A different kind of business

Many businesses say they’re different but Ecclesiastical really is. We believe it’s possible to do business differently and build a powerful movement for good across society.

We are part of Benefact Group, a financial services group that exists to give its profits to charity – you won’t find anyone else with a charitable commitment that runs right to its core.

Our charitable purpose drives our strategic goal of being the most trusted insurer in our chosen markets. It shapes the way we do business, particularly our focus on doing the right thing for our customers and business partners.

As part of the Benefact Group, we give millions of pounds to thousands of charities every year. We’re a top company donor¹ and have given over £100m in over 10,000 donations since 2016. We believe in doing business better because we can create a real impact in the world and the more successful we are, the more we can give to good causes.

We put giving in the hands of our people and partners. MyGiving enables every employee to give small grants to causes they care about and we support this with volunteering and doubling fundraising and payroll giving. We look for opportunities to involve our partners and supporters in our giving initiatives – whether it’s nominating charities in the Movement for Good awards or giving to the causes our brokers care about through our Closer to You campaign.

Ecclesiastical has been protecting the nation’s heritage for over 135 years, and are known for insuring over half of the Grade I listed properties in England and Wales, and are involved with protecting 10 of the UK’s World Heritage sites. We insure modern treasures too, and many unique places that could become the listed buildings and heritage icons of the future.

As part of our commitment to the sector, we’re investing in skills that will help preserve our nation’s heritage. Since 2004 Ecclesiastical has donated over £350,000 to University College London (UCL) to support students studying the Sustainable Heritage MSc, with a further £72,500 pledged to support the development of heritage leaders.

We’ve also pledged £225,000 to The Prince’s Foundation over three years to enable 36 students to take part in the charity’s Building Arts Programme. Around 90% start careers in craft skills immediately after completing the course.

Ecclesiastical is a community made up of people with different backgrounds, abilities, perspectives, beliefs and interests. We want everyone to feel a genuine sense of belonging and to know that we are all valued and included.

The Best Companies assessment tells us we are a company demonstrating outstanding levels of employee engagement. We achieve this by supporting wellbeing, development, growth and flexibility. We also demand high standards of our partners and suppliers and achieve this by setting standards of conduct, fair payment terms and respecting human rights.

Ecclesiastical continues to be a founding and supportive signatory to the Women in Finance Charter and publishes gender pay reporting. We’re committed to being a business where everyone can belong.

We’re proud of doing the right thing, but it’s great when it’s affirmed with industry standards and awards. We’re a Living Wage Employer and a supporter of the ABI’s Making Flexible Work Charter.

We believe in running our business in a sustainable way to tackle climate change and encourage others to do more. That’s why we continue to be a voluntary member of ClimateWise, a growing global network of organisations that align to directly support society as it responds to the risks and opportunities of climate change.

As a group, we’ve made some big commitments that we believe will drive us to tackle our own impact and support our customers and partners to tackle theirs. We are already working to reduce the direct impact of our offices and operations.

Our new head office is built to high sustainability standards – it is constructed to BREEAM, has solar panels, electric charging and recycles heat from our server room. Small things make a big difference; for instance, the countertops in our restaurant are made from recycled bottles.

We’re also taking the opportunity to help our customers and communities to decarbonise so we’re developing products and services which support them. For example, cover for woodlands and renewable energy.

And through our owner Benefact Trust, we have given £150,000 to support the Eco-church scheme, to make churches more aware of their impact on the environment and take steps to make a positive contribution.

¹ DSC – The guide to UK Company Giving 2021-22