At the CII’s Annual General Meeting held in London on 24 July, Tom Woolgrove was elected 117th president of the global professional body.
Tom Woolgrove, Cert CII, managing director, Personal Lines Insurance, Direct Line Group, succeeds Amanda Blanc, ACII, Chartered insurer, CEO, AXA Insurance Commercial Lines and Personal Intermediary. Ashwin Mistry, OBE, ACII, Chartered Insurance Broker, chairman and chief executive, Brokerbility, has also been elected as CII deputy president.
Commenting on his appointment as president, Tom Woolgrove said: "Amid wider debates on standards and ethics in financial services, and a clear need to rebuild customer trust and consistently deliver better customer outcomes, the CII's mission to raise standards in insurance and financial services is a cause that the whole profession should get behind. As a leader of the UK's largest personal lines insurer, I am keen to open the debate on how the industry strives towards greater levels of professionalism in retail insurance, which has a critical role in shaping many stakeholders' perceptions of insurance more broadly."
"I am therefore honoured and excited to be accepting presidency of the CII for 2013/14, following in the footsteps of many great figures in insurance and financial services. I would like to pay particular tribute to the immediate past president, Amanda Blanc, who has worked tirelessly in promoting higher levels of professionalism over the past year."
Dr Sandy Scott, CII chief executive, said: "The CII has come a long way since its Royal Charter was first granted over 100 hundred years ago with 2012 being a record year in terms of membership, Chartered status and examinations. However, it is important that as a professional body we continue working harder than ever for our members and the public they serve.
"I would like to express my gratitude to Amanda for her commitment to the CII and its members over the past year, and I'm delighted to welcome Tom Woolgrove as the CII's new president and Ashwin Mistry as deputy president for the year 2013/14."
The winner of the Rutter Medal - awarded each year in recognition of the best qualifying new Fellow of the CII - was Mr Sunil Parmar, FCII, Montpelier Underwriting Services. Mr Parmar will be presented with his medal at the Insurance Institute of London's AGM on 30 September 2013 as he was unable to attend today's event.