Inez Cooper

It’s now been 30 years since I started William Russell. I began working in the attic of my tiny house in leafy Sutton Green. In fact, the attic was the bedroom of my 6-month-old son, William. He was my companion at work until I moved into the company’s first proper office.

It turns out there were quite a few expats in need of private healthcare, so the business grew quicker than I’d ever imagined possible. I took on customers in expat haunts such as Dubai and Jakarta, where the company now has offices. My brother, James, joined me in business, and we soon built connections with customers, brokers, hospitals, and insurers around the world. I’m delighted that we maintain many of those connections today.

In the past 30 years, the world has changed unimaginably.

The internet was still on the fringes of mainstream communications in the early 1990s, and we relied on the telephone, post, and fax to serve our members. Now, we’re making video calls, live-streaming webinars, and issuing policy documents digitally.

I can’t quite say where the time has gone – it’s just flown by. But some things never change; our independence, our passion for treating members with respect and fairness, and the enthusiasm of our staff; many of whom have been with the company for years.

Having started in an attic, we now have offices in Brussels, Jakarta, Dubai, and our headquarters are just outside London. We have a solid relationship with our global insurance partner, Allianz – one of the world’s largest financial services groups. My son, William, now works for the company and he’s involved in our ambitious plans for technology and digitalisation.