Our Core Purpose is to:
- Meet the varying needs of individual Health and Well-Being Professionals through the provision of quality guidance, service, support and a range of specially developed Insurance that aims to reduce or remove any confusion about this aspect of their professional lives.
- Provide a quality consultancy resource and a customised range of Affinity Group Insurance, for Health, Well-Being, Fitness, Beauty and other Professional Organisations, Professional Associations, Training Bodies, Not-for-Profit Companies and other Commercial Entities.
- Offer a range of non-specialist Insurance covers to our clients whether these be individuals, or corporate entities.
Our Vision is to ethically, fairly, sympathetically and efficiently:
- Continue improving and developing as a pre-eminent provider of insurance to Health, Well-Being, Fitness and Beauty Professionals, their businesses and other client sectors.
- Achieve the above through innovation, support, quality service and client satisfaction.
- Be a force for good wherever possible.
Our Values:
Our values flow from our Core Purpose and Vision. Balens is a family company, and key to this is the value of treating our Team Members and clients as valuable members of our extended ‘family’, with warmth and support following the mantra of:
"Treat others the way you wish to be treated yourself"
What does this mean in practice?
We operate with honesty and integrity. We preserve traditional professional values, maintain confidential boundaries and embrace flexible and progressive attitudes.
We are a knowledge based business with care at our heart. Care for our clients, business partners, suppliers and all Team Members.
We are a values inspired, rather than profit driven company. An ethical and principled firm, we are pulled by growth, with the belief that it is our job to ‘Care for the Carers’ our clients, who through their work within the health and well-being, fitness, beauty and not-for-profit markets, care for their own clients in return.
We believe the insurance policies we offer are among the best on the market and wish to ensure that our clients receive the best customer service. We do not hard sell or set specific sales targets but instead invest in staff training and development, including induction, on the job training, online training platforms, Chartered Insurance Institute (CII) qualifications and other ongoing training.
We offer value-added services to our clients - there are usually extra features in the Insurances we offer and we do not charge for any hidden extras, for mid-term changes or credit card transactions. Our policies are designed with our clients in mind, based on their needs and requirements, rather than our own.
We are loyal to clients and do not engage in sharp practice. We will challenge Insurers on behalf of our clients when necessary and act as their advocate.
We have clear service standards that ensure clients are treated appropriately and aim to always meet and exceed these.
We offer a Personal Approach in these days of growing impersonality and aim to offer a friendly, listening approach to our clients' needs. Despite the high number of clients we have, each are given the individual service and attention they require.
Quality Insurance products, excellent customer service and effective claims handling continue to be the foundation stones on which our business has been built.
We believe in using technology to assist us with our business, moving to Computer-based systems as early as 1982 and we continue to invest in updating systems and processes to support our clients and staff alike.
We believe in ‘giving back’, and support many local and national charities, plus deserving causes in the Natural Health Sector annually through our panel at “Balens Giving”. Our Team Members participate in fund raising activities which are also supported by Balens.
We believe in Education, and also ‘give back’ via our annual CPD Event for clients at heavily subsidised rates, offering unrestricted recordings of lectures on our website for those who are unable to attend in person.
We understand that we’re all human and thus mistakes will inevitably happen. We acknowledge that they can have an impact upon other Team Members and clients alike, thus where performance improvement requirements are identified, these will be investigated and appropriate actions put into place to ensure that we support performance improvements, using our mistakes as learning opportunities.
We will deal with Complaints promptly, fairly and with goodwill. Clients will not be placed at a disadvantage by any error made by a Team Member of Balens in accordance with the Financial Conduct Authority’s requirements for Treating Customers Fairly.
We understand that Team Members will be slower at tasks when in training or when dealing with complex or difficult issues and thus additional time will be given for this.
We believe in investing in our Team Members, encouraging them to progress within our business to new roles, and care about their health and well-being.
We have a zero tolerance approach to harassment, expecting that all work colleagues and clients will treat Team Members with courtesy at all times.
We are an equal opportunities employer and do not discriminate on the grounds of race, colour, age (protected characteristics), gender, sexual orientation, marital status, religion or belief systems, nor any form of disability.
We work as a team mutually supporting one another, yet staff members have individual specialities to cover clients' requirements in depth.
And finally, we spend a large portion of our day at work, and believe this should be a relaxed, pleasant and enjoyable experience, which is also challenging and rewarding, ensuring happy and satisfied clients and Team Members. We may not always achieve this aim, but we continue to strive towards it.