A Familiar Face in Broking Joins the Coverdrone Team
We have strengthened our broker engagement strategy with the appointment of Neil Jenkinson as Sales and Distribution Adviser.
A familiar and well-respected figure across the UK insurance broking community, Neil brings over three decades of industry experience to Coverdrone, including ten years as Regional Manager at BIBA, where he worked closely with brokers across the North of England, Scotland and Northern Ireland.
As drone technology becomes increasingly embedded across commercial sectors, from surveying and construction to infrastructure inspection and property maintenance, brokers are encountering aviation exposures in places they may not expect. Bringing Neil’s experience and industry relationships into the business strengthens our ability to support brokers navigating this rapidly developing market.
We took some time to sit down with Neil, learn more about him, and why he felt that Coverdrone was the right fit for him as he takes the next step in his consulting career.
Over Three Decades in Insurance
Neil’s career in insurance began in 1985, when he left school and joined AA Insurance Services.
From those early beginnings he worked his way through a variety of roles across the industry, gaining experience in operational, commercial and relationship-focused positions. Over time he developed a reputation for business development and broker engagement, strengths that would eventually place him at the centre of the UK broking community.
Like many careers in insurance, his path developed through opportunity, experience and relationships built across the market. Those relationships would eventually lead him into one of the most visible broker-facing roles in the sector.
Over A Decade Dedicated to Supporting Brokers
For the past ten years, Neil served as Regional Manager at BIBA, representing members across the North of England, Scotland and Northern Ireland while also working with brokers across the wider national membership.
The role involved acting as a bridge between BIBA and its members, gathering feedback from brokers, helping them navigate regulatory issues and ensuring their voices were heard within the wider industry.
“It was a very wide-ranging role,” Neil explains. “You’re feeding back to BIBA about issues affecting brokers – regulation, FCA matters and red tape – but you’re also helping members understand how to get the most value from their membership. You’re making sure members understand what support is available and how they can use it within their businesses.”
That meant connecting brokers with specialist schemes and services like Coverdrone’s across a wide range of insurance sectors. Working closely with brokers across multiple regions gave Neil a front-row view of the pressures and opportunities shaping the modern broking sector.
Regulation, Consolidation and Change
Over the past decade Neil has seen several themes reshape the broker landscape.
“Regulation and compliance have probably been the biggest themes,” he says. “There’s a lot more red tape for brokers to deal with now and more hoops to jump through.”
At the same time, consolidation has been reshaping the structure of the market.
Despite those pressures, Neil remains a strong advocate for the role brokers play in helping clients navigate complex risks.
“If anyone asks me where they should get their insurance, I always say go to a broker,” he says. “They’re the people with the knowledge and the expertise to guide clients properly.”
Why Coverdrone?
Neil’s move to Coverdrone follows many years of interaction with the business during his time at BIBA and the development of a strong working relationship with directors Andrew Heath, Stephen Heath, and Philip Heath.
Over that period, he saw the company develop its proposition and expand its presence within the broker market.
“When the opportunity came to get involved with Coverdrone, it just felt right,” he explains. “It’s a market that really excites me, and the chance to help the business build more relationships across the broker community was something I very much wanted to be part of.”
Neil joins Coverdrone in a strategic advisory capacity, helping drive sales and distribution while strengthening relationships with brokers across the UK.
Andrew Heath, Director of Coverdrone, welcomed the appointment as the company continues to expand its broker network:
“Neil has been a respected figure within the broking community for many years. His experience, relationships and understanding of the broker market will be extremely valuable as we continue to grow our distribution and strengthen our partnerships with brokers.”
A Market That’s Only Getting Started
Although drone insurance itself is new territory for Neil, the pace of innovation within the sector immediately caught his attention.
“I’ll be honest. I’m still learning about drones,” he says. “But the market really excites me because it’s clearly going to keep growing.”
Drone technology is now used across a wide range of industries including construction, surveying, infrastructure inspection, property maintenance and media production to name a few, making the need for specialist insurance knowledge increasingly important.
Supporting Brokers in a Growing Sector
One of the biggest challenges for brokers is recognising where drone exposures may exist within their existing client base.
Surveyors, photographers, estate agents and contractors may all be using drones as part of their work without necessarily thinking of themselves as aviation businesses.
“Knowledge is key,” Neil says. “A broker might encounter a client using drones but not necessarily have the specialist aviation knowledge needed to structure the right cover. That’s where a specialist provider like Coverdrone can support them.”
When brokers evaluate insurer partners, Neil believes two things consistently matter most: service and claims.
“Service is vital,” he says. “Brokers need to know they can pick up the phone, get an answer and get things moving. And when something does go wrong, claims handling becomes the real test.”
One aspect that particularly impressed him about Coverdrone is the company’s in-house claims capability, which allows claims to be handled directly by the team rather than through external administrators.
“That makes a real difference,” he says. “People insure themselves for the moment when something goes wrong, and how a claim is handled really matters.”
Building Broker Relationships
Neil’s focus at Coverdrone will centre on building relationships across the broker market while helping introduce more firms to the opportunities within drone insurance.
His message to brokers who may already know him from his time at BIBA is simple.
“Learn with me,” he says. “I’m learning more about the drone sector myself, and it’s exciting to be part of a business that genuinely cares about its brokers and its customers.”
For brokers whose clients increasingly rely on drone technology, having access to specialist expertise is becoming more important than ever.
Looking Ahead
As drone technology continues to expand across commercial industries, brokers are increasingly encountering clients whose operations now include drones, sometimes without realising the regulatory and insurance implications involved.
Strengthening our engagement with the broker community is therefore a natural step as the sector evolves. Bringing Neil’s experience and industry relationships into the business allows us to deepen those connections and continue supporting brokers navigating this developing area of risk.
With over 30 years of experience in the insurance industry and a deep understanding of the broker market, Neil’s arrival marks an important addition to the Coverdrone team.
For us, it represents another step forward as we continue working closely with brokers to ensure businesses operating drones have access to the specialist insurance expertise they need.
