CII launches member consultation in move to become more ‘relevant’

16 October 2021

The Chartered Insurance Institute (CII) has launched a consultation to allow members to have their say on shaping the professional body’s strategy in a bid to raise public trust in the insurance and personal finance profession.

The Shaping the Future Together consultation is designed to refresh the CII’s 2016 manifesto, which saw the professional body commit to becoming more modern, relevant and diverse.

The institute’s proposals for how it will raise public trust include making the qualification framework and learning provision more user-friendly, accessible and capable of meeting the future learning needs of all students; giving members more flexibility to achieve the CII’s Chartered and Fellow designation so qualifications and experience are no longer the only route; and replacing the current membership model with three levels of membership – member, chartered member and fellow.

In addition, the consultation will explore a possible requirement for a statement of professional standing for insurance professionals and explore possible amendments to the CII’s governance structure to provide greater clarity and cost efficiency.

Members and key stakeholders can use the online consultation form to share their thoughts about the proposals, the challenges they face, their current relationship with the CII and how they feel the professional body can best meet their needs in the years to come.

Dr Helen Phillips, chair of the CII, said: “The Shaping the Future Together consultation gives members a great opportunity to have their say on how we ensure the CII can best inspire public trust and confidence in our family of professions by working with members’ to meet their needs and expectations as well as exploring how the CII’s current governance structure works and how it could evolve.

“We welcome feedback from all our members and, as a board, we will listen carefully to the responses. They will help inform how we shape our strategy for the next five years, and ensure we are fit for the future.”

Sian Fisher, CEO of the CII, added: “We know that, as a professional body, we can only provide our members with the support and services they want, if we truly understand their needs and expectations. That is why this consultation – Shaping the Future Together– is so important.

“This consultation will help shape what the CII delivers for members, corporate customers and students, based on their input, and input from the wider profession and consumers.

“We encourage and value participation – it’s a real opportunity for everyone to have a say on the skills, knowledge, insight and networking opportunities needed for every professional in our sector to thrive.”

PFS criticism

In response to the new consultation, the Personal Finance Society said while it welcomed the development it was disappointed that the CII did not engage with the PFS and bring the document to the PFS for input.

Sarah Lord, president of the Personal Finance Society, said: “The PFS Board is disappointed that over the last few years the CII’s education offering, including the qualification framework and pathways, has not kept pace with the needs of the profession ad welcomes the opportunity for PFS members to input their views on improvements now necessary.

“The PFS Board believes in the light of the CII Board’s attempt to deregister the company that the status quo is no longer an option and welcomes the implicit recognition of this in the consultation document. We encourage all members to contribute their views on their relationship with the PFS and the CII by responding to the consultation.”

Over the coming weeks, the PFS Board said it will continue to take steps to achieve clarity on the current financial position of the CII Group to ensure that the reserves accumulated from PFS members subscriptions and other activities are used solely for the purposes set out in the PFS Articles of Association, as well as consider options for alternative legal structures which will better protect and promote the interests of PFS members and the public.

Professional Paraplanner