Companies are struggling to provide private medical insurance (PMI) for their employees with premium prices reportedly rising by around a fifth last year.
“Businesses with private medical have seen big and often unexpected [price] increases, so we have been navigating this with our clients,” said Adam Bell, business development manager at Wingate Benefit Solutions.
Reducing the risk of illness and injury, and, therefore, claims, plays a role here.
“This has brought the focus a lot more to preventive healthcare, so we are helping businesses get on the front-foot to manage those increases,” he added.
Another trend Bell is seeing involves employee choice and the resulting need to build specific benefit packages instead of offering a one-size-fits-all proposition.
Wingate’s work with companies in these areas helped it to be named as the Best Small Protection Advice Firm at The UK Health & Protection Awards 2025 in October.
Under the radar
Wingate is staffed by around 45 people working from one office in Caterham, Surrey, yet it competes against global brokerages.
“To be recognised by awards like this is positive for us,” Bell (pictured) said.
“It is something we can talk about to clients, something that justifies that what we are doing is positive.”
The award came at time when the firm is working to raise awareness of its brand. Wingate is more than 40-years-old, but new business predominately comes from client referrals.
Attending events and being more active on social media are ways the firm is trying to win new business.
“Our brand has gone under the radar,” Bell said. “If you speak to anyone in our industry or HR leaders who are not our clients, they probably would not have heard of Wingate.
“We are trying to do a lot more to promote our brand, so winning awards like this gives us a good story to tell clients and potential clients.”
Real situations
The secret to the Wingate’s success in this category lies in the case studies the firm submitted. Yet this has not just improved the firm’s chances of winning.
“Being able to talk about a real situation where we have supported clients is helpful, but I find it focuses the team throughout the year,” Bell said.
“We are saying to the guys, we want to apply for this award. We need good case studies as evidence of what we are doing with our clients.
“It means that people are more aware of what they have done for a client,” he added.
And one service they provide to clients, for example, is to step outside of the typical renewal process. Wingate’s team do not just go to market, report back to the client and then process the renewal.
“You have to step back from that,” Bell said. “What we have implemented over the past few years is that real consultative approach. Where every time we are talking to the client, we are trying to understand what is going on in their world.
“Taking that step back means we can make sure any recommendations we are making for specific renewals, or anything outside of that, align with what is going on in their world and help them as a business.”
The greatest year
As for what comes next, Bell is optimistic that this could be Wingate’s best year of growth so far.
This means not only winning new business but providing existing clients with additional coverage.
“We have always been good at retaining clients,” Bell said. “We have imbedded a new sales and marketing strategy this year. We are expecting it to be our best year yet.”
How to enter
Adviser entries to The UK Health & Protection Awards 2026 are open now.
The awards website includes the full list of categories and the criteria which advisers should address in their entries.
The closing date for entries is 22 May and these can be submitted through the awards website or by following this link.
Winners will be announced in a glittering gala ceremony at The Hilton Park Lane Hotel, London on 22 October.
Health & Protection will continue publishing hints and tips and stories from past winners to help you craft entries to best tell the story of your success.