My takeaway – and I wrote this to Natalie – was that despite the struggles going on in the health insurance sector, my experience as a client was 100% satisfactory. They [William Russell] honored all aspects of the agreement with efficiency, courtesy, and even urgency when needed.  I paid [the hospital] my excess figure and walked away.

An email from a client in Singapore to his broker.

I have always been impressed by the speed with which claims are settled and the transparency with which you process them.

I would particularly like to thank Jessie Thien for her assistance with my recent claim. It has taken months to settle (due to the hospital involved) and Jessie has been helpful and friendly the entire time, not to mention incredibly patient.

Other companies may have ignored my claim given the time it took to get the documentation in, but Jessie and William Russell have been fantastic.

Taken from a claims survey.

Our staff have been covered for health and life assurance through William Russell since our formation in 1994. At that time we examined schemes from around 15 providers before choosing your firm.

Since that time we have had a number of occasions in which we have had to call on your policy including some major incidents and medical problems both in China and in the UK.

Your response on each and every occasion has been immediate and robust. Your staff have shown sympathy and understanding in difficult circumstances, we have been able to secure medical advice by phone whatever the time of day or night wherever we have called from, and we have been able to receive treatment from the best hospitals and the best consultants, in every case so far in accordance with our choice

Every few years we have considered alternatives but your service record has on each such occasion led to us preferring to continue with a trusted partner.

My own consultant volunteered to me recently that our insurer is one of the best he has had to deal with. He said you, quite rightly, interrogate him on the nature and reasons for the treatment but once satisfied on that you settle quickly and without quibble. He said that is quite unusual in today's market.

That is exactly what we want to pay our premiums to secure, and for the past 16 years you have been delivering on your commitments.

An email from Geoff Mills, Director, Sino Infrastructure Partnership Ltd.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank you for the outstanding service you provided through the [10] years, and specially your personal care and genuine interest in a client and his family. William-Russell should be very proud of you.

An email from a client whose group health insurance was terminated due to his retirement.