Out of the £200,000 that the CII sought from the industry for its Talent Initiative to attract young people into insurance only Allianz has committed a £20,000 sum.
The pressure is now on the remaining 10 insurance giants, who were present at a CII breakfast briefing last week, to come up with the outstanding £180,000.
The financial support from companies such as Zurich, Marsh, AXA, Aon, Norwich Union and Royal & SunAlliance is crucial if the initiative is to survive.
However a CII spokesman told Insurance Times that since launching the Talent Initiative last year at its conference, the response has been “highly supportive” from the industry.
He said: “So far the CII has invested £200,000 in the development and marketing of the initiative. We are now ready to take the initiative to the next stage. This is why we are seeking an amount from the industry to equal the investment from the CII."
Amanda Blanc, chief executive of Towergate’s retail broking division, said that, although it was still early days, it would work closely with the CII and “consider any requests for help as part of an overall approach”.
The CII encouraged those companies at the meeting to take part in the first general insurance careers fair, the Big Event, on 31 October at Manchester University.
Participants were told that the programme was now focusing on school leavers rather than graduates.
Meanwhile, Perkins Slade has thrown its weight behind the CII’s chartered broker status, which aims to raise professional standards.
David Slade told Insurance Times: “We needed something like this to differentiate us from the ‘insurance salesman’ label. We are insurance professionals who really care about people.”
