Mon 25 Feb. 2019
President's Message - February 2019
My RED January adventure ended successfully. Both Sarah Deacon (our Deputy President) and I ran (in some shape or form) every day in January.
I think we both feel better for being more active and between us we have raised nearly £2,500 for Suffolk Mind. As well as cash, Suffolk Mind have received some great publicity and had the 2nd highest number of “REDDERS” in the country.
My sincere thanks to all those that sponsored Sarah and I. The sponsorship pages are open until the end of February after which we should know the total amount of money raised.
Ipswich, Suffolk and North Essex CII All-Day Conference Success
After much preparation, we held our all-day Conference on Wednesday 6th February 2019 at Wherstead Park. In line with the key themes for my presidential year, the conference focused on modernisation and change with an ambitious list of topics to cover… I am pleased to say that the event was a great success!
The event started at 9.30am but large numbers of people were on site well before then. We had over 120 people attending with a tiny number of “no-show’s” The venue worked well (although we will look at ways to shorten the queues for lunch in future) and I thoroughly enjoyed hosting the event. The overall theme and individual topics really seemed to strike a chord:
- Inga Beale DBE, Lloyds of London – Emerging Risks
- Steve Coates, Pool Re – New Age Terrorism and New Age Solutions
- Damian Glynn, Sedgwick Ltd – the Salisbury Novichok Poisoning and BI policies
- David Sparkes, BIBA – Regulatory Update
- Tom Chamberlain & Tony Avery, Allianz GC&S – everything you need to know about drones
- Rebecca Tinsley & Samantha Allen, Cyber Crime Unit – Cyber-enabled crime
- Jon Neal, CEO of Suffolk Mind – Well-being in the Workplace
Feedback on the day and since the event has been really positive. To quote just one of my colleagues:
“I thought that I would let you know how much I valued the CII conference yesterday. I thought the speakers were excellent, the topics were of great interest to me and well delivered and I personally feel I got a lot from the day”.
And now the clock is ticking…..
It seems hard to believe but it’s now just 2 months to our AGM in April, when my year as Presidential year comes to an end. Whilst I am happy with what we have achieved over the last 10 months there are still things on the “to do” list before I hand over to Sarah Deacon….
Ringo’s – Thursday 28th February 2019. The last social event of my Presidential term and what could be better than sliding down a ski-slope on a giant rubber ring! This event has been arranged by our Young Professionals Group and will run between 6pm and 8pm. After much sliding down the slopes at Bourne Hill we will retire to the Oyster Reach for drinks and food.
“The Human Robot” – Tuesday 5th March 2019. A lunchtime CPD event looking at securing and managing data. The venue is yet to be confirmed but the event will run between 12.30pm and 2pm. It will be led by Kevin Reid who has over 30 years’ experience in data forensics, anti-fraud management, data analytics and security and governance.
Annual Dinner - Friday 5th April 2019. The highlight of our year will be held at Kesgrave Hall. An evening of fun, networking and entertainment; celebrating people and enjoying a fantastic dinner. We have Jacob Baker playing piano for guests as they arrive and then later in the evening we can dance to live music from The Cassettes. There will be a raffle/auction, a photographer and a photo booth!
Prize Giving Event – Wednesday 10th April 2019. Being held in the Bobby Robson Suite at Ipswich Town Football Club, this event will celebrate local exam success over the last 12 months. Melissa Collett, the CII Standards Director, will be joining us to give a talk and to help with the presentations. There will also be time for questions, networking and taking photographs of winners….
Council Meeting – Monday 15th April 2019. My last Council meeting as President and a chance to start firming up on arrangements and plans for the year ahead.
Annual general Meeting – Monday 29th April 2019. This will take place at the Ipswich and Suffolk Club in Ipswich, starting at 6pm, and is open to all local members. It would be great to hear from anyone interested in joining our Council for the coming year.
