Ecclesiastical clears way for new schemes partnership

Clear Councils are chartered insurance brokers with over 50 years of experience providing comprehensive insurance cover to local councils; including public liability, employers' liability, officials' indemnity, legal expenses and property damage cover to over 2,000 councils in the UK.

They are partnered with the National Association of Local Councils (NALC) - the only recognised national membership organisation for local (community, neighbourhood, parish and town) councils and offer risk management resources to help councils identify any potential risks that may arise.

With many councillors and clerks of local authorities involved in charities, Clear Councils also offers charities and voluntary organisations insurance through Clear Insurance Management.

The brokerage provides cover for small and large charity organisations, including trustee indemnity, cyber insurance and buildings insurance.

The new partnership will commence in the new year (2025) and follows on from Ecclesiastical’s successful takeover of Clear Group owned Brokerbility’s Bricks and Mortar scheme in 2023.

Ecclesiastical has set an ambitious target to double the size of the business by 2026 and has identified the schemes space as an area for growth. Following a series of successful schemes wins in the last two years, this latest represents the first in a series of new schemes wins due to launch in 2025.

Chris Withers, Schemes and Partnerships Director at Ecclesiastical Insurance, said: “We’ve had some great successes at Ecclesiastical over the last couple of years, securing important new business for our schemes book, with ambitions for further growth into 2026.

“I’m pleased Clear Councils chose to work with us. We pride ourselves on building a mutually beneficial relationship between insurer and broker, providing high quality service in the process and Clear have shown they have that same commitment to quality that we have.

“Their values align to ours too – making this an ideal partnership. We’re excited to help them to enhance the service and offer they provide to parish, town councils and charities.”

This latest partnership with Clear is further evidence of Ecclesiastical’s underwriting capability, capacity and flexibility when working with specialist brokers who manage schemes.

Philip Williams, Chief Operating Officer for The Clear Group, said: “Aligned in our people first cultures, the choice to partner with Ecclesiastical felt natural.

“We are passionate and proud to be supporting Local Councils and Charities across the nation, and this relationship will see us go from strength to strength alongside a team of like-minded individuals.“

Find out more about Ecclesiastical's schemes offer.