Helen Pope reflects on a busy year as Chair and proving the doubters wrong
When Helen-Clare Pope took over as chair of Airmic almost 12 months ago, she said she didn’t believe in policies for the sake of policies, and that consistency at the top can be as important as change. If anyone thought that signalled a quiet year ahead – they were quite wrong. Pope talks to Jessica Titherington, reflecting on her year at the helm.
“There have been so many highlights – it’s been quite a year,” says Pope, talking ahead of Airmic’s annual conference, when her year as chair of the association will come to an end.
Despite Pope’s belief in the importance of continuity, she began the year with an ambitious to-do list. Increasing diversity within the industry, improving the image of risk management as a profession, and getting insurers to put the customer at the heart of what they do were three of her flagship aims.
“The general awareness that insurers need to treat us better is definitely there.”
As she herself has stressed, these problems won’t go away overnight or indeed in one year, but she has nevertheless overseen impressive progress during the past 12 months.
Improving the relationship between buyers and sellers of insurance was perhaps always going to be the toughest nut to crack. “But we’ve made a good start. Airmic is now working with the IUA and Lloyd’s to improve the industry’s product offering, which is excellent progress,” she says. In her own dealings with the market, Pope is witnessing improvements all the time. “Some have started calling us customers, not clients, which I’m pleased about. And the general awareness that insurers need to treat us better is definitely there.”
It’s been a good year for gender diversity, she says, highlighting the quality of female speakers at the big Airmic events this year: two female speakers at the Annual Dinner, three women on the panel debate in Liverpool this month, Karren Brady wrapping up the conference – and the ladies networking lunch back by popular demand. “I’ve been delighted. Increasing the visibility of women is so important: young people need good strong role models,” she says.
“I really want to make insurance a career of choice. I have really enjoyed it and I want others to too.”
It’s not just gender diversity where progress has been made. “We have set up a new membership committee and one of its aims is to improve the regional diversity of the association,” she explains. And she cites the creation of the Advisory Board – to be made up of some of Airmic’s most senior members – as an important step in meeting the needs of people at all stages of their career.
Of her three aims, Pope seems most passionate about her desire to transform the image of risk and insurance, especially among young people. “I really want to make insurance a career of choice. I have really enjoyed it and I want others to too.”
|
Helen’s top three: What was your highlight of the year? “The Annual Dinner was phenomenal. Everything ran like clockwork, the venue was super, the food super. And not only did the speaker turn up, we had two – proving you can get two for the price of one!” What will be the hot topic at this year’s conference? “I hope it will be a focus on risk and, to quote the conference theme, raising its profile. I think that risk is slowly but surely moving up the corporate agenda, we are seeing progress. Airmic’s report Tomorrow’s Risk Leadership is really important for this.” What’s your top tip for the incoming chair, Patrick Smith? “Enjoy it, embrace it, and have a ball!” |
To this end, Pope has been especially pleased with the progress of fastTrack, Airmic’s initiative to engage those new to the risk management profession. Its success was epitomised by its one-day Forum in February which saw a fantastic turnout of young Airmic members and high-calibre speakers.
Other progress in this area has been an increase in insurance apprenticeships this year. She comments: “We need more young talent across the board – insurers and brokers as well as risk managers, it’s good for everyone in the industry.”
“There were a lot of people who said we couldn’t do it so it was good to prove them wrong!”
A personal highlight for Pope has been the rapid spread of Insight Risk Manager, the global compliance database created by Airmic and insurance information specialists Axco. A project close to her heart, she has been part of the team working on it for years and was able to officially launch it on her first day as Airmic chair at the Birmingham conference last June. “Since then it has gone global with RIMS, FERMA and PARIMA at various stages of taking it up, I’ve been delighted. There were a lot of people who said we couldn’t do it so it was good to prove them wrong!”
So when Pope passes over the chairmanship to Patrick Smith in Liverpool this month, will she be looking forward to a quieter year ahead? Unlikely – she has recently been appointed county commissioner for the Cambridgeshire Girl Guides, a demanding role which she expects will take up much of her spare time. Pope has been a passionate supporter of Girl Guiding UK since a young age, and indeed it was her chosen charity for her year as Airmic chair.
But if anything is clear from talking to Pope about the past 12 months it is how much she has enjoyed the challenge. “I still think it’s a huge honour and a privilege to have been invited into this role, and I feel very grateful” she says.
Helen-Clare Pope: It’s an honour and privilege