The Chartered Insurance Institute’s new president Peter Blanc has called on its membership to unite and reach a consensus on what it wants the organisation to be.
Blanc, who was appointed to the role of president in July last year and is chief executive of Aston Lark, called on the profession to address the “unmet needs of society” and show the true value of advice.
He said: “The insurance and personal finance profession needs to work together to address the unmet needs that exist today – everything from climate change and flooding to cyber risk, scams, later-life care and protection gaps.
“All the drivers in society today tend to be away from advice – they are aiming to cut out the middleman and get the quickest deal at the cheapest price but I worry that is not the right answer for the majority of the public.”
His comments came after a turbulent year for the CII.
Last year the CII proposed deregistering the Personal Finance Society as an independent entity - a move which was voted down at a board meeting.
The move prompted some advisers to question whether the interests of the CII's combined membership of insurance professionals and financial planners remained aligned.
The chief executive of the CII, Sian Fisher, has since announced she will stand down at the end of March.
But Blanc said the CII was evolving and it was a key time to make good use of member feedback from the recent shaping the future together consultation.
Proposals contained in the consultation, which closed on December 17, included making the qualification framework and learning provision more user-friendly, accessible, and capable of meeting the future learning needs of all students.
He said: “We need to reach consensus on what we, as a profession, want the CII to be during the next five years.
“My aims as president will be to support the current and new chief executive in any way I can while working to further the CII agenda in building public trust in the insurance and personal finance profession, and make sure we are effective in solving unmet needs and underlining the importance of advice in society.”
The CII’s shaping the future together consultation encouraged members to share their views on proposals for how the body will work.
The CII said it will share the findings of the consultation and how it will help shape the group’s strategy this year.
Fisher said: “Our Royal Charter requires us to work to secure and justify the confidence of the public in the financial planning and insurance professions. Above all, we want to ensure that what we do – and how we do it – helps our members to support their clients in becoming more financially resilient and achieving their financial goals.
“As a key enabler of the 21st century economy, it is vital that our family of professions – together with their professional body – continue to evolve in step with the modern world.
"Which is why we look forward to working with Peter in continuing his predecessor Julie Page’s presidential work on unmet needs as well as using the feedback we received from the consultation to help shape the future of our profession, the CII Group, and the societies and local institutes that exist within it.”
sonia.rach@ft.com
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