The direct approach seems better than the traditional for insurance workers. Churchill and Admiral are the only two insurers that have made it into the Sunday Times Top 50 Companies to Work For.
Home and car insurer Churchill took 19th place while car insurer Admiral made it to number 32.
Each company was assessed in three areas – benefits, respect and pride. For benefits the pay and conditions offered by each company was assessed, together with any distinctive perks and other forms of compensation.
For the other two categories, employee responses to survey questions gave the ratings. Staff were asked 12 questions on how they thought they were treated, and another eight relating to their pride in their work.
Bromley-based Churchill has nearly 2,500 staff spread over 29 sites. It has ISO9002 quality accreditation for customer service.
Benefits offered by the company include a week's paid paternity leave for new fathers and incremental cash bonuses for length of service.
The survey said: “Founder Martin Long is unstinting in praising his staff and they are just as enthusiastic about him.”
Cardiff-based Admiral, one of the largest employers in South Wales, was praised for its attitude and its Ministry of Fun staffed by volunteers arranging events such as a 1970s theme day.
Benefits offered by the company include profit-sharing bonuses and flexible allocation of benefit funds.
An Admiral spokeswoman said the company was very pleased to get into the Top 50.
Also in the Top 50 was assistance company Mondial, which took 20th place.
Companies in the final 50 were among the 1,123 invited to apply after meeting the sponsors' eligibility criteria. Of the 205 companies that signed up to the survey, 115 completed the entry procedure.
