Members of the CII’s London Market Faculty ‘New Generation’ group have called for the implementation of a new internship programme in the London insurance market to help encourage younger people to consider a career in the London Market.
The group, which was put together by the Chartered Insurance Institute (CII) to support the retention of talent and the development of tomorrow’s leaders, set about researching how much provision there is currently to help individuals – without necessarily the right network of contacts – to get their foot through the door of the London insurance market. Their conclusion was that for many people breaking into this highly rewarding and exciting profession is a challenge and there does not appear to be any formal framework for internships currently available. It was also evident that not all employers know how to attract highly talented staff members from diverse backgrounds.
The CII’s New Generation group’s response was to devise an internship framework for the sector to implement within the London market to raise awareness of careers in this space among young people – specifically 16-18 year olds – who would not otherwise have ever considered profession in this space.
The proposed internship programme includes time spent experiencing broking, underwriting and claims in order for the full cycle of trading in the London insurance market to be properly understood. There is also time spent focusing on soft skills and networking to give participants the most rounded experience possible.
Amar Sumaria, spokesperson for the London Market New Generation group, said: “The London market has been very slow to react to the need of refreshing the talent pool and thinking outside of the typical recruitment process, and we feel the scheme we have set out in our report serves to change that. We starting by looking at our own routes into insurance, which are detailed in the report, and it was clear we are typical of most of those who enter the market. Not only will the programme benefit younger people trying to break through we also believe the London insurance market will benefit from tackling social exclusivity and therefore better serve an increasingly diverse client base.”
Ant Gould, director of faculties at the CII, added: “The work of the London Market New Generation group has drawn attention to the need for a system of attracting talent into the London insurance market from all walks of life. The group looked at the existing schemes and then worked hard to put together the only London insurance market-specific internship framework. It’s now up to the market to rise to the challenge set by its future leaders and for companies to take the next step and implement the programme.”
The CII’s New Generation initiative aims to complement existing company talent programmes and give individuals additional exposure to market issues and tools to equip them for future leadership. There are four groups to choose from, depending upon specialism – London Market, Claims, Broking and Underwriting – and each group has the opportunity to make its mark on its sector of the profession by being involved in an industry project of their choosing.
To read the Generation Risk report in full, please follow this link: http://www.cii.co.uk/media/4330235/generation_risk_-_london_market_group_new_generations.pdf
Members of the London Market Insurance New Generation group 2011/2012 include:
Amar Sumaria, ACII, claims adjuster at Brit Insurance
Christian Bennett, Dip CII, underwriter at Mitsui Sumitomo
Alastair Bigg, Dip CII, property underwriter, major accounts practice at IAG Europe Limited
Edward Gregory, Cert CII, underwriter at SwissRe Ben Warren, Cert CII, underwriter at OIM Underwriting
Clarissa Franks, ACII, placing broker at Marsh
Sam Drysdale, ACII, claims adjuster at RenaissanceRe
Helen Troman, ACII, Chartered insurer, UK/Ireland ICT practice leader at Chubb Insurance Company of Europe
Kate Alderman, ACII, Chartered insurance practitioner, assistance vice president, global casualty, at Lockton Companies
