August President's Message

Looking Back at our Summer Party / BBQ

We held our Summer Party / BBQ on Friday 24^th August, at Gresham’s. We arranged a BBQ, a rounder’s match, various other games and a DJ. However, we struggled to sell tickets for the event and, after what has largely been a fabulous summer, on the night the weather was actually cool and damp!

People are at the heart of all that I am looking to achieve through my Presidential year and I am really keen to arrange and hold more social events for our members and friends. I think that this time, perhaps we did not quite get the marketing or event date quite right. Lots of people expressed interest in the event but could not attend due to other commitments.

Having said all this, everyone that came along on the night had a great time. The venue was great, we had loads of food and I especially enjoyed an evening of 80’s music. Almost everyone that came along stayed right to the end with lots of games and dancing. My personal highlight was the rounders match - played in diminishing light and with it starting to rain, my son and I were asked to choose the two teams. For once experience overcame youth as my team won – although I think that choosing to bat second when the fielders were struggling to see the ball may have helped…

Tom Chambers should be called out for finishing unbeaten at Connect 4, Amy Winter for her dancing expertise, and Ollie Watson for his ability (inability) to deal cards. I would like to sincerely thank Jess Addison and the Young Professionals / Social Committee for managing all the arrangements for this evening - they did a great job.

Looking ahead to next year’s CII Dinner

After the success of last year’s dinner we are looking to repeat much of worked so well but try to build upon this where we can. Kesgrave Hall is already booked for Friday, 5 April 2019 and the suggested menu looks great. We have also booked the same Toastmaster (Robert Persell) and live Band (The Cassettes) as last year and a photographer and photo booth is planned.

For the second year in a row we will have the incumbent CII President at our dinner - Jonathan Clark, Global Head of Business Solutions Claims at SCOR has agreed to join us as a VIP guest.

We are looking at running a silent auction using a phone App and at other ways to raise money on the night for both my chosen charity (Suffolk Mind) and the insurance charities.

Local pianist Jacob Baker will perform for us on a baby Grand piano in the lobby as people arrive for the dinner - Jacob’s musical training was sponsored by the Insurance Charities.

So we have a great venue and plans in place or underway. We are aiming to keep ticket prices at last year’s prices and should be available to buy shortly.

And in the near future

We have a Cheese and Wine evening arranged for Thursday 6^th September, 6pm and 9pm, at the Willis Building in Ipswich. This will be a great chance to network and meet new people whilst trying a variety of wines.

Booking is as usual via our Website www.cii.co.uk/ipswich and tickets are £20 each – there is a limit on numbers so book now so as to not miss out. If you would like more information please contact Jess Addison jess.addison@willistowerswatson.com.

Earlier that same week, on Tuesday 4^th September, the Willis Towers Watson Young Processionals Network Ipswich, in conjunction with our CII Young Processionals are running a panel event at the Willis office. The central subject for the evening will be agility, (work and mental agility). I will sit on one of the panels which will also include Melissa Collett, the Professional Standards Director at the CII. This is a free to attend event but again spaces are limited.

We have the next Council meeting on Monday 10^th September. There are also two education events planned for October (Study Skills and Exam Techniques - 4^th October; and How to Market yourself - 16^th October) and an Introduction to Blockchain event on the 1^st November – details are included on our website.

A Day in the life of….Paul Sturges

This month we are going to learn a little more about Paul Sturges. Paul is one of our longer serving Council members and a past President. He is our current Secretary and hugely important to the smooth running of the Council:

Like many people I never planned on a career in Insurance. I studied Law and Economics at college and had little idea what I wanted to do. I was offered a place at university to study Economics but was not filled with excitement! I heard that Guardian Royal Exchange were recruiting in Ipswich so I applied for an interview and shortly after accepted a job as a trainee claims handler in 1983.

After a few years I realised that the work that really interested me was carried out by Loss Adjusters and so I moved to become a trainee Loss Adjuster with Trundle Heap and Baker in Colchester.

1987 delivered the best training I ever received. I started the year being sent to Cornwall for a few months to help with thousands of burst pipe claims, followed by the October Hurricane which meant spending the next year working 6 days weeks and writing all my reports on the 7^t

Over the next few years I completed my ACII and ACILA qualifications and I moved to various opportunities before opening a new specialist liability Loss Adjuster branch in Ipswich for McLarens.

Life as a Loss Adjuster can be interesting, with exposure to a wide range of industries and meeting new and sometimes challenging people.

The adjusting industry has undergone significant change over the last 30 years; many of the companies that once existed have disappeared through a merger or acquisition; there is now significantly more demand for complex data and processes and it will be interesting to see what happens to the industry over the next 30 years.

In the early 1990s I started to manage a number of volume claims programmes and in 1997 I developed a new multinational TPA (“Third Party Administrator”) scheme for a global insurer which still remains one of my largest clients to this day.

I now spend most of my time / days looking after various global clients, with activities ranging from stewardship meetings, renewal pricing, service monitoring and even resolving the occasional complaint (!).

I joined our local CII Council about 10 years ago and have undertaken a number of roles including Education secretary and President. I was honoured to receive the Distinguished Service Medal from the CII last year. I have really enjoyed my time on Council, having met new friends, new business contacts and helping to shape our education agenda. I would thoroughly recommend joining Council to anybody in our industry.

Outside of work I live a busy life, my kids are all grown up and now I get to spend most of the summer either ‘camping’ in my 1972 VW Campervan, or riding my Harley Davidson (some might say it is a midlife crisis!!!....).

Over to you…..

I am still really interested from anyone interested in joining our Council or the Young Professional Group. I am also keen to hear from anyone with ideas about how we can support Suffolk Mind over the coming months.

Meantime, do enjoy the rest of the summer and I hope to see as many f you as possible at either the Cheese and Wine evening or the Agility Panel event in September.

Take care, Richard