We just turned away money. On purpose.

Most brokers will insure anyone with a pulse (and a premium). We used to be most brokers.

Not any more. From now on, REALLY HONEST won't take on new clients that make or sell animal products. Or weapons. Or fossil fuels. Or that cage animals for entertainment, tear up land for mining, or run gambling operations.

We think we're the first mainstream UK business insurance broker to draw that line. Which is pretty surprising.

Food and drink is one of our biggest sectors. So yes, this decision has a price, but we’re willing to pay it.

That's rather the point.

"Values that never cost you anything are just marketing. If a business makes or sells animal products, we're not its broker. We would rather lose the premium than profit from something we believe causes harm."
- Steven Darrah, founder and CEO

How it all started; we hired someone who knows nothing about insurance

Andy Shovel built THIS™ into the UK's market-leading plant-based food brand. He'll tell you himself he knows nothing about commercial insurance. But that's exactly why he's now on our board.

We didn't want another insurance lifer nodding along.

We wanted an outsider to look at a stale, largely amoral industry and ask why it works the way it does. His first observation was hard to argue with: plant-based founders are building the alternative to animal products, so why should their broker earn commission from the industries they're trying to replace?

A fair point. Hence the pledge.

To be clear (really honest?) about what this is, and isn't

This applies to new business, at the point of quote. We're not pretending we've audited every existing client or that our whole book is spotless. We're saying we won't knowingly sign new clients in those sectors from here on. Honest means honest, including about our own limits.

What’s next?

REALLY HONEST® was started because business insurance was, frankly, a bit rubbish. Complicated on purpose, slow by design, and written by people who'd never had to make a claim themselves. We knew there was a better way, so we set about proving it.

We haven't fixed it completely yet. But we've picked it up out of the gutter, given it a haircut, taken it out of its double-breasted suit and banned it from boozy lunches at the gentlemen's club.

We’re going to keep making decisions that balance profit and purpose, and hopefully along the way we can leave our mark on the insurance industry. From small acorns, and all that.

Read the full purpose pledge