After several years of remotely supporting colleagues attending the (re)insurance meeting in Monte Carlo, this year we finally had the opportunity to attend in person for the first time. As people who need quiet time after work to recharge, we were a bit daunted by the prospect of numerous meetings and socialising. However, despite the…

It has taken me years to write this blog. Why, you ask? Because every time I’d sit down to write it, I would go on the biggest rant of my life. As someone who spends a lot of time drafting articles for clients and who also did a communications degree, I know ranting about your…

The Haggie Partners team was delighted to welcome an intern for a few weeks over the summer. Robin is the son of one of our former partners and in the following blog he compares his recent and historic experiences.   My first memory of Haggie Partners is that of a vast office boasting desk-forts and…

I was recently asked what surprised me about working in an agency after many years of in-house roles. It prompted me to reflect on the blog I wrote on this topic shortly after joining Haggie Partners, which is coming up to five years ago. Looking back at what I said then, much of it still…

In August 2007, social media changed forever thanks to Chris Messina, the man credited with “inventing” the #hashtag. Today, the hashtag is synonymous with social media. All one needs to do is log into X (formerly known as Twitter – apologies, but we still need to say that) and find a daily list of popular…

If modern politics and the culture wars have taught us anything it’s that words and the way we talk about things really matter. Talking about autism is complicated. We are using a catch-all term to describe a spectrum of individuals from Albert Einstein to those who are non-verbal, all with their own strengths and abilities,…

I was taken aback by how sad I was to read the news that the Body Shop has called in administrators. Without wishing to generalise too much, I suspect many women of a similar age might sympathise. The overwhelming scent of White Musk in school changing rooms, the heady hit of Dewberry bath pearls, the…

Officially beginning with the Chinese Lunar New Year on 10th February, 2024 is the year of the dragon. Unlike in the West, where stories typically feature terrifying monsters who eat children, terrorise villages and have to be destroyed by chivalrous knights, in Asian folklore dragons are usually honoured and respected for their strength and courage.…

This isn’t the year for you if you are an election-phobe. More than half of the world’s population, some four billion people, are participating in elections in 40 countries this year with the US, Russia, India, the European Parliament, the UK, South Africa and a host of others going to the polls. The results will…

During Twixmas, my home underwent a transformation into a battleground of board games and toys as my two small children happily explored their new presents. In the midst of all the festive chaos, I found myself pondering life’s pressing mysteries – from the elusive location of where my wife had hidden the nice boxes of…

On 5 December our office Christmas tree arrived: green and healthy with an infectious lease of festive life. Our tree’s entrance brought excitement that Christmas was just around the corner. Albeit a little compact and lacking impact, we loved it nonetheless. Our tree stood with pride in the centre of the office, beautifully decorated and…

The only guidance I ever received on affairs of sex, was a copy of Manwatching by Desmond Morris left on my bedside table, and the insistence from my three elder brothers that I should ask my mother why an octopus has eight testicles. The rest was garnered from top-shelf magazines, dodgy films on Channel 4,…

The World Health Organisation has set the theme this year as ‘Mental health is a universal human right‘. What does this mean to you? As we reflect on our lifetime if we are honest there have been moments when we would not have wanted to pry when others look in pain, or be too fearful…

My go-to literature for the aeroplane and sun-lounger tends to be true crime and thrillers.  In the evenings and when commuting I lean towards anything from the Victorian era or self-development.  I have a keen interest in helping others become the best version of themselves, so the tools and techniques I can gather from respected…

It was the question I was dreading. I was halfway through a video call with the wonderful Emma Brian, the Haggie Partners HR manager, and somehow I thought I had managed to avoid making a fool of myself, just about. I really wanted this internship. Yet this question seemed inescapable. I muttered the truth, which…

Nestled on a leafy green in an area that is constantly struggling to decide if it is Hackney or Islington is the UK’s oldest terraced house. A nice if inconsequential fact. The kind you’re not exactly better off for knowing but one you might be somewhat pleased to find out from the little blue plaque…

For many years, my dad has had the pleasure of working at Haggie Partners and I always knew he really enjoyed it, but I have never fully understood what he actually does for five days a week to pay for my barbecue steak at the weekend. This week I had the opportunity to be the…

It’s 37 years since I turned up in EC3 for my first day as a fresh-faced insurance broker. Barring short working stints broking in New York and Singapore in the 90s, I’ve been here ever since. I spent about 15 years as a broker and while I never moved company, my first employer, Leslie and…