After 30 years in the industry, over 20 of which have been spent making the annual pilgrimage to BIBA, I still look forward to those two days in the middle of May each year where the insurance market comes together.
It’s all about connections
Like many, it’s the key date in my diary. A chance for me to connect with business colleagues from across the country, discuss key industry issues and talk about business opportunities.
Blimey, what a long winter and washout of an early spring we’ve had! However, with the weather finally lifting a little a couple of weekends ago, I was able to give my postage stamp of a lawn a first mow of 2018. As the aroma of freshly cut damp grass my wafted through my nostrils and the sun warmed my back, my mind turned to BIBA. As an almost teetotal introvert, I have usually looked forward to the event with a certain amount of trepidation, always envious of my more gregarious colleagues, such as Simon Cooter and Keith Hector, who bound up to Manchester with
BIBA may mean different things to different people, but for ARAG’s Head of Sales, Andy Talbot, the conference and exhibition is all about the conversation.
It may not be particularly fashionable outside the insurance world, but I’m a big fan of the BIBA conference - does that make me a ‘Bel-IBA’? I really look forward to this time of year, as we’re finalising our plans for what are always two of the most important days in the insurance calendar.
If you’ve spent any time on LinkedIn and other social media platforms you may have seen how job titles are evolving. In fields like marketing, management and IT we’re seeing traditional titles like ‘consultant’ and ‘adviser’ make way for a new breed of ninjas, wizards, gurus and rockstars.
Of course, the job market is changing all the time. New jobs and technology emerge to replace older jobs, which is why we don’t see many gas lamp-lighters walking around the streets any more.
Mental Health in the workplace is under scrutiny and rightly so - the costs to the person, companies and the economy, make for grim reading. Estimates of 12.5 million days lost to workplace stress, depression and anxiety (Health and Safety Executive. 2016), £26 billion lost to companies (Acas 2012) - I could go on but I'm sure you get the picture.
In a guest blog for youTalk-insurance inspirational business coach Margaret Allen explores the issue of diversity within the insurance sector and shares some useful steps that firms can take to ensure the future prosperity of their businesses.
Change is upon us… In fact, the only certainty is change
By April 2018 all companies with more than 250 employees are required to report on their gender pay gap. To date very few City institutions have done this. I wonder why?
NMU Executive Director, Nick Limb, talks 2017 and looks into the future at NMU
2017 was an exciting year for NMU and one full of challenges and opportunities.
We have continued to work far closer with our parent company Munich Re Syndicate as part of their wider International Distribution network, looking at ways to both improve and strengthen our business model and ultimately to deliver an even more inclusive customer experience.
The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) comes into enforcement from May 25th, 2018. The potential fines that can be levied by GDPR are large numbers. At their extreme they can be as great as €20m or (and this makes it important to companies of all sizes), 4% of global revenue, whichever is the greater.
After the excesses of December, the January detox is upon us. A good time to soberly reflect on the year that was and try and second guess what this year has in store.
One thing you can say is that we were kept ‘entertained’ in 2017 by the first year of the Trump presidency – it’s been different that’s for sure! Is the word ‘diplomacy’ now officially consigned to history in the world of politics?
This means focusing on the basics: on combining both the art and the science of underwriting. The year of the underwriter will celebrate the importance of knowing our clients, of service excellence and building durable relationships, enhanced by investment in best-in-class data and claims analytics. By harnessing these strengths, we can better meet our clients’ needs.
