If 2020 has given us anything, it is the sense of purpose to repair the damage of 2020.
I am sure that very few people will regret the passing of 2020. It has been a testing 12 months and one that has posed serious questions for our profession.
But we have found out more about ourselves – personally and professionally – and we can draw encouragement from many events in the last year.
We have proved how flexible we can be – with almost the entire sector moving to working at home successfully during lockdown. We have seen thousands of examples of compassion in response to the hardships caused by coronavirus, one of which has been the £100m raised by the insurance and long-term savings professions for those worst affected by Covid-19. And finally, where there has been controversy over claims, we have shown that we can work with the regulator quickly to achieve greater clarity.
If 2020 has given us anything, it is the sense of purpose to repair the damage of 2020.
We will face many tests in 2021 – developing better ways to communicate to clients and prepare them for both insurable and non-insurable risks; developing better ways to pool resources to address ‘black swan’ events, and finding ways to end real hardship and anxiety, such as for people who live in flats with dangerous cladding that has not been replaced. We will need to work with many stakeholders, including government, to achieve this, but if 2020 has given us anything, it is the sense of purpose to repair the damage of 2020.
Sian Fisher is CEO of the CII
