Hiscox London Market’s Tabitha Pike – Senior Property Underwriter, has been elected as a member of the Council of the Insurance Institute of London (IIL). The IIL is the Chartered Insurance Institute’s (CII) largest regional institute, helping the CII to promote and build trust in the insurance profession.
As one of five Council members chosen for 2020, Pike will help to support and shape IIL policy. “I’ve been involved with the IIL for three years,” says Pike, “having first joined the Representatives’ Committee which is made up of people with a range of insurance expertise including claims, underwriting and pricing. This year, I was nominated to the Council which acts as the final arbiter in all IIL matters and controls and directs the Institute’s policy.”
Making a difference
Elected for a three-year term, Pike says she is looking forward to helping make a difference. “The reason I got involved with the Institute was to give something back to the industry. I’ve benefited from many CII programmes and see a lot of value in the initiatives they run.”
ACII qualified Pike sees the educational side of the CII as hugely important. “I think it’s important that people – whether they’re clients, partners, young graduates, or school leavers coming into the industry – perceive insurance as a professional career and the CII helps to achieve that. To become chartered under the CII, for example, insurers need to have a certain percentage of their employees as ACII qualified.”
“Hiscox is committed to supporting the CII,” says Pike, “and it’s important to us as a business that we are involved and can contribute.” Being elected to the Council demands a time commitment of four meetings a year – currently held virtually during the pandemic – but it’s time that Pike is happy to give she says if it helps progress the aims of the IIL.
Spreading the message
Current initiatives promoted by the IIL include a ‘Discover risk’ programme that aims to take insurance out to schools and colleges and promote insurance as a career. “Diversity and inclusion are also important objectives,” Pike adds, “which means our work in underprivileged areas is crucial to encourage people from varied backgrounds who might not normally consider insurance as a viable career option for them.”
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