A day in the Life of…..Phil Rawlings
This month we have a treat as Phil Rawlings provides us with an insight to his world, past and present. Phil is a Council stalwart, a Past President and the current Charities officer. He is always ready to pitch in and help out. In his own words…..
In May 2017, I took an opportunity which took me away from the AXA Group after 37 years of service. For nearly 8 years I had been the Motor Claims Manager for AXA Corporate Solutions. Before that, within AXA Insurance and Guardian Insurance, I worked in various claims related roles including management of large losses and the setting of the strategy and technical methods of settling motor claims.
My insurance career started in July 1980 in Nottingham, straight from 6th form. Guardian Royal Exchange had a small claims office and I was taken on and was soon managing claims of all classes. After 6 years I was asked to join the Head Office Claims Team in Ipswich. I made the journey from Nottingham to Ipswich, arriving with a perm - it was the 1980s after all! Interestingly the journey takes longer now than it did 30 years ago.
The learning curve was steep but I was surrounded by experienced and knowledgeable colleagues who helped my development. The role involved the management of larger claims, in conjunction with colleagues at branch offices, by passing on experience as it had been passed onto me.
5 years later I was asked if I would like to move to Southampton where my experience might be helpful in developing a young and inexperienced team. In 1991 I arrived in Southampton as Claims Superintendent – a title hardly ever seen anymore and makes me feel like a dinosaur! I must have been doing something right as I was then asked to take up a role in London working closely with the Managing Director and his Executive Team. This entailed managing complaints and other projects being driven by the top team. This was succeeded by a move back to Ipswich to take up the first of many claims related roles, this time in process re-engineering - making sure claims were being managed efficiently and effectively.
By far the most stressful role was managing the Executive Complaints Team during the restructuring of GRE, AXA and Provincial. Different approaches, new colleagues and operational hurdles all combined to make every day a new day. I did however forge relationships which remained strong long after I left.
Equally pleasing was then having responsibility for establishing a set of common standards by which motor claims were managed across the new organisation. This included the sign off of technical training and the production of manuals and circulars to guide staff. This was particularly important when some operations were off-shored to AXA in India.
More recently my role as Motor Claims Manager was to manage a team of claims handlers dealing with claims from some of the biggest fleets in the UK and some of the most well -known organisations. Meeting with clients on a regular basis was the highlight, where it was important to inform them of the progress we had made in settling cases of significance and the developments in the claims marketplace.
For the last couple of years I have taken my working life much more steadily. I work in an audit and consultancy capacity for organisations that would like the benefit of my experience and short term availability. That has given me time to do things I did not have time for whilst working full time. Playing the occasional round of golf, watching cricket (my body gave up on me actually playing) and reading books (not files, reports or evidence). When I’m not soaking up the sun in Lanzarote, I’m watching my beloved Nottingham Panthers Ice Hockey team and despairing of the fortunes of Nottingham Forest. Please note its Nottingham Forest – it is never shortened!
I have served on the local CII Council since 2008, was honoured to be President in 2010/11 and more recently taken up the role of a Welfare Visitor for the Insurance Charities. I would urge you to support the Insurance Charities where you can. If anyone would like to know more about their work, I would be happy to visit you and explain what they do and how easy it is to help.
I have visited a small number of people during my tenure and so far the charity has been able to help each one of them when they needed its support the most.
I would also encourage everyone without a formal insurance qualification to consider study. Not only do qualifications promote increased knowledge but also demonstrate professionalism to others. Professionalism and confidence are vastly important to employers and customers and the CII provides study platforms for everyone to achieve a formal qualification.
So who is Phil Rawlings? Last week someone referred to me as a legend. He was however drunk and as such I don’t think that counts!
Go to the Website for more information
For more information about all the events mentioned above, to obtain information from past events and to read more about your local CII please go to www.locainstitutes.cii.co.uk/ipswich. We are also on LinkedIn and are always keen to hear about new ideas and from anyone interested in learning more about joining our Council.
There are still a few places available for our Annual Dinner so please do book now to avoid disappointment.
With very best wishes,
Richard.