Annemieke Verhorst-Lemsom is the CEO of Bolster Insurance in the Netherlands.
The company handles marine insurance for international moving companies, but in a way that breaks from tradition.
Before starting Bolster in 2023, with Co-Founder Tim van Tartwijk, Annemieke spent 16 years at the sharp end of the moving business, so she understands why movers need insurance revenue, and the difficulties that it can sometimes create. The way Bolster operates aims to remove the headache of handling insurance for movers, while retaining some of the financial benefit. In practice, it cuts insurance loose from moving.
The traditional way of providing insurance is for the moving company to provide insurance for its customers through an umbrella policy. For many years this has given the authorities some anxiety because the mover is advising on insurance when it is not the company’s core business. There is also a contradiction in the sales message: movers tell customers how safe everything will be in their hands, then offer insurance for when everything goes wrong.
Movers also traditionally make money from insurance. In fact, it’s not unusual for movers to claim to make more money from the insurance than from the move. But all the risk is taken by the insurance underwriter. That doesn’t seem quite fair. It is, certainly, a complex relationship.
Bolster Insurance takes a different approach ...
Photo (left to right): Geeta Mazer, Annemieke Verhorst-Lemsom and John Verheggen.
Click here to read the full story in The Mover magazine.