry veteran Rob Leyland as National Taxi Sales Manager.

Rob has been involved with insuring taxis since 1999 and has worked for large brokers, as well as smaller, independent firms, and knows what drivers are looking for when it comes to taxi insurance.

Since joining Patons in September, Rob immediately felt welcome and part of the Patons family. He said: “I am enjoying it and what really stands out is the high levels of quality and service in everything we do.

“Our goal is to make taking out and managing taxi insurance as easy as possible for the drivers.

“It can be done online and the app makes it easy by having all the documents in one place, or drivers can come into one of our seven centres across the UK and deal with someone face to face. It’s about how it works for them and making it as simple as possible.

“If they’re unfortunate and have to make a claim, we aim to keep it simple so they are back out on the road as quickly as they can be.”

Rob has seen plenty of changes in almost a quarter of a century in the taxi insurance industry, and feels there are more to come.

He said: “The biggest difference will be the switch to EVs, which is happening more quickly in some areas compared to others, but we are all aware of the 2030 deadline. It will happen, but it might take a bit longer in niche industries such as taxi insurance.

“Taxis and private hire vehicles are investments and aren’t changed in the same way or as often that people change their own cars today. This is why they are well looked after and drivers are careful to make sure their private hire insurance or public hire insurance will cover them and protect their business in the event of a claim.

“We are finding that drivers are going for quality, rather than the cheapest policy, although cost obviously comes into it. They want the best taxi insurance they can afford and this is why I want to make sure quality is key to everything we do. We are transparent with everything and the aim is to make the customer happy.

“There are obviously things that are beyond our control, such as delays with parts for repairs, but we stay on top of claims and make sure the customer knows what is going on.”

And that is that service and attention to detail that drives Rob and the Patons team.

He said: “Patons focus is on delivering quality which is something we strive for throughout the business. We want to provide the best service which is what keeps people coming back to us and recommending us.

“ We pride ourselves in providing the best cover for each driver which gives them peace of mind and helps keep their business on the road.

“Whether they come to online or in one of our offices, we want customers to value what we do and know we are looking after them every step of the way.”