First established back in 1988, Coplus is renowned for its claims handling expertise and its commitment to developing high quality ancillary insurance products. The company is one of the five original handl Group brands, and their Your Space platform is a prime example of our people + tech proposition.
But while Coplus’ industry reputation has always been positive and well deserved, the internal story has a few more twists and turns. And while Coplus’ future is certain and its managers committed, the company’s story could’ve turned out differently but for an important decision made back in 2014.
Coplus Managing Director James Blyth has been with the company since January 2000. When he joined the company as a general manager, Coplus’ main goal was stability.
The original owner was managing affairs remotely after emigrating to Australia, and new regulations coming into effect were proving difficult to navigate at a distance. James explains:
“I’ve been here through a few phases of the business. Back in the 2000s, our then owner was living in Australia. He had no connections to the FCA, there was little understanding of how we had to work in this new regulatory framework, and everything became a struggle.”
Coplus’ owners handed the reigns to a team that wasn’t well equipped to help the company face the challenges of a changing regulatory framework and with little financial investment, forward momentum had all but stopped. James continues:
“By 2014, I’d been there about 15 years. I was ready to leave. My choices seemed to be to sit and stagnate, or to look for the next challenge. Then everything changed.”
In 2014, handl Group was making its first acquisitions – creating a family of five brands that could work together and help each other grow. With Speed Medical already on board, there seemed an obvious candidate for early acquisition:
“We had a relationship with Speed Medical. We were handling around 200,000 motor claims, and there was a definite synergy there. We’d identify the PI claims, and Speed could deal with the medical and rehabilitation elements.”
Collaboration across the handl Group portfolio is now one of our five acquisition criteria. That all stems back to the way that Coplus and Speed Medical could operate together.
Another of our modern criteria is looking for companies with a leadership group that boasted the right talent and commitment. James didn’t know it yet, but that didn’t mean the company’s existing leadership. It would mean him.
“From day one, handl Group didn’t decide they were bringing in a load of new people to run the business. They wanted to see what they had, so they got everyone around a table, looked at the different departments and saw a gap for someone who knew the business and could help guide it.”
“I put my hand up. The rest, I guess, is history.”
75% of the existing staff would remain in place under a new-look leadership team, bolstered by support from handl Group itself and featuring James as an Operations Director.
Over the next few years, Coplus thrived as one of the original handl brands, changing direction to adapt to changing legislation and introduce new products.
And then everything came to a shuddering halt. Covid 19.
With Coplus forecasting significant profits in the 2023/2024 financial year, and Covid 19 firmly in the rear view mirror for most businesses, it’s easy to gloss over how challenging the pandemic was for many industries. Including one you might not expect – insurance.
“We really relied on cars being on the road. No cars, no accidents, no claims. 80% of our turnover just went overnight. It felt like we’d had five good years and now, here it was, the end of the road.”
It wasn’t. Coplus’ MD left and James stepped in, looking to work closely with handl Group’s leadership to safeguard livelihoods and help the business to come through the pandemic in once piece.
“[handl MD] Graham Pulford’s support was really invaluable. We sat down and he asked me straight. Is this a business that can move forward? I said yes, but not without change. So we reframed Coplus.”
“While that happened, handl literally paid people’s mortgages.”
With support from the group safeguarding 200 jobs, James and his team used the time to turn Coplus from a claims handler into primarily an ancillary product and claims provider. 80% of the business’ revenue would come from products, and Coplus grew from selling one million units per year to five million.
A loss became stability, which became profit. Now, Coplus’ future looks even brighter than it did in 2014.
As someone who’d been with Coplus since before the acquisition, James is certain the business wouldn’t be here if not for handl’s input.
“I was worried about the business going on, about all those people as well as myself. And without handl, there’d have been a huge burden on my shoulders. But now, the future looks good. It’s real phoenix from the flames stuff, and that’s down to the trust and support from the group and the relationships we’ve built.”
With the pandemic behind us, and Coplus back to making a healthy profit, the story of one of our original brands is proof that no matter what happens, when you partner with handl Group your growth really is our goal.