2019 Judges

2019 Award Judges

Vivek Banga

Managing Director

Polaris UK

Vivek is the Managing Director of Polaris UK Ltd, an insurance industry owned organisation that underpins digital trading within the industry. More than 125 organisations use Polaris’ products – ProductWriter which is the industry’s most widely used digital rating engine, Standards for digital trading, the imarket gateway that connects broker systems to Commercial Lines insurer systems and a Live-Chat service allowing insurers and brokers to have secure risk related conversations while trading digitally.   

 

Vivek has over twenty years’ experience in the industry. Prior to joining Polaris, he was the Chief Digital Officer at Gallagher UK, leading the development of a multi-product, multi-country digital platform and mobile apps. Previously, he worked for Brit Insurance and NIG, leading the development of their online distribution propositions. He has also chaired BIBA’s cross-industry Innovation Working Group and was a member of TechNation’s Insurtech Board for three years.

https://www.linkedin.com/company/polaris-uk-limited/mycompany/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/vivek-banga-03a560

John Bissell

Executive director

CILA

John Blundell

Chairman/ NED/ Board Advisor

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Jack Brownhill

Founder

World Motor Insurance Consultancy

Jack Brownhill has been involved in the general insurance market for many years, spent in senior positions with the UK arm of a major multinational insurance group and as an independent consultant offering consultancy services across a wide range of issues.

In addition, Jack has been a member of a number of industry committees and groups both in the UK and Europe focusing on regulation, legislation, road safety, vehicle technology, telematics and fraud.

Vivine Cameron

Diversity & Inclusion Manager

CII Equality

Vivine Cameron is Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion Manager at the Chartered Insurance Institute. Vivine’s role and remit is the promotion of greater diversity and inclusion within the Chartered Insurance Institute as an organisation and within the wider insurance and financial planning profession as a whole.

During her career, Vivine has worked within a range of fields from Legal, Schools, Further & Higher Education, Retail, Tech, Tech Start-ups, NHS and Construction, to Insurance and Financial Planning.   Vivine is an enthusiastic Learning and Development professional, passionate to enable all to achieve their desired personal and professional goals.

Vivine is a 2008 American Express Regent’s Club Award Winner, recognising the outstanding top performing 3% of employees globally for their goal achievements and leadership behaviours; and

2022 NextGen Planners Education Initiative of the Year Award Winner recognising tireless work to improve values in Financial Planning through quality education and support.

Jonathan Clark

Principal

Jonathan Clark Consulting Ltd

A Chartered Loss Adjuster and Chartered Insurer Jonathan has over 35 years claims handling experience. He has dealt with claims in more than 50 countries and has worked with many of the world's largest corporations on their claims programmes. He has designed and implemented claims compensation schemes for governmental bodies and was Claims Director of the Financial Services Compensation scheme from 2007 to 2009.

After a lengthy career at executive level in the world’s largest claims adjusting firms, he joined SCOR in 2013 as head of claims in London. Jonathan is now Global Head of Claims for Business Solutions within the SCOR Global P& C.

Jonathan is past President of the London Business Interruption Association, past Treasurer of the Insurance Institute of London immediate past President of the Chartered Institute of Loss Adjusters and President of the Chartered Insurance Institute.

He holds degrees in Biochemistry and Biochemical Engineering from Oxford and London Universities.  Hobbies include music and sailing in which he has been a member of the British Sailing team as well as a regular columnist for a leading magazine.

Dominic Clayden

Chief Executive Officer

Motor Insurers' Bureau

Dominic Clayden has been in the insurance industry for over 20 years and joined the MIB as Chief Executive in May 2018.  

The MIB is at the heart of the fight against Uninsured driving, and manages claims relating to Uninsured and Untraced driving.   The organisation also provides management services to other industry bodies, especially focused on data asset management.

Dominic joined MIB from QBE, where he most recently held the role of Group Chief Claims Officer.  He has also worked at Aviva as their Claims Director for its General Insurance business, and co-ordinated their claims best practice globally.

