Joshua Scutts
Follow Joshua on LinkedIn and Shielded Insurance.
Tell us about yourself and your business
I love to solve problems. Throughout my career, I have been driven by my intellectual curiosity to find answers and create innovative projects. Whether it’s finding new ideas for lead generation or building new technologies to make my businesses thrive, I’ve been able to quickly uncover staff and customers’ pain points and identify a strategic solution.
Principal of Shielded Insurance Brokers & Founder of CoverMy
What was the journey that brought you to your current role?
Since a young age, I’ve always been drawn to computers and the web. From pulling apart and rebuilding my dad’s computer (intel 386), fulfilling the hunger to build websites & monetize them, and learning programming languages in my free time.
As life progressed I always took a technological approach in my working career which mostly consisted of sales and management roles.
When working for a direct insurer there was a light bulb moment to bring a new approach to the insurance broking market. 6 years on, Shielded Insurance Brokers is viewed as a top brokerage in Australia and I’ve been able to launch a new platform CoverMy, which delivers a faster, easier customer experience for buying insurance and gives more opportunities to brokers.
Being able to understand technology, online marketing, and sales/customer experience all together has been an incredible edge in my journey.
What’s behind your success?
There’s no single key to success, but hard work, determination, and resilience are important qualities that have no doubt been major factors.
The ability to stay focused, motivated, and have clear goals so you know what to do and how to achieve them also plays a big part.
Finally, surrounding myself with like-minded and go-getters has enabled us to grow a team of 50+ strong.
What’s a mistake you’ve made that you’ll never make again?
Being so involved in the day-to-day operation and goal that you forget about third party business relationships and how they play a critical role in ensuring success.
What’s the one secret about your field or industry you wish everyone knew?
That it is constantly changing and evolving. What may have been considered best practices a few years ago may no longer be relevant today. It is important to stay up-to-date on the latest trends and developments in order to be successful.
Customers are demanding more and more and are wanting easier methods to transact.
What are your predictions for the industry for the next few years?
The insurance industry will continue to grow. This growth will be driven by the increasing demand for insurance products and the need for new and innovative products to meet the needs of consumers.
More build your own policies rather than a one size fits all approach as premiums continue to rise.
This will also mean more opportunities for insurance brokers to build lasting relationships with their clients and to show their value.
What’s your main goal for the year ahead?
Continue to work hard and improve my skillset.
More automation to strengthen compliance, processes and enable our team to deliver an even better customer experience.
Working with other business owners to share ideas and create innovative solutions and build lasting relationships
Follow Joshua on LinkedIn and Shielded Insurance.
