Rozan Leslie and Eilidh Blance have joined the team, bringing the number of employees at the firm’s Burgh Road site in Shetland up to nine in number. 

Having had an office in Lerwick, Shetland for 31 years, TL Dallas is one of the few remaining truly independent insurance brokers in the UK. Family and employee-owned TL Dallas now has a team of 56 based across its Highlands and Islands division, and also has offices in Glasgow, Edinburgh and Falkirk, as well as seven offices in England and one in Northern Ireland.

Head of the Shetland office, Ruth Newbold, said: “We are the only independent insurance broker on Shetland, and we are proud of that. I’ve been with the business for 35 years and it’s a really exciting time for our team and our clients, having welcomed such a wealth of experienced brokers from the three new offices. It’s also a real bonus to have Rozan Leslie (nee Gilfillan) return to the insurance industry.  She moved away 17 years ago and will be a great asset to our Inverness office, as well as helping us out here in Shetland. We are also delighted to welcome Eilidh Blance to the team, bringing us up to nine employees in our newly refurbished branch at Burgh Road.

“The appointment of these new team members follows a sustained period of growth of the business in Shetland, and they will help to build on the success of the last three decades. Our business is based on providing an excellent professional service to all sectors of the Shetland economy and, as it grows and develops, we need to do the same.”

The team in Shetland are now part of the Highlands and Islands region, which also includes the offices in Kirkwall, Inverness and Elgin.

Regional director, Kevin Hancock, added: “I’m thrilled to be working with the Lerwick office and am looking forward to helping them build on the strong foundations already in place. They add a wealth of experience and knowledge to our team in the Highlands and Islands and I know we will all work really well together to the benefit of our clients across the region. There have already been numerous examples of this in the first few months of us joining TL Dallas.”

The Elgin and Inverness offices have re-branded as Caledonia Dallas and the Orkney office as Nord Dallas – and these names reflect the business’s strong Scottish roots.

Kevin Hancock, who also heads up the team of 13 at Nord Dallas in Kirkwall said: “Our operation in Kirkwall dates back to 1979, when my father Robin Hancock, established Nord Insurance Services. The business was sold to Alastair Macleod Insurance in 1996 following my father’s death. Clark Thomson bought the business in 2001, and the firm grew significantly, aided by the purchase of other local insurance brokers including Orkney Insurance Services, Orkney Insurance & Financial Services and Ness Insurance Brokers. In 2018 Clark Thomson sold the business to Jelf, which later became part of Marsh Commercial.

“TL Dallas’s acquisition is part of its expansion into the Highlands and Islands, and we are absolutely delighted to be part of an independent business again. The ethos and values of TL Dallas match with what we believe in, and we have been made to feel hugely welcome. It’s also great news for our clients, as we remain wholeheartedly committed to providing a local service and supporting our local community with a newfound freedom as part of TL Dallas. We have also been able to expand our service offerings and forge stronger relationships with insurers. Crucially, we now have more insurers to source products from, so we can offer more flexibility and freedom, as well as better value, to our clients.”

Many of the Nord Dallas team have been with the business for more than 25 years and they provide commercial insurance services to all sectors of the economy on the Islands, including agricultural, construction, motor trade and renewable energy – particularly wave and tidal.

Kevin Hancock continued: “Our personal insurance services include home, car, travel and personal accident. We work for many high-net-worth clients offering insurance policies that cover art, jewellery, collectables, aircraft, boats and holiday homes and we are dedicated to providing a local, friendly and highly efficient service.”

Head of Caledonia Dallas, Paul Chiffers, added: “By becoming part of TL Dallas, we have reclaimed our independence, with more localised decision-making while benefiting from the strong support and backing of a larger, experienced and well-respected insurance broking and risk management firm.”

TL Dallas is a fourth-generation family firm that has been in business for more than 100 years. The firm was founded by Thomas Lessels Dallas, whose great-grandchildren now run the company.