When Todd Davison co-founded Purbeck Insurance Services, his aim was clear: to help small business owners secure growth capital without putting their homes and savings on the line. As managing director, he has led the company to become the UK’s first specialist provider of Personal Guarantee Insurance — a niche but increasingly critical product in SME finance.
A chartered accountant by training, Davison qualified with Deloitte in 2013, working in the firm’s corporate finance advisory team. There he saw first-hand how dependent access to finance had become on directors signing personal guarantees, and how exposed those directors were if things went wrong. “As a concept, Personal Guarantee protection had been dabbled with by the insurance market but never really taken off,” he says. “We could see how it could be made into a compelling and unique product that offers real value to policyholders.” That conviction, combined with co-founders who had expertise in commercial finance and insolvency, laid the groundwork for Purbeck.
The business was largely bootstrapped in its early years, with directors investing their own funds and, later, targeted shareholder support to accelerate marketing. Patience and caution became central principles. “The market, operational and reputational risks are too great to rush anything,” says Davison. Developing the UK’s first personal guarantee insurance product required actuarial rigour and careful data modelling, but also agility in listening to brokers, lenders, and policyholders.
That balance of caution and agility proved crucial when the pandemic hit. “No surprises there,” says Davison of the challenge it posed. Purbeck’s insurance cover includes unlimited mentoring and advice for SMEs facing financial difficulty, and demand for this service surged overnight. The business became a vital source of information on new measures and mitigation strategies. Then, as government-backed loan schemes shifted the lending environment, Purbeck had to pivot again — educating applicants on the guarantee risks embedded in emergency loans. Though still a young company at the time, its ability to flex quickly, with backing from its capacity provider, became a defining test of resilience.
For Davison, staying close to customers remains central. Through Purbeck’s mentoring support and close ties with commercial finance brokers, he has a direct line into SME sentiment. “It would be true to say that SMEs have become more cautious about borrowing,” he notes, citing rising costs and uncertainty following recent fiscal policy changes. That caution has only underscored the need for products that can offer security to directors taking on new debt.
With a growing book of renewals in the UK, Davison is now turning his attention to international expansion. In markets where personal guarantees are commonplace, he sees scope to replicate the model. “By sticking to niche, underserved markets and developing innovative insurance solutions we can steal a march on any potential competitors,” he says. It is a measured but ambitious strategy, echoing the deliberate pace that has underpinned Purbeck’s growth so far.
Davison’s reflections on leadership reveal a steady evolution. In the early days, productivity meant wearing multiple hats. Now it is about output and efficiency at team level, supported by data and technology. His advice to his younger self is to “collaborate more in the early days on the operating infrastructure and actively seek input on thoughts and ideas.” That openness, he suggests, is key to sustaining a business built on a new concept.
As Purbeck prepares to expand abroad, Davison continues to frame his role as equal parts strategist, risk manager, and mentor. The company’s trajectory suggests that the insurance category he helped pioneer is not just filling a gap, but shaping how entrepreneurs can balance ambition with protection.
