The rural division of the well-respected RK Harrison brand, which has served farming businesses for more than 40 years, has now transferred into A-Plan Rural Insurance, to form A-Plan Rural.
RK Harrison - synonymous with quality, service and competitive premiums - has been providing insurance to the agricultural and rural community for more than 40 years.
The firm has also been the trusted partner and broker for the Country Land and Business Association (CLA) for over 16 years.
A-Plan Insurance, which was founded in 1963 and is now part of the insurance group Howden, is delighted to be involved with the rural market, and will invest in and build on the expertise that the team from RK Harrison bring with them.
It has a number of specialist rural insurance centres with a focus on bringing local insurance experts closer to farmers, landowners and country estates.
Clients will have access to these rural insurance hubs providing them with local specialist expertise, as well as more than 100 regional A-Plan branches across the UK.
A-Plan Rural has already recruited additional specialists to add to the existing RK Harrison team that has joined A-Plan, and is looking to add to the growing team as it continues to invest in this important market.
The combined team is led by Esther Kane, Head of Rural, who has worked in the rural insurance sector for more than 16 years.
She said: “The new relationship is good news for rural clients because it gives them greater choice, both in terms of products available and how they want to access advice.
“Many of our clients at RK Harrison have been with us for a long time and the message to them is that nothing changes but the name – they are still dealing with the same familiar people.
“However, they have the added benefit that our Farm and Estate experts will now be closer, giving our clients more choice in how they want to interact with us, either in person, by phone or digitally. This is so important given the workload of farmers who are often time poor.
“Rural businesses will also have access to physical branches, a greater range of products available and the historic RK Harrison expertise.”
Richard Easterbrook, Director of Commercial and Rural Insurance at A-Plan Group says the business is committed to building a growing presence in rural communities.
He said: “We have a huge appetite to grow our physical presence and product offering through the development of specialist rural hubs.
“Bringing A-Plan and RK Harrison together will also lead to greater insurer volume and improved market influence for agriculture and private client lines.”
The announcement comes at a time when towns and villages across the country, and in particular in rural areas, are feeling the pain of successive lockdowns.
News that A-Plan aims to buck the trend by opening centres as well as recruit people from the local area is an additional boost for rural communities with a strong belief that being part of the community is paramount.
Esther added: “We strongly believe that offering face to face advice and being close to clients is important for rural businesses and communities.
"They want to talk to people who understand the often-complex insurance needs of farms or estates, and we are absolutely committed to meeting that need.”
For more information visit www.aplan.co.uk/rural.
