How do we update an established insurance brand without losing trust?

A heritage insurance brand remains credible when its history is presented as evidence of expertise, resilience and commitment, rather than as a reason to preserve every old expression. Brand evolution starts by identifying the qualities that customers, employees and partners already trust: specialist knowledge, relationships, reputation, protection or service.

The updated brand can then make a more future-facing promise without denying that foundation. For Price Forbes, the strategic direction honoured more than a century of specialist broking while positioning the business as pioneering, optimistic and ready for the future. The resulting idea, "Making history", connected distinctive heritage with an open, forward-looking role for clients.

The aim is not to make an established organisation look younger for its own sake. It is to give longstanding brand equity a current market meaning, particularly when the business is changing, entering new opportunities or seeking to attract talent.

A trusted insurance brand refresh works when the new meaning is carried consistently through what people read, see and experience. Brand repositioning should establish the role the organisation wants to own, then turn that role into messaging, tone of voice, identity, digital content and internal communications.

For Price Forbes, a verbal identity positioned the business as both heritage-rich and future-ready. The visual identity used a refined mix of classic and modern elements, including serif and sans-serif typography, a vibrant colour palette and a logo refined to work across sizes. The website extended the same outlook through editorial layouts, photography and bold type.

The same principle applies when a growing insurance organisation needs to unite multiple businesses. Everywhen used stakeholder research to identify relationships and trust as central strengths, then translated that insight into messaging, a shield device, photography and a durable visual system. A new identity earns trust when every element tells the same credible story.

An identity redesign cannot on its own overcome an old-fashioned brand perception. Customers and employees need to recognise what remains dependable, understand what has changed and see proof of the organisation's current capability in its offer, people, service and communications.

Start by deciding which heritage assets should remain visible because they carry real recognition or meaning. Then identify the perceptions that are holding the business back, such as complexity, distance, traditionalism or a lack of innovation. The refreshed brand should address those perceptions with a clearer proposition and a practical system for every audience and channel.

Internal adoption matters because employees make the updated promise real in customer conversations and daily decisions. A refreshed identity also needs to be tested in the places where trust is built: websites, sales materials, client communications, recruitment content and leadership messaging. Consistency reduces the risk that a future-facing identity feels disconnected from the established business behind it.

We believe an established insurance brand should not choose between its heritage and its future. The stronger approach finds the enduring truth in the organisation's history, then gives that truth a clearer role in the market today. A provider should be able to connect audience insight, positioning, verbal identity, visual identity and activation, rather than treating a logo refresh as the whole answer.

We have done this for Price Forbes, helping a specialist broker retain the pride and panache of its century-long heritage while expressing innovation and optimism through a new identity and website. We have also helped Everywhen create a unifying insurance brand grounded in stakeholder research, relationships and trust. Our work brings strategy, content, design and implementation together so a changed brand can remain recognisable, credible and useful.