Our profession must make work a place where people can thrive

Our profession must make work a place where people can thrive

By Mandy Hunt, Chief Underwriting Officer for Commercial Lines at RSA and chair of the CII’S Society of Underwriting Professionals

?Global challenges, such as technological advances, climate change and Covid-19, have had a profound impact on the way we work as insurance underwriters.

The pandemic means we are now much more likely to be working remotely and transacting online. And, with more businesses and entrepreneurs wanting advice and services 24/7, we must think about how we evolve and adapt our skills and knowledge to best meet their needs moving forward.

One part of this is improving how we understand, manage, and use data as well as how we translate it into language that our customers find helpful in shaping their own decisions. Another is how people want to access our services. More and more people want to be able to work from their phones. So, we must provide mobile-enabled services while, at the same time, ensuring the right levels of transparency.

How our next generation of talent learns the skills and knowledge needed to meet the changing needs of consumers is critical for the future success of the insurance profession. Where, previously, many of us were based in offices and so had more opportunity to learn by osmosis from those around us, now people learn in different ways.?Younger generations have been brought up to expect a constant feedback cycle, which many of us may not be used to. So, as a profession, we must think about what this means for the way we work going forward, including how we help people develop their careers by providing learning and knowledge in ways that suit them best.??

Being Chair of CII’s Society of Underwriting Professionals has allowed me to hear from many people across the profession about how we can – and should – help people thrive at work.

While it is brilliant to work in a profession with such a diverse range of expertise and businesses, we can always learn more from one another. That’s where professional bodies can play an essential role – bringing views from across the profession together around a common goal and helping deliver the insight, education, and support that we all need to meet the changing needs of consumers.?

The Chartered Insurance Institute’s (CII) purpose is to build public trust in our profession. By creating a benchmark of capability for everyone to use, professional bodies like the CII help the profession to step up a level, agreeing the right standards and approach we can all take to ensure we can be the best we can be for our clients.

It is vital we hear from as many people as possible across the profession to understand how the CII’s membership societies can address your needs and help you achieve your ambitions.

We want to keep learning from each other and find the best ways for us to help the profession grow and thrive – not just survive.

It takes courage and engagement to bring about real change which is why participating in the CII’s Shaping the future together consultation - https://www.ciigroup.org/en/shaping-the-future/ - is so important. It gives everyone in the profession a voice and the chance to have their say on how the CII can best support our profession in the future.

?It’s easy to follow, simple to share views and the videos really help bring to life what the CII are looking for so I hope everyone will share their views through the consultation.

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