In today’s commercial insurance market, complexity is no longer the exception, it’s the rule. Businesses are operating in more volatile environments, juggling technologies and exposures that didn’t exist five years ago. But many insurers, and their policy wordings, haven’t kept pace.
“Standard wordings just aren’t fit for purpose in many areas now,” said Martin Castleton (pictured), founder of Aureum Insurance. “Insurers are years behind reality.”
For Castleton, who launched his independent brokerage in July 2024, that disconnect is creating opportunity, and demanding more of brokers. Where once bespoke coverage was seen as a specialist niche, it’s quickly becoming the default for anyone dealing with real-world risk.
Castleton points to construction insurance as a clear case where standard products now fall short. Many contractors, he said, are forced to “buy back” exclusions that render the policy unfit for use.
“Insurers are trying to de-risk by narrowing their appetite, but that doesn’t align with what most contractors actually need.”
The same applies in fast-evolving areas like electric vehicles. Property underwriters, for instance, may not realise that basement car parks now house EV chargers, or understand the risks involved. Castleton describes this as a critical blind spot.
He attributes this gap to poor communication within insurer organisations and sometimes a worrying lack of technical awareness.
For many mid-sized risks, SME e-trade policies still hold up. But Castleton believes there’s rarely such a thing as a truly standard commercial placement.
Most clients require at least some tailoring, whether in wording, limits, or structure, and good brokers have always provided that. The difference today is that more risks now sit outside the comfortable core of insurer appetite.
“There’s always an element of bespoke, an element of creating something that’s unique,” Castleton said. “Probably 99% is standard, and then the broker will add the little bit that they need. But I think that’s always been the case.”
For brokers, the growing need for bespoke risk solutions comes with a choice: tailor properly or risk leaving clients exposed. Castleton believes independent brokers are better positioned to deliver, not because they work harder, but because they work more personally.
“Any good broker has always done this. They should always be doing this,” he said. “The challenge is with the bigger brokers that are trying to standardise everything; that’s where the risk lies.”
In contrast, local independents offer continuity and knowledge. Castleton shares the story of a client who had four account executives in five years, i s a pattern he believes is endemic to larger firms, especially those backed by private equity.
“Clients don’t want to have the same conversation year on year, explaining their business inside out every time because there’s always somebody different. Nobody wants that.”
Clients spending tens of thousands of pounds a year on insurance can still find themselves underinsured, only discovering gaps when a claim is declined. Castleton finds it baffling. But for independents who prioritise continuity and client understanding, that failure is creating more opportunity than ever.
While “bespoke” is fast becoming a marketing term, Castleton warns against using it as empty branding. True tailoring isn’t flashy, it’s built from dialogue, attention, and knowledge.
“True bespoke work comes from knowing your clients, understanding your clients, and having those conversations,” he said. “Sometimes I get asked things and I’ll say, ‘I don’t know, let’s look at it.’ That’s how you build the right solution.”
In his view, bespoke broking shouldn’t need a label at all. “I don’t think it should be called ‘bespoke specialist brokers.’ It should just be good broking.”
A return to fundamentals
As insurers pull back and exposures evolve, Castleton sees a return to the basics: sit with your clients, understand their operations, ask smarter questions, and build cover that actually protects them.
“That relationship and knowing that business is the difference between having proper coverage and not having proper coverage,” he said. “It’s very basic: go and see your clients and spend some time with [them].”
That hands-on approach may not be scalable, but for many commercial clients, it’s the only way they’ll get the cover they truly need. And for independent brokers willing to put in the time, it’s a chance to reclaim ground lost to consolidation and commoditisation.
