SEAN Barrett Bloodstock Insurances Limited, established in 1987, is the largest Irish owned brokerage of its kind in this country. Having joined the family business straight after college, I worked my way up from an administrative role to become managing director.

SBB Insurances currently look after the needs of some of the leading names in the industry.

A lot of my wider family and my wife’s family are involved in the bloodstock business so horses run through our everyday lives. My grandfather was a National Hunt jockey and my wife’s grandfather was a trainer, so it’s definitely in the blood.

I have been going racing for as long as I can remember – my earliest memories I think are the playground in Fairyhouse [my favourite] and the baked potatoes in the Phoenix Park.

As I grew up, I continued to go racing at every opportunity but like most young lads I was interested in plenty of other sports. Throughout my teens, golf was the sport of choice and I had aspirations of making a career as a professional player.

In Transition Year in school, I did my work placement in the family business. This was the first time I had really seen how it all worked close up. I think that was a turning point for me, as I came away thinking I could have a future working in the insurance industry.

After my Leaving Certificate, I studied Sports Management in UCD, before joining SBB in an administrative role. I quickly found that I enjoyed the work. There were two businesses at that time and Aon, who are a multinational brokerage, later bought one in its entirety, as well as the majority shareholding in the second.

I subsequently worked within Aon for a few years which gave me great experience as I got to see the working of the larger corporate broker as well as having had the experience of a smaller niche firm.

Make the leap

In 2006, I decided to make the leap and with the help of my father, we effectively started from scratch after I bought back the majority shareholding from Aon. Thankfully, it is a decision I have never regretted, with the business growing from an initial staff of two to its current number of eight.

Although insuring horses is less than 20% of our overall business, it is very much a key market for us. We have always aspired to be the best broker to the bloodstock industry, meaning we cover everything involved within the industry and not just horses themselves.

We have a large stud farm scheme specifically designed for studs which caters for everything on the farm and we also do a lot of private client business. We provide the full suite of products required.

In terms of relevance of insurance, I think like everything, people are more conscious now of protecting their assets correctly whether it’s horses, property, motor, art or anything else and having a broker with specialist knowledge across various sectors is key. We have found that people are becoming increasingly aware of the importance of accurate cover and in an increasingly litigious society unfortunately, insurance is of major importance to any business or individual.

Our core value is to offer a personal and professional service which is paramount when it comes to insurance broking.

Unusual requests

I was asked if we have had strange or unusual requests to insure. I like to think there should be a rate for everything and we have had some very interesting risks over the years. From an interesting point of view, Bonus insurance is one that would spring to mind as it involves a lot of statistics which I enjoy. We also have a large classic and supercar scheme so we have been able to cover some pretty outstanding unique cars.

Having been exposed to horses and racing throughout my life, it was perhaps inevitable that I would venture into ownership. I have been involved in horse ownership in one shape or another since the age of about 24 and currently have interests in a few different racehorses and my brother-in-law and I have a broodmare together.

I find the breeding side exciting as you are involved from the beginning, trying to produce a foal that will hopefully make it to the track. Sean Barrett Bloodstock Insurances Limited sponsor a number of races in Ireland each year and we are proud to be one of the sponsors of the annual Irish Thoroughbred Breeders Association Awards.

Looking to the future, from a personal point of view, I would say I am most looking forward to being able to go on a holiday again with my family and in the long term watching my kids grow up and develop.

From a business point of view, I would like to continue to develop the business further and improve our offerings. We have always tried to have something new each year and I think that has helped the business and the team immensely over the years.

Covid has had an impact on everyone, both personally and professionally but I am a great believer in staying positive. The recent sales results show that no industry is immune but I think the bloodstock industry has shown incredible resilience and I am confident there are brighter times ahead.

From a business operations point of view, Covid was something that caused a difference as opposed to a major disruption I would say. We are thankfully in a good space and are indebted to our loyal client base.

We invested a lot in IT over the past few years and operate a paperless business. This has enabled us to continue operating the office pretty much as normal albeit from different locations, however it has restricted us being able to meet up with clients as much as we would like.

The one thing I am really looking forward to is being able to meet up with more people on a face-to-face basis and, of course, being able to go to the races.

John Barrett was in conversation with John O’Riordan