He has had a leading role in major negotiations in respect of personal injury reform in the UK and represented the Insurance industry at the Advisory Committee on Civil Costs.

Dominic has been instrumental in the build of the website solution for the Whiplash reforms. Continuing to be the key lead in maintaining stakeholder relations with MoJ, CPRC, Insurers and Solicitors throughout the timeline of the programme. 

Simon Cooter

iNED & Chair

Qlaims Limited & Acrisure UK

Angela Darling

Independent Non-Executive Director and Executive Consultant

Angela is an independent non-executive director and Executive Consultant with a wealth of experience providing having held several senior jobs in the market. 

 

In her previous role with The General Insurance Standards Council, the first UK regulator to set standards for business conduct, she was instrumental in the development of the Council, formulating and establishing the framework to enable it to deliver its objectives. She was also the principal author of the GISC Rules which formed the basis of FCA regulation in 2005. 

 

Angela developed and chaired the Governance and Diversity Committees of the Chartered Insurance Institute (CII) which led to the CII’s current governance structure and the introduction of a diversity policy for companies and members. 

 

Sian Fisher

Senior Non-Exec Director

SCOR UK

Sian has held a wide variety of senior executive roles in the insurance sector giving a rare perspective across Lloyd’s syndicate underwriting, international specialist insurance, corporate management, Managing General Agents (MGAs), entrepreneurial start-ups, US Global broking and the Royal Chartered Professional Body for insurance and personal finance.
She held Board level roles as Managing Director of Hiscox Insurance Co, as Co-Founder and Managing Director at Oxygen (OIM) which was sold to Arthur J Gallagher, now renamed Pen Underwriting, and as CEO of the Chartered Insurance Institute. While at Gallagher she was also a Founder and original Board member of the Managing General Agents’ Association.
Having made the move from full-time Exec to Non- Exec roles in 2022, she is currently the Senior Non-Executive Director on the Board of SCOR UK and the Non-Executive Director on the Board of Asta Underwriting Management Ltd.
A graduate of Oxford University with an Exec MBA from Harvard, Sian is a strong advocate for ED&I. She was co- founder and Chair of the “Insuring Women’s Futures” (IWF) campaign, a founder member of the Insurance Supper Club (ISC) and a founder Board member of Insurance United Against Dementia (IUAD).

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Julia Graham

Technical Director

AIRMIC

Peter Graham

COO

Blagrove Underwriting Agency

Peter has over 30 years senior level experience in the insurance industry and has held a number of CEO and Chairman roles.  Peter was previously the CEO at esure Insurance and has also held senior roles at Direct Line, Legal & General, Barbon Insurance and two U.S. insurers.

Peter has recently been leading Kudo, an InsurTech motor insurance MGA.  He is known for leading businesses of a disruptive nature, and being an industry innovator.

Karen Hogg

Found and Director

Coach Forward Ltd

Joined the insurance industry as a school leaver over 30 years ago and since then has held a broad range of roles from mailroom to boardroom both as an insurer and broker.

Most recently as Chief Customer Officer at Atlanta Group, with accountability for 2m customers across 14 brands, before making the move to set up own business focussing on Advising Boards and Exec Coaching & Mentoring. 

Passionate about the insurance industry and driving success by putting the customer first and developing/retaining talent.  A strong advocate of insurance as a career choice.

Emma Ann Hughes

Editor

Insurance Post

Emma began her career in financial journalism in 2003 as pensions reporter on the Financial Times’s weekly Financial Adviser newspaper. Between 2003 and 2019 she edited several of the FT's award-winning titles for intermediaries, including Financial Adviser, Mortgage Adviser and FTAdviser.

As well as winning multiple awards over the course of her career for breaking exclusive news as well as in-depth reports, she has spoken at the Conservative party conference and appeared on BBC radio programmes talking about personal finance.

In 2019 she joined the Chartered Insurance Institute as communications director and was responsible for the production of its publication for insurance professionals The Journal and CII Radio podcasts. She joined Insurance Post as their 21st Editor in November 2022.

Vicky Hughes

Vice-President Membership

ICMIF

Mike Keating

Chief Executive Officer

Managing General Agents’ Association

Currently CEO of the Managing General Agents Association, a position he has held since September 2020, Mike has crafted a successful and varied career in the industry. 

Beginning his career as an underwriter in the company market he joined AXA Commercial in 1999 managing their strategic MGA/DA partnerships before progressing to Managing Director of their Personal Lines business (excluding direct). Leaving AXA in 2011, he joined the board at UK General, one of the UK’s largest MGAs, where he took responsibility for the Commercial portfolio introducing a successful targeted UK small regional broker strategy.  

From 2016, Mike held Executive positions in the Broker sector before working with West Hill Capital in launching a new MGA Insuretech start-up, Qlaims. 

In 2022 Mike was included in the Top 100 Global Leaders by Insurance Magazine

Barbara Merry

Portfolio non executive director

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John O'Roarke

Chairman

The Acorn Group

John has over 35 years’ experience in the insurance industry holding senior roles in some of the UK’s largest insurers.  Having trained as a Chartered Accountant he started his insurance career with AIG in New York.

After returning to the UK, he joined Churchill Insurance as Finance Director in its start-up year, eventually becoming Managing Director.  Following the acquisition of Churchill by Direct Line, John became COO of Direct Line Group. 

In 2005 he left DLG to create ABC Insurance with a team of ex-DLG colleagues.   ABC then took over the management of the failing Liverpool Victoria GI business.  Over a ten-year period, the team grew LV= from £300m to £1.6bn GWP by 2016, with LV= becoming the UK’s #3 car insurer and recognised as the UK’s Most Trusted Insurer.

Since retiring from full-time roles in 2016, John has held NED or Chair roles at Aviva, Hiscox Asia, HF Solicitors, Ivernia Insurance Ireland and The Acorn Group.

Between 2013–16, John was also Chairman of the Insurance Fraud Bureau and Chair of the ABI’s Financial Crime Committee. In July 2018 he received the Lifetime Achievement Award at the British Insurance Awards.

Jane Portas

Creator

6 Moments That Matter

Jane Portas is a financial educator, author of The Risks in Life Series of award-winning insight reports and financial life guides, and the creator of 6 Moments That Matter, a unique, risk-based, six life-stage approach to help people and organisations to improve financial wellbeing and secure fair financial futures.  A scientist and chartered accountant, Jane is a former “big four” professional services partner with over 30 years’ experience of advising financial firms on governance, risk and regulation, financial solvency, customer outcomes and financial vulnerability.  She is a member of Women’s Business Council, an adviser to the charity Surviving Economic Abuse, and co-founder of Insuring Women’s Futures where the Market Task Force Manifesto she authored inspired the Money and Pensions Service to embed gender in the UK strategy for financial wellbeing.  She was awarded an OBE in the 2023 New Year Honours for services to business and to equality. 

Lisa Powis

Non Exec and former Founder and CEO

Fresh Insurance Group

Lisa Powis is known for the role of founder and CEO of the Fresh Insurance Group, a multi-niched Personal Lines Brokerage with over 80,000 policyholders and employing over 250 staff. The business wrote over £60 million Gross Written Premium and was  successfully sold in May 2018. 

Lisa maintains an active interest in InsurTech and is a partner and head of InsurTech for the Scale Up Group UK, helping grow global champions. Lisa has mentored many Technology start-ups with the Accelerator Academy and is an accredited coach for Rise Growth Academy, a Barclays Bank acceleration program. Lisa is due to complete the Certificate in Professional Coaching at Henley Business school in March 2024.

Lisa is an investor in several Start ups and Series A companies and continues to invest in motivated and talented companies alongside offering her mentoring skills.

In 2016, Lisa founded the charity ‘Painting Our World in Silver, dedicated to fight loneliness in the elderly population. During the Covid outbreak, the charity has delivered over 13,000 craft care packs to vulnerable and Isolated seniors, partnering with the Salvation Army, Age Concern and AgeUK.

In 2022, Lisa was awarded The British Empire Medal in the 2021 Queens New Year’s Honours list.

 

Mervyn Skeet

Director

General Insurance Policy

Hannah Kate Smith

Operations & Engagement Director

Lloyd's

Hannah Kate is Operations & Engagement Director at Lloyd’s, progressing the delivery of Blueprint Two; a complex multi-year strategy to digitalise the London insurance market. She joined the industry as an Underwriting Assistant at RSA Group and in the years that followed, undertook a range of roles in underwriting, sales and development, strategy and marketing across RSA’s UK, European and International businesses. In 2018, Hannah moved to Lloyd’s as Chief of Staff to Performance Management Director. Since then, she has served as Chief of Staff to Lloyd’s CEO and as Market Engagement & Global Communications Director, before being promoted to her current role in 2023. Hannah is passionate about building a more inclusive and accessible insurance industry for all; in particular, supporting up and coming talent, and advocating for more women in leadership.

Graeme Trudgill

CEO

BIBA

Graeme was appointed CEO in July 2023. Prior to this he was BIBA’s Executive Director for ten years when he joined the main board of BIBA and led the BIBA policy team that incorporates corporate affairs, technical services and communications.  He is personally responsible for BIBA’s public affairs lobby with government, has provided written and oral evidence to the House of Commons and the House of Lords and is the author of the annual BIBA manifesto.  Prior to joining BIBA Graeme was a general insurance broker between 1989 and 2001.

Graeme’s knowledge of insurance and the sector is wide-ranging, and he appears regularly as a source of expertise in the media where he promotes the benefits of using a broker.  He sits on the main board of the Employers’ Liability Tracing Office, the Department for Levelling Up Housing and Communities: Building Safety Programme Market Assurance Group, the MOD Financial Services Steering Group and the Chartered Insurance Institute’s Society of Insurance Broking, as well as BIBA’s Insurance Brokers’ Standards Committee. He has also participated on the CBI Trade Association Council and Insurance Fraud Taskforce. As a strong advocate of expanding access to insurance, Graeme sits on the Insurance Disability Champion’s Access to Insurance Steering Group and the BIBA Access to Insurance cross-sector committee.  Graeme is a Fellow of the Chartered Insurance Institute and a Chartered Insurance Practitioner.  

 

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Ashton West OBE

chair and non-executive director

The Road Safety Trust and Weightmans

David Williams

Chairman

The Fire Protection Association

David has over 30 years’ experience in General Insurance, roles including Reinsurance Manager, Casualty Insurance Manager, Managing Director Claims and Managing Director of Underwriting & Technical Services.

In 2018 he was recognised as Social Media Influencer of the year, and in 2019 he won both the Insurance Post Claims Achievement Award, as well as being named Insurance Personality of the Year at the British Insurance Awards.

David led AXA’s work on Connected & Autonomous Vehicles, including work with five Government backed Consortia. He was Chair of the ABI Motor Committee & Autonomous Driving Group and sat on the ABI GIC for several years. He now sits on the newly formed Thatcham Research ‘Strategic Technical Advisory Board’

David was a Vice President of the CII Nationally, was a founding member of the joint CII / CILA Faculty of Claims, and was Chair of the CII Underwriting Faculty for almost a decade. He holds Non-Exec Director roles at Qlaims and Freedom Services Group. He was until recently Chair of RISCAuthority, and remains a Board Member of the Fire Protection Association (FPA).

He speaks regularly at conferences and other events and has also appeared on Sky TV, BBC Breakfast TV, BBC and Channel 4 News, as well as Radio 4’s ‘Today’ Programme, being interviewed on topics varying from Compensation Culture to Business Crime.

David originally hails from Bristol (explaining his passion for Bristol Rovers!) but now lives in Suffolk with his wife Catherine and two sons Evan (17) & Ryan (15)

 

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David Worsfold

Founder

Worsfold Media Services