Some of Our Staff

David Balen

Is an advisor to Professional Bodies on Insurance and Practice Management Issues, and lectures and writes articles for journals regularly. He is a third-generation Insurance Broker and Advisor, whose Grandfather ran a successful Brokerage in the West End of London for many years. He later joined the family business in 1970 after debating for some time whether to become a Health Professional himself. The Company was started by his parents in 1950. He joined in 1970 and by 1981 he had risen to the proprietorship of the Company. He has always retained a keen interest and involvement in Health Matters and has a wealth of knowledge in this area. He has connections with many different health professional organisations and executives, and keeps abreast of the latest developments, often acting as an adviser to them.

He holds the Financial Planning Certificate (FPC) and the Mortgage Advice Qualification Certificate (MAQ). He is an NVQ Assessor and a visiting lecturer of Oxford Brookes University, and the College of Osteopaths (degree Course), teaching Practice Management on the Osteopathy Course, and also teaches for other establishments and organisations. He lectures and writes articles regularly on all aspects of Practice Management including Professionalism and Ethics. He cares about his clients and has an ongoing commitment to his staff and business.

Trained and spent 7 years as a Yoga Teacher after spending a few years in the sixties as a Musician. Studied and trained as a Healer in the 1970's and is currently Chairman of the Trustees of the College of Healing, an Educational Charity. He is also regularly involved with the Policy Making Group of the Self regulatory Body UK Healers, is a Trustee of the Confederation of Healing Organisations with his partner, also a Healer, Therapist and Teacher. He was also recently made a Trustee of the British Holsitic Medical Association a well respected organisation which supports and promotes whole person approaches in Medicine. 

A podcast of David talking about 'Safety in Practice - The Legal Issues' with Prof. Julie Stone for The University of Westminster can be found here .(Flash player is required to play which can be found here ).

Joseph Balen

David's son Joe is Block Schemes Manager. He is a fourth generation Insurance Broker. Joe has various qualifications in Business and Insurance. He has spearheaded aspects of Balens IT including the new and very successful Renewals Website, and Document Scanning and Processing System. Joe is very involved in Client care and support, and is very resourceful and helpful.

Josh Balen

David's younger son, Josh, is David’s assistant in the Commercial Department.

Alongside a very busy workload he has been developing his qualifications through The Chartered Insurance Institute (CII) and is studying for the full CII Certificate in Insurance.

Josh is very much interested in complementary medicine world and has studied as a Sports Therapist. He is an avid musician, and is kind, caring and professional.

Jen Philips

Jen has spent many years working in Insurance, and has been with us since 1994. She is knowledgeable, skilled and helpful, and is mainly involved these days as part of the recently enlarged Accounts Department

Liza Lambert

Liza has worked most of her working life to date in Insurance and joined us from the AA, having worked there as the Branch Manager in Worcester for 10 years. She was involved in developing the Household and Personal Accident account, but due to the increased amount of claims that we have experienced, is more involved these days in Heading up the Claims Service Team. The AA trained her in many aspects of customer care and satisfaction which she uses to good effect. She has a range of other qualifications, training and experience to offer, and helps with scheme enquiries, such as Personal Accident, Household & Claims etc. She is intelligent, articulate and very sympathetic to our clients needs, sometimes spending a long time supporting them through crisis situations.

Chris Browning

Chris joined Balens in March 2006 and uses her extensive administration skills to ensure the smooth running of the Occupational Therapist/Case Managers Scheme. During this time she has been able to build and expand her knowledge of the activities and needs of these health professionals and is always more than willing to offer assistance and guidance when required.

Sarah Gulliver

Sarah has a wide range of experience within the Financial Services Industry. Her current role at Balens is supporting Liza with claims and Chris with the Occupational Therapist scheme. Sarah also works alongside our Personal Lines team and can provide assistance with Household and Income Protection enquiries/quotations. Sarah's formal qualifications are the Financial Planning Certificate and she is currently studying for the Certificate in Insurance.

Yvonne Tomes 

Yvonne is part of the Block Department dealing with Scheme insurance for individuals. She joined Balens in 2001 having previously worked for many years in the AA and then for Swintons Insurance Brokerages focusing on customer care and support. Her helpful manner is much appreciated by our clients. Yvonne is qualified in Reiki, and like many staff at Balens has been involved in or is interested in the world of Health

Janet Gordge

PA to David, she has a wealth of administrative experience to which is added a great sense of humour and communication skills, much appreciated by all. She has an interest in Natural Medicine and Healing. Janet is also our First Aid, Health and Safety Officer

John Garland 

After a long career as a Building Society Branch Manager, John was Account Manager at the Runnings Park Centre for Health and Healing and self development for many years before joining us in our Accounts Department

Pat Bernard

Pat is an ACA fully qualified Accountant, who has been Company Secretary of Balens Ltd since inception. She is team leader of the Accounts Department, and supervises her experienced colleagues. Pat has helped to reshape our procedures and software and has much to offer in terms of business experience and help with strategic issues. She continues to compile the accounts for our Auditors and liaises with them on various tax issues which arise. She helps with Strategy, Budgeting and makes sure that our financial information is timely and accurate.

Shelley Abbott

Shelley joined Balens in September 2005 as Compliance Manager for Balens. As this role deals primarily with the rules, regulations and guidelines of the Financial Services Authority on our industry Shelley is involved in all areas of the business. When accepting this job, Shelley’s brief from David was to deal with Compliance in a humane way, therefore, if you have any questions or concerns regarding regulation then please do not hesitate to contact her directly, 01684 580791 or shelley@balens.co.uk

Shelley has held varied roles within the Financial Services Industry working for large multinational companies to small business both in the UK and abroad. Her formal qualifications are the Financial Planning Certificate and the Mortgage Advice Qualification (MAQ).

Nicola Bradley

Nicola joined us in April 2008 and is a valued member of the Block Team as well as supporting Shelley with the Compliance aspect of the company. Nicola is currently studying for the Certificate in Insurance and in her spare time is actively involved with the Air Training Corps.

Jon Parsons

Jon has worked with Balens for 5 years on a consultancy basis, supporting us through our current expansion period and helping to recruit, train and develop our people to fulfil David's vision and to achieve financial services compliance. Involved in Human resources as well as Business Consultancy, Jon supports Balens in many ways, and helps with organising education, and the various monthly team leader meetings and Business Managers Meeting at Balens

His CV reveals involvement in industry with high profile corporate roles, including board and non-Executive posts with well known companies. Jon also has roles with the NHS and Welsh Assembly Government where he is involved in a wide range of corporate governance activities.

The Block Team

The Block team is made up of 14 members of staff, good customer service and a sense of humour are two key qualities for us. Between us we have a wealth of experience in insurance, customer service and Complementary Medicine. Whilst we all tend to have individual roles and associations to look after, we all enjoy working together and supporting each other with the days challenges. To mention a few members of the team... Joy is our technical wizard and usually deals with our website queries, Jane is good with numbers and looks after our refunds, Marie uses her administration skills to run direct debit payments and Katie, a recent recruit, is happy to help you with your queries by phone. We are a busy department which aims to fully train members of the team, and 10 of us have Chartered Insurance Institute qualifications. We aim to offer our clients a knowledgeable and helpful experience.

Rest of Balens Staff

Another 11 people are involved at Balens and they are continually learning and expanding their knowledge in our multi-faceted environment. We are continually looking for new staff to join us as we expand our range of activities and seek to consolidate and improve our systems for existing clients servicing requirements.
More details of current recruitment at Balens can be found by clicking here.