GT Life : Richard Williams - Racing Driver ... and Motorsport Insurance Broker

Away from the track, GT drivers have a number of professions, many of them associated to Motorsport, such as test drivers or driving instructors. Richard Williams, who is competing for Trackspeed in the FIA GT Championship this year, as well as racing in the FIA GT3 European Championship, works in another vitally important – but often overlooked – area. As a motorsport insurance broker, he arranges the insurance cover that keeps the cars and teams on the track.

"It’s a career choice I made about eight years ago when I fell off the Motorsport ladder the first time," Richard commented. "I knew I had to put myself in a position where I could keep in touch with Motorsport. I had done a lot of karting, and the timing was bad - when I had to make the transition from karting to car racing, it just wasn’t a possibility for me at the time.

Going into insurance wasn’t a conscious decision for me, but it was one that worked for me, as specifically on the Motorsport side of things, I was able to keep in touch with an industry I’d fallen in love with, and it kept me in touch with friends and colleagues I’d met, so it was an obvious choice.

It helps that I have the contacts within the sport, so I can offer solutions to their insurance problems, and give them the right advice, because we’re involved in the sport. It’s one of those jobs where the sport knowledge and the professional insurance knowledge go together. That’s where we can make a difference, as opposed to normal insurance brokers.

It’s a really great job, very sociable. It’s all about personal contacts. It’s very different environment from putting on a race suit, but I’m lucky I get to travel around a lot, and whilst I’m in the office, the actual broking job involves me going into Lloyds Insurance market, which is really great. It is really good, because we deal in a specific Motorsport area, and when you’re telling the story about what the client’s risks are, race cars are a much nicer subject to talk about rather than ships or houses, bricks and mortar.

It’s a really great position to be in, especially as I am so involved in the sport, and it really helps to bring it all together. It’s good, the company I work for are brilliant, they allow me to take the time off to go racing, which has taken a bit of a step forward over the last few years, demanding more of my time.

But it also gives me more contacts, and so it all comes round. The racing and the job do go together. It helps my job that I am actually driving. The colleagues that I work with, they have to be here for work, but I’m lucky that I am able to do all the exciting stuff as well !"

For more information on the company Richard works for, see www.thbgroup.com

- Jacquie GROOM, FIA -

photos will be on automobilsport.com under PHOTOS - FIA GT