Kathryn Knowles

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Home » Who We Are » Kathryn Knowles

Hi, I’m Kathryn, I own Cura with my husband Alan. I am a mum of three and an award winning insurance adviser. I have put this page together so that you can get to know me a bit better, where I have come from, what I do and why I do it.

You can also find me on Twitter and LinkedIn.

Consultant Adviser and Trainer, Advice for Advisers Ltd
Podcast Host, The Practical Protection Podcast
Member of the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries, Mental Health Working Group
Member of the British Insurance Brokers’ Association Access to Insurance (AIC) executive committee
2011 – Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) – A Holistic Framework for Environmental Change – Socio-Environmental Cohesion for Sustainability

A little bit about me

I joined the financial protection industry after completing my PhD in Business Management in 2010. My doctorate focused upon developing bottom-up cultural changes within businesses, to establish an environmental metanorm, working alongside what employees wanted to do and not dictating to them.

My thesis was completed in a case study organisation of over 200 employees using cybernetics, systems thinking, rich picture analysis, soft systems methodology, social network analysis combined with the viable systems model, and team syntegrity. I developed a bespoke environmental rating system, combining ISO 14000 environmental standards and my own set of cultural indicators that evidenced normative change. I know, I know, sounds quite boring! I loved it!!

Financial services was not my initial career path, but I wanted to start work as soon as I finished studying, and was offered a job in this sector. I originally started as an Administrative Manager, with focus upon company finances and developing smooth processes between administrators and insurance advisers. In 2012 I became a Compliance Officer, overseeing the quality of advice recommendations and documentation within our company.

After facing redundancy with our previous employer when he closed his business, my husband and I set up Cura Financial Services in 2013. We are known as the go to experts for high risk protection insurance within our sector, focusing on helping people that have medical conditions and other risks to get insurance.

I had my first son in 2011, second in 2014 and my third in 2017. In my spare time I like to do Zumba and Pilates. I like to support charities when I can and have taken part in a 2 hour zumbathon, completed 5k a race for life, 5k run or dye, 5k bubble run, and raised over £300 for Parkinsons UK by doing veganuary.

What I do

I gained attention within the insurance industry in 2016 by creating a Walking Dead infographic, followed by a Game of Gnomes quiz and video advent calendar, to simplify the message of protection insurance. I produce regular video marketing, CuraVision, where I chat about people we have been able to help and explain how we met their protection needs.

I want to get the message out there, that most people are insurable. Many of our clients have been declined cover in the past, given ridiculous terms or been told that there is no point in them applying for insurance.

In my videos I do not do anything fancy. I am sat with a camera and a cup of tea, just talking. There are no presentations, no statistics, no jargon cluttering up the information that I want to get across. They are designed to be human, empathetic and simple.

The purpose of these videos is to raise awareness in the general public, charities and others in the insurance industry, that having a health condition, working in a dangerous job, travelling around the world, does not make you “uninsurable”.

I talk about how we have arranged insurance for people with cancer, HIV, diabetes, high BMI, bipolar disorder and a history of suicide attempts. I am the face of our company when it comes to social media outreach. I am positioned in these videos as a woman who knows about protection insurance, a business owner, someone who can explain how medical conditions and high risk circumstances mix with insurance.

My challenges are having three young children, owning a company and looking after my two parents who are in poor health. I also have hypermobility syndrome, sinus tachycardia, anxiety issues, a smidgen of POTs and an underactive thyroid. I would love to say that I have overcome all of these challenges myself, but I haven’t. I am extremely grateful for Grandmas!!

I often feel that I am not doing enough for my children, or contributing enough at work. But, I am doing my best. In regards to my health, for the most part I have lived with my health issues my whole life, so it is not a matter of overcoming them, they are just me, it’s what I have always known. I am a big believer in baby steps and mindfulness. Focus on the task now, not task two, three or four.

Why I do what I do

My motivation comes from showing people that there are solutions out there for them, regardless of their circumstances. Many years ago, I was offered insurance at special terms because of a history of anxiety issues. I was well and it was a kick in the teeth that the insurer felt that I wasn’t back to “normal”.

My passion is to fight industry stereotypes of how healthy a person is, just because they have been labelled with an illness. I have anxiety and hypermobility syndrome, I also have my own business, a PhD and have grown three amazing human beings. My illnesses do not define me, they empower me to fight.

Client Reviews

"Alan and his team were great! Alan helped get me cover where my own company could not (I work in financial services too!) Would highly recommend and will come back in the future."

"Krystle was fantastic throughout and managed to knock almost 50% off my current life insurance premium."

"Leanne couldn't have been more helpful and thoughtful with her questions and work on my enquiry."

"Kathryn and her colleagues were very helpful because of my recent illness."

"Nick was my advisor, Excellent knowledge of products and what I needed, not just pushing me into a sale/policy, will always refer to him in the future."

"I would like to say a very big thank you especially to Amy you really went above and beyond."

"Annaliese was absolutely fantastic, making us both feel at ease and helping us navigate issues that had caused us problems with previous attempts to obtain insurance."