CII president Jonathan Clark explains how sharing knowledge and building professionalism are both something we can all contribute towards-¦
As I write this, I am in Nottingham, with the Insurance Institute dinner just a short while away. We are clearly in for a very good event, with a mix of celebration of achievement by members and another enjoyable social evening. I was pleased to see that, as in Glasgow, we have several claims professionals on the top table. I think Glasgow must hold a record in that half the top table were claims professionals, which I can only applaud.
On that subject, I am delighted that in my presidency we have launched the Society of Claims Professionals, in January, and in Sue McCall and Jeremy Trott we have two excellent leaders for this latest society. In a previous letter I wrote about claims and I am always reminded of the oft-expressed view that to be successful as an insurance business you need to do two things well -- underwriting and claims. My view is that you also need to manage distribution well; but at its heart, claims is what the product is all about. I look forward to hearing more from the new Society of Claims Professionals in the coming months.
FORMING AN ALLIANCE
"My focus has been towards how we treat our customers as being a key dimension; customers are what a profession should be there to serve"
Speaking of professionalism, I had the pleasure of having lunch recently with the CEOs and presidents of our fellow members of The Chartered Body Alliance. These are: the Chartered Banker Institute and the Chartered Institute for Securities and Investment. While the discussion was wide ranging, two themes struck me in particular -- how to best support members throughout their careers; and what defines a professional today. For the first, the need for continued learning was very much at the heart of the discussions.
For the CII, local institute programmes throughout the UK form a backbone of this demand. All that can then be supported by our expanding online resource of the knowledge base, podcasts and other material. Ultimately, we all have to set our own agendas for our continuing professional development (CPD) but an ever-increasing resource is there for us all to tap into.
Second, the question of what defines a professional and can be said to be a mix of competence, knowledge and ethical behaviours. Or as an alternative -- competence, integrity and care for customers.
My focus has been towards how we treat our customers as being a key dimension; customers are wha t a profession should be there to serve. In my view as a professional, we should all strive for high levels of customer satisfaction. Keeping our knowledge and therefore expertise up to date is therefore vital.
We can also share our knowledge with others whether by mentoring, peer reviewing or maybe offering to help with a local institute lecture. So let me suggest that we all look at how we can share our knowledge and build professionalism for us all, by working together.
Jonathan Clark, president, CII