PRESS RELEASE | 24 January 2023

ZEST Health Innovation Consulting Ltd ("ZEST"), an organisation providing services and support to independent midwives, today launched an innovative midwifery insurance programme in partnership with Acrisure affiliate, MGAM Limited ("MGAM"). Insurance will be acquired through Lloyd's of London insurers while the programme will be brokered by Acrisure London Wholesale, the insurance intermediary of Acrisure Re.

The programme will be publicly available for purchase in England, Scotland and Wales from 24th January 2023 and follows the Nursing & Midwifery Council (NMC) determination that other available insurance policies were insufficient for the independent midwife community.

The new ZEST programme will cover independent midwives throughout antenatal, intrapartum and post-partum care, offering guidelines, support, and protection allowing them to focus on providing the highest quality service to their clients. As ZEST registrants, independent midwives will receive access to insurance products offering the full continuum of care, continuity, choice, and physiological birth. New annual policies can be purchased from the new online portal via the link here.

Tracy Thomas, Director of ZEST, said: "With this launch, ZEST seeks to ensure a twofold commitment. First, that midwives are comfortable and confident in accessing the services they need to care for families and their babies, and second, we seek to evidence our commitment to empower our members. This programme will provide a cost-effective, broad based insurance cover for midwifery support and I'd like to thank all the stakeholders involved, especially Acrisure, whose work has been instrumental in working to close the protection gap created by previous policies available to independent midwives."

Jason Anthony, CEO of MGAM, said: "ZEST's commitment to and passion for excellence and safe practice is coupled by decades of experience in midwifery. The new portal is quick and easy to navigate, and it avoids overwhelming midwives with unnecessary administration. It has been a pleasure to work with Tracy and the ZEST team to achieve a sensibly priced, broad cover for midwives."

Gavin Johns, Senior Vice President at Acrisure London Wholesale, said: "The programme is backed by extensive field expertise introduced by Alan Stokes at ZEST, who played a pivotal role in making this programme possible. The deep product knowledge and insurance expertise from Acrisure, the Lloyd's of London insurers as well as our innovative MGA partner, MGAM, makes this an exciting initiative for the midwifery sector."

About ZEST Health Innovation Consulting Ltd
ZEST is an innovative, proactive, and holistic 'gateway' organisation that was set up to support midwives in their wish to practice autonomous, independent midwifery. We do this by inviting midwives to become ZEST registrants which facilitates access to an insurance product that enables midwives to offer clients the full continuum of care, continuity, choice and physiological birth. For more information: https://www.zestmidwives.co.uk/

About MGAM Ltd
MGAM's innovative approach and targeted products align with the interests of cover holders, carriers, and policy holders, delivering superior outcomes for everyone in the distribution chain. Its experienced team enjoys the support of global parent, Acrisure, with the strength and market relationships that enable MGAM to create bespoke solutions for all types of arrangement. MGAM Limited registered office: Walsingham House Ninth Floor, 35 Seething Lane, London, EC3N 4AH. For more information: https://mgamutual.com/

About Acrisure London Wholesale
Acrisure London Wholesale is the insurance intermediary of Acrisure Re. We are a full-service wholesale broker with a wealth of specialised experience covering a broad range of product lines. We are uniquely placed within the market to offer excellent solutions to our clients, with both scale and breadth.

Media contacts:
For ZEST Midwives:
info@zestmidwives.co.uk

For MGAM/Acrisure London Wholesale:
Haggie Partners: Peter Rigby, Ben Abbotts, Olivia Thomson
+44(0)2075624444, acrisure@haggie.co.uk