Insurance & financial advice:
risky business?
Caspar Bartington
The Chartered Insurance Institute
Chris Sloan Dip CII
Allianz
Paul Scarff Chartered Financial Planner
AFSL
Why are we here?
Challenging perceptions
Reassurance
• The fundamental importance of insurance
• The opportunities within financial advice
• The stability of both insurance and financial
advice in a turbulent sector
The CII is…
• The world’s largest professional body for
insurance…and financial services (PFS)
• 95,000 members in 150 countries
Insurance is…
• Peace of mind – moving risk elsewhere
• Everything and anything
• £300m paid out in claims – every day
Great industry
Fundamental to modern life
No insurance =
• No shipping and travel
• No construction and motoring
• No risk taking = no innovation
Big business
Diverse challenges:
Hurricanes, earthquakes, investments,
finance, airline going out of business, piracy
And it’s big…very big
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Over 320,000 employed directly + 1m
2nd largest export
20% of the total net worth of UK plc
2nd largest insurance market in the world
Introduction to Commercial
Underwriting
Chris Sloan
My route into insurance
University
 University of Strathclyde, graduating in 2007 with BA(Hons) in Marketing
 Also spent exchange year at AUT University in New Zealand
Why Insurance?
 Scanning University’s Career website, was unsure about what path was right
for me. After reading job details of Graduate Underwriter scheme decided it
was closely matched to my skills/ambitions
 Researched insurance industry and Allianz – was impressed!
 Solid industry with a great deal of interaction and opportunity to continue
education through CII and Allianz’s Underwriting Academy
 Looking to learn a ‘core skill’
© Copyright Allianz
The story so far...
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First days – September 2007
 Induction week with the various graduate schemes – networking opportunities
 Was given a mentor and ‘buddy’ for any problems
 Looking at existing policies, processing MTAs and renewals
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Business Development – September 2008
 Dealing with new business enquiries
 More chance to talk to brokers on a daily basis and write policies from scratch
 Corporate hospitality events
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Ongoing
 Underwriting Academy – have completed Level 1, now studying for Level 2
 I have passed 5 exams and if successful will be awarded ACII by end of 2009
© Copyright Allianz
Day in the life
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0830Arrive in work and plan day, check emails
0900Make phone calls to brokers to discuss cases allocated that day
1000Work on various cases, Fleet, Motor Trade and Property &
Casualty
1200Attend meeting to discuss various technical and commercial
developments
1230Lunch
1330Refer more complicated cases to Senior U/W and discuss,
making my recommendation and discussing U/W factors
1430Admin/Check emails
1500Project work/reports/prospecting/prospecting
1600Finalise quotes and discuss with brokers, may meet with them
to discuss upcoming cases etc
1730
Finish up and do some study from home
© Copyright Allianz
Allianz Insurance
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Offers 7 different graduate career paths: around 30 per year
- Corporate Management Trainee
- Underwriting Management
- Claims Management
- Sales, Marketing and Business
- IT
- Finance
- Actuarial and Planning
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The second biggest insurer in the world
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Behind household names such as Cornhill Direct and Pet Plan
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Head Office is based in Guildford, reporting to Allianz in Munich
© Copyright Allianz
Opportunities
Diverse range:
• Specialist and technical roles such as claims,
loss adjusting, underwriting, broking – UK and
international
• General business roles such as accounting,
marketing, HR and business management
Skills, training and professional development
Superb rewards – without compromising life
Qualifications
• CII Certificate in Insurance (A level )
• CII Diploma in Insurance (degree yr one)
• CII Advanced Diploma in Insurance
(degree) – also known as ACII
• Fellowship (FCII)
• Chartered status – Insurer, Insurance Broker,
Insurance Practitioner
Qualifications – subjects
Subject areas include
• Broking
• Underwriting
• Insurance law
• Risk management
• Marine insurance
• Reinsurance
Big names
And many more…….
www.insurancecareers.cii.co.uk
• Business explanations
• Profiles
• Case studies
• Job descriptions
• Links to employers
Financial advice is
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About people, not just numbers
An ever-changing environment
An opportunity to earn significant sums
Not a 9 to 5 job – you’re in charge!
A range of roles from individual to corporate
Financial Planning
&
Wealth Management
Paul E Scarff
Chartered Financial Planner
Presented by Paul Scarff, CFP │ February 2009
Company background
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We are a Scotland-based firm of Independent Financial Advisers, with offices in Edinburgh and
Glasgow
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We have been accredited with the prestigious ‘Chartered Financial Planners’ title. This is the
industry’s gold standard for the highest standards of professionalism
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We provide personal face-to-face investment, pension and financial planning advice. Based on this
principle we build strong, trusting and lasting relationships with our clients
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We work in partnership with over 90 Chartered Accountant firms, offering advice to their