Interview with George Skeath
We spoke to George Skeath about the work of managing client relationships in legal indemnity, the challenges of balancing expectation with underwriting reality and what keeps him engaged in a specialist corner of the market.
What does your role at CLSQ involve day to day?
Managing and growing a portfolio of clients. A lot of that is building relationships with existing legal professionals, brokers and onboarding new business, but it also means working closely with our underwriting and customer success teams so that we can deliver the right solution for complex legal indemnity risks. The variety is part of the appeal, no two days or cases look quite the same.
What brought you into this part of the market and what has kept you here?
The technical nature of legal indemnity insurance drew me in initially. It rewards you for understanding the detail. What has kept me here is the combination of that technical challenge with the relationship-driven side of the market.
What do you find most challenging about your role and how do you approach it?
Balancing client expectations with underwriting constraints. A client understandably wants a straightforward answer at pace and the underwriting position is not always straightforward. I approach it through honest communication and by working collaboratively with the underwriting team to find a practical solution.
What makes a strong relationship with your client?
Consistency, responsiveness and trust. Clients need to know that you will do what you say you will do and that you are adding value beyond simply placing policies. Being reliable over time and being useful at the moments that matter, is what turns a transactional relationship into a lasting one.
What is the most interesting client request you have worked on and why did it stand out?
A complex title defect involving unclear rights of access, where the standard solutions simply did not apply. It stood out because it required a genuinely bespoke approach and close collaboration between the client and our experienced underwriting team to get it over the line. It was a reminder of why our underwriting expertise matters, the cases that fall outside the template are often the ones where we can provide a solution.
What do you enjoy most about being part of the CLSQ team?
The collaborative culture and the chance to work on niche, complex risks alongside a team that is both knowledgeable and client focused. When a difficult matter needs a tailored answer, you are never working it out on your own everyone comes together. That is what makes CLSQ a great place to work, the people. Not to mention the daily banter with Robin over his life choices in supporting Leicester City Football Club!
