Kerr Group Insurance
Celebrating 25 years with SSP
Roland Kerr, Director
SSP have maintained their supportiveness over the last 25 years. Everyone we deal with is very capable and prepared to take on board and address any of our business challenges.
Celebrating 25 years with SSP
Roland Kerr, Director
SSP have maintained their supportiveness over the last 25 years. Everyone we deal with is very capable and prepared to take on board and address any of our business challenges.
Originally when making the decision to implement the SSP system for Kerr Group we travelled across to Halifax to meet what was then the North Park team. We also visited 3 other software houses as potential suppliers. Our decision was made in 1994 when we saw the fresh approach to solving broker challenges with the new North Park software offering which would become SSP Electra. We could see SSP were both passionate about the quality of their product and were also people we would be comfortable dealing with.
When we went live in 1995, we were a single site business but expanded almost immediately on our new system with a further “greenfield” site. This was our first challenge of introducing a branch and maintaining single system connectivity. Thanks to the help of SSP, we successfully implemented a wide area network, utilising what was at the time fairly advanced technology on a tight budget. For a small business such as ours 25 years ago this was quite an achievement and a true enabler for our business. It was clear that SSP had a leading-edge product which continued to develop very quickly.
In 1999, we acquired 2 additional offices and we have subsequently now expanded to 9 branches. It was the relative ease with which those offices were integrated and the staff were quickly settled into the SSP system which facilitated the expansion of our business. This year, we are pleased to be celebrating our 25th anniversary of working with the software house!
We are a community-based broker. It is important for us to be in the community – but it is also possible to do so much more for individual customers by working across a range of locations, giving us more flexibility “virtually” and still be able to deliver a local service. SSP has maintained its supportiveness over the years. Some of the individuals within teams may have changed over time, but there are a few who have been with us from the very beginning. Everyone we deal with is very capable and prepared to take on board and address any of our business challenges.
No doubt SSP Broking will build on the SSP legacy systems and become the next generation of software solutions for brokers.
Being with SSP for such a long period of time provides us with added benefits. Not only do we have excellent established relationships with the SSP team but we also know our way round the system and leverage the many functionalities for our specific business needs and requirements.
The system is particularly strong on the accounting side, which is fundamental to any business and provides a level of confidence we have been able to rely on over the years. No doubt SSP Broking will build on the SSP legacy systems and become the next generation of software solutions for brokers.
I have no hesitation in recommending SSP as software solutions partners based on our experience with the people involved and the software solution provided as both of our businesses continue to grow and evolve.
Roland Kerr
Director | Kerr Group Insurance
Kerr Group Insurance was founded by William Kerr senior in 1929 and is now a third-generation family-run business with nine community-based branches across Northern Ireland. The business model is providing personalised professional advice and service locally from expertise spread across the province. Having computerised in the 1980s, they moved to the original Electra system in 1995.
Kerr Group has a strong management team with many years of experience gained from various positions across the industry. The business is a member of the British Insurance Brokers Association and is an equal opportunity employer.
Our continued success has been due to our creating value to customers by utilising our expertise within the insurance markets and by expanding our community throughout Northern Ireland.