SJL Insurance Services Turn 20 Years Old Today

Today marks SJL’s 20th birthday of when SJL Insurance Services was established. 01/09/01 was a great day as England also beat Germany 5-1 at football!

Commenting on our anniversary our Founder and CEO Simon John Lancaster said: “I’d never considered starting my own business, until I was unemployed at the age of 23, having been made redundant and struggling to find a job at a company that appealed to me. I had a light bulb moment when I thought I could set something up myself that was better than the companies that I was being presented with. I was awarded a £500 grant from the local chamber of commerce which enabled me to get a PC, desk and chair to go in Mum and Dad’s spare bedroom and I was away.

“As part of obtaining the grant I had to go on a one-week business start-up course and we had to take turns in outlining our business plan. Most were modest but admirable sole trader ideas such as cake baking, gardening etc. When it got to my turn, I sat there wearing my flip flops and told them I wanted to build an international insurance brokerage, employing over 50 people and turning over millions of pounds – they all laughed. I started work the next Monday with literally a blank sheet of paper and a blank PC screen. I faced challenge after challenge, and knockback after knockback but with perseverance things slowly began to work. The rest, as they say, is history.