CII launches Society of Insurance Broking

The Chartered Insurance Institute (CII) has today launched the first of its dedicated societies, the Society of Insurance Broking.

It is part of its strategic manifesto commitment to become a “more relevant and diverse professional body” by transitioning its faculty of brokers into a Society.

The board will comprise of broker practitioners and CII executives and it hopes to offer an “enhanced member experience” to better engage with those in the sector by providing strategic direction.

Over the coming months, societies dedicated to other sectors of the insurance profession will also be launched including claims and underwriting in addition to the existing Personal Finance Society and the Mortgage Professionals CII sub-brands.

Last month, it was revealed that the number of people holding a chartered title through the CII had dropped for the first time since 2008, according to its annual report.

Its non-executive managing director is announced as Liz Foster of brokers’ Ingram, Hawkins & Nock and Kevin Hancock of Yutree Insurance as chair.

Other board members include Paul Anscombe of Seventeen Group; Peter Blanc and Stephen Lark of Aston Lark, Mark Crawford of Aon, Simon Keenan of Griffiths and Armour, David McCallum of Brokerbility, Barry O’Neill of Home and Legacy Insurance Services, Steve White of British Insurance Brokers’ Association and James York of Worry+Peace.

Mark Hutchinson, societies and member marketing director for CII, said that there are many people that work in insurance that do not see the relevance of CII qualifications and membership to their role.

He said: “By launching this dedicated Society we want to reach out to them and show them the value and relevance of engaging with the dedicated professional body for their sector.”

Non-executive managing director of the Society Board, Liz Foster said that she is a “passionate advocate for professional insurance brokers.

She said: “This is an exciting development in the evolution of the insurance broking sector and gives us the opportunity to address key issues to help ensure improved consumer outcomes and trust by demonstrating the value of the service we provide.”

Core objectives of the Society of Insurance Broking will be to engendering consumer confidence and trust in the profession and is aligned to the CII’s Royal Charter commitment.

Keith Richards, managing director of engagement at the CII, added: “This is a significant new development for the CII and recognises that, whilst we are all part of a united insurance profession, individual segments within our membership have specific needs from a professional standards perspective.”

He said, that its sector level regulatory engagement has already developed with the FCA committed to working with the Society Board to offer insights and guidance for the market.

The CII is a professional body for the insurance sector, its chief executive Sian Fisher spoke at Insurance 2025 last week on the C-Suite panel about transformation in the industry.