A family and employee-owned insurance broker in Cumbria has expanded with the appointment of an experienced commercial insurance broker.

Kelly McCartney has relocated to Cumbria from Dumfries, where she previously worked for James Hallam insurance brokers, to join TL Dallas.

The nine-strong team at TL Dallas is based at Lakeland Business Park in Cockermouth and provides independent insurance broking and risk management services to a wide range of commercial and agricultural clients.

The close-knit team has quickly grown since TL Dallas expanded into Cumbria with just two people in May 2023. Emma Irving, Lynne Taylor, Philip Jackson, Heather Wood, Karen Coombe, Tracy Hickman and Anna Jones were all former colleagues before they joined TL Dallas alongside apprentice, Talia Frazer.

Emma Irving said: “We are in a privileged position to have more than 200 years combined industry experience between us, and we work for a fabulous range of clients who value our expertise and guidance. Through personal recommendations and connections, we have quickly grown in Cumbria and were keen to recruit another experienced and reliable commercial broker to help manage our ever-growing client base.”

Kelly said: “I wanted to join TL Dallas as it’s an independent business, with a real client focus and an in-house claims team and I really liked its ethos and commitment to delivering a personal service from 15 regional offices."

“Having worked in an account handler role within the schemes division at my last firm, I’ve had clients that operate in varying industry sectors and helped them with every aspect of insurance, from buildings insurance to cyber insurance and everything in between! I’m an Acturis software superuser, so I know the system inside out and am very organised and love working in a busy and friendly environment.”

Polly Staveley, managing director at TL Dallas, said: “Our Cockermouth office is a real success story, and it showcases why our commitment to regional offices is important."

"Clients like to meet face to face, and deal with people they trust, and we are pleased to welcome Kelly to the team.”