Changing of the Guards

This article first appeared in The Insider Briefing and The Insurance Insider on 28 June, 2018.

Want to guess how many countries have an official changing of the guard ceremony? Ten? Fifteen?

Believe it or not, what many might have associated with a slightly archaic British tradition is actually carried out by no fewer than 26 countries.

In Cuba, the soldiers guard the mausoleum of Jose Marti in Santiago, with the guard changed every half-hour, while in Chile the presidential guard looks after La Moneda Palace, and swaps around every odd-numbered day.

And in Portugal, the ceremony takes place outside the Belém Palace, the Portuguese president’s residence, on the third Sunday of each month with a performance – at a gallop – by the only mounted band in the world.

Back in London, some three and a half miles east of Buckingham Palace, a different sort of changing of the guard is going on.

As The Insurance Insider revealed yesterday Lloyd’s Market Association (LMA) CEO David Gittings is to step down after 12 years at the helm of the trade body.

His departure follows that of Willis’ UK head Nicolas Aubert as chair of the London Market Group in May, where he was replaced by Beazley CEO Andrew Horton – and we’re still awaiting news of outgoing LMG CEO Chris Beazley’s replacement.

Over at PPL Hiscox CEO Bronek Masojada took on the chairmanship from David Ledger in March.

And at the Association of British Insurers, Amanda Blanc, the incoming EMEA CEO at Zurich, will become the first female chair when she takes over from Aviva’s Andy Briggs.

All of these changes come at a pivotal point for the UK market.

There are a remarkable number of issues at stake: Brexit; keeping London relevant amid increased competition from other (re)insurance hubs; bringing down the cost of doing business; market modernisation; maintaining (or fixing) underwriting standards in the softest of markets; Solvency II – the list goes on.

Can we have faith that the new generation of guardians are made of the right stuff, and have the strength, guile and integrity to lead London through this most testing of times?

We’ve already written at length about the merits of Horton and Masojada on these pages, and Blanc’s supporters are legion.

For anyone still feeling niggles of doubt, perhaps that legendary American singer, songwriter and poet Bob Dylan can provide some comfort.

In his 1978 rousing rock and roll number Changing of the Guards, Dylan talks of a time of desperately divided men and women, where merchants and thieves, hungry for power, rule the marketplace.

A mysterious woman asks our hero what the future holds, and he notes that while Eden may be burning, there are two options: get ready for elimination or have your heart filled with courage for the changing of the guards.

By nature, I’m one of those hearts full of courage-types, rather than an apocalyptic doomsayer predicting elimination. I’m hopeful the right people are filling these critical roles, and the market is getting the guardians it needs.