There is a number on our books that we are quietly proud of. Our oldest policies have been in place for 53 years. Barker turned 53 this year. Which means some of our clients have been with us since the very beginning, in 1973.
They are not alone. More than 700 of the policies we look after have been in place for over 20 years. Over 300 client relationships have passed the 30-year mark.
In addition, three members of the Barker team are celebrating their own milestones, each in a different corner of the business. Together with a fourth familiar face, they have 83 years of Barker service between them. We asked them a few questions. Some of the answers surprised even us.
Louise Forsyth | Personal Lines | 20 years
Louise has been at Barker for two decades, which she points out is half her life so far. Her role stretches well beyond looking after her clients. She works across communications and reporting, hosts our blood drives, and serves as the office’s photographer and self-appointed “Minister of Fun”.
This 20 year milestone is not her only highlight this year. Her most recent blood drive drew Barker’s highest donor turnout yet, and she completed her second Oxpecker 21km trail run alongside her partner, John.
The strangest things she has insured in 20 years? A set of false teeth, and a container of ashes. The container, to be fair, was encrusted with diamonds.
Most used phrase at work: “Quite Right”
Current obsession: finding recipes online and perfecting them, , and her daily word puzzles.
Angela Somerville | Claims | 20 years
Angela has spent 20 years walking clients through claims, the moments when insurance stops being paperwork and starts being personal. These days she does it from King Island, a windswept dot between mainland Australia and Tasmania, where she was granted permanent residence in May. Different time zone. Same Angela.
Her year so far includes her first Festival of King Island and showing her son around the island she now calls her paradise.
Her funniest claim in two decades involves a client’s car, a neighbour’s overly affectionate bull, and a claim form that arrived complete with a hand-drawn sketch of the culprit in action. We assessed the claim. We framed the memory.
Most used phrase at work: “Cool bananas.” Current obsession: her greyhound Peggy, also known as Lemon Rum.
Matthew Cressell | Commercial | 10 years
Ten years in, Matthew still says no two days are the same. One day it is a new business finding its feet, the next it is an established one navigating change. He loves the variety, the problem-solving, and the relationships that grow along the way.
His year tested that patience closer to home. An ankle operation kept his leg strictly elevated for three weeks, though it did not keep him from his clients, whom he continued serving remotely. It also did not stop a family week in the bush, on crutches, watching his three-year-old take in every animal and tree from the game viewer, hair in the wind. In between, his youngest daughter took her first steps and celebrated her first birthday.
Most used phrase at work: “Lekker.”
The strangest thing he has insured: a Trackman golf launch monitor, valued at R500 000.
Current obsession: DIY projects around the house.
Lloyd Barker | Technology | 33 years
Thirty-three years ago Lloyd joined as a personal lines consultant. Today he heads up Barker’s technology, including the WhatsApp platform we are carefully building for clients, while still keeping a hand in personal lines. His view on three decades of change is simple. No two days are ever the same, and there are always new things to learn. What has stayed with him most is the people, both colleagues and clients, and everything he has picked up from them along the way.
This year brought a run of proud, active milestones. He completed his 20th Sani2c mountain bike event alongside his son Luke, spent five days on the Pondo Trail creating memories with his family, and finished his 10th Two Oceans Ultra Marathon, sharing the experience with the people closest to him.
Most used phrase at work: “Really.”
Current obsession: staying active and family time, with the odd party thrown in for singing and dancing.
The thread that ties it together… A client who stays for 40 years and a consultant who stays for 20 are two halves of the same story. People do not stay where they are treated like a number. They stay where they are known. So here is to the clients who have trusted us across generations, and to the people who have earned that trust one call, one claim, and one conversation at a time.
The people who answer are not only the ones you see. One partner has been answering for 25 years.
“Attention is the rarest and purest form of generosity.” – Simone Weill
It is a fitting way to describe Global Choices, the partner behind Barker Assist. Global Choices is a 24-hour emergency assistance and value added claims company, the team on the other end of the line when a client needs a tow truck at midnight, a locksmith after a break-in, or help getting a geyser claim moving.
This year they mark 25 years in that business. Founder (and Barker client) Wimpie Van Der Merwe built it on a simple idea: understand what a client needs before they have to ask. Twenty-five years on, that is still what happens every time a Barker client calls. A partner worth celebrating in a year we are celebrating loyalty ourselves.
