Summary
Sportsguard is a specialist UK sports insurance broker operating across grassroots football, governing bodies, representative teams, clubs, and sports organisations nationwide.
Trading under the Sportsguard brand, the business has grown steadily since the mid-1990s and today manages approximately £3m in Gross Written Premium across a highly specialised niche.
The brokerage works with an unusually broad range of clients - from local teams paying premiums of only a few pounds, through to governing bodies and schemes with premiums worth hundreds of thousands.
Richard Culley, one of five working directors and co-owners of the business, oversees governing body relationships, operational processes, software implementation, and day-to-day brokerage operations. He described joining BrokerCentral as:
“future-proofing our business.”
The Challenge
Prior to implementing BrokerCentral, Sportsguard relied heavily on manual systems and disconnected processes.
The business operated primarily using:
Microsoft Excel
Word documents
Microsoft Access databases
Manual insurer presentations and reconciliations
While functional, these processes created increasing operational strain as the business evolved.
One key challenge was the brokerage’s ability to efficiently access multiple insurance markets.
As Richard explains:
“We were very linear in where we were placing business.”
Presenting risks to insurers was time-consuming and administrative processes, particularly reconciliations and delegated authority reporting, required significant manual work.
The business also needed greater flexibility around remote working, audit visibility, and operational scalability.
Exploring the Market
Sportsguard explored several broker management systems before choosing BrokerCentral.
These included:
Acturis
Open GI
PolicyFlow
Durell
Richard trialled multiple platforms but found many of them overly rigid, outdated, or unsuitable for the way specialist scheme brokers operate.
“Some of the systems we looked at felt like stepping back into the past.”
“Everything felt like a workaround, which added time.”
One major concern was that traditional enterprise systems often required excessive administration for relatively small-premium policies.
“Some of our premiums are £16. I don’t want to spend an hour working on a job for that kind of premium.”
While capacity providers encouraged the business toward larger established platforms, Richard already knew those systems would not suit Sportsguard’s workflow or niche structure.
Why BrokerCentral?
BrokerCentral originally came onto Richard’s radar through a Google search for broker software several years earlier.
At the time, Sportsguard still required additional bespoke functionality for their schemes business. After reconnecting with the BrokerCentral team around 2025, conversations with Nick and the development team led to custom functionality being built specifically around their workflow requirements.
That flexibility became a major differentiator.
“We needed something quite bespoke.”
“The communication back and forwards with Nick and David was very good.”
BrokerCentral’s willingness to adapt, rather than forcing brokers into rigid processes, stood out immediately.
Richard described many other systems as being built around insurers, MGAs, or legacy processes, whereas BrokerCentral felt designed around brokers themselves.
“Broker Central is designed with the brokers first and foremost.”
Implementation & Onboarding
Despite managing approximately £3m GWP, Sportsguard’s client base is relatively concentrated at around 1,000 clients.
Rather than attempting a full historical migration immediately, the business took a phased onboarding approach:
New business and renewals were handled through BrokerCentral
Existing data was gradually migrated over time
Teams transitioned organically as policies renewed
The onboarding experience itself was described as smooth and highly responsive.
“It’s been a doddle really.”
Richard highlighted the accessibility of the BrokerCentral team throughout implementation.
“If there have been any issues, which there’s been very few of, I have just put it into the chat and typically they’re resolved within hours, not days.”
“Messages are responded to within minutes, not hours.”
The gradual rollout also helped reduce disruption internally while allowing staff to become comfortable with the system naturally.
Adoption Across the Team
One recurring theme throughout the conversation was how intuitive the system felt for staff.
Richard explained that very few support questions were raised internally after implementation because the workflows simply made sense.
“The process seems logical. It’s like someone thought about those stepping stones for each thing.”
“It works.”
While there were some small areas identified for future improvement, such as MTA workflows, Richard emphasised that feedback was always listened to and acted upon quickly.
“The attitude has always been: we don’t want workarounds, we want to do it right.”
The Impact
Since implementing BrokerCentral, Sportsguard has seen significant operational improvements across the business.
Increased Efficiency:
Information is entered once and reused across multiple workflows
Faster insurer presentations with the ability to approach multiple insurers simultaneously
Reduced manual preparation and duplication of work
Significantly improved turnaround times
“That is a massive amount of time saved.”
Richard also noted that faster turnaround times are having a direct impact on conversions:
“We’re getting the information out and back quicker, so there’s less time for insureds to shop around.”
Improved Client Service:
Quotes, policy documents, and updates are delivered much faster than before
Reduced delays in issuing documentation
Faster, more responsive communication with clients
“Rather than waiting an hour or two to issue documents, we’re clicking two buttons and it’s done.”
Improved Financial Visibility & Cash Flow:
Continuous reporting instead of quarterly reconciliations
Faster insurer payments and improved cash flow
Real-time visibility of commissions and fees
“We are getting paid considerably quicker.”
“We are able to see our commissions and fees just like clicking our fingers.”
Richard highlighted several efficiencies that have had a major impact on day-to-day operations:
Integrated card payments
Drag-and-drop document handling
Editable email templates
Centralised client records
Favourite Feature
Drag-and-Drop Document Workflow
One standout feature was BrokerCentral’s document workflow:
“We just drag the policy documents out of Outlook, drop them onto the client email, and it resolves them all automatically. It saves us a huge amount of time and removes manual steps from our process.”
Competitive Advantage & Future Growth
BrokerCentral is helping the business stay competitive while preparing for the future:
Reduced reliance on manual processes
Improved ability to meet increasing regulatory demands
Greater scalability without adding operational burden
“There is certainly a danger of being left behind. As regulation gets more and more and the expectations on brokers are higher than ever, we do have to make sure we don’t fall behind. I feel like we’re future-proofing our business.”
“Other systems feel like: ‘this works today’ — but there’s very little scope for it to work tomorrow.”
Looking Ahead
With BrokerCentral in place, the business is now able to expand into areas that were previously too administration-heavy:
Growth in smaller-premium schemes
Improved operational scalability
Ability to service more clients efficiently
“I can see the benefits to our business for using Broker Central… and I would definitely recommend Broker Central.”
Conclusion
BrokerCentral has enabled significant improvements in efficiency, client service, and financial visibility, while positioning the business for future growth. By reducing manual processes and streamlining workflows, it provides a modern solution for brokers looking to stay competitive in an evolving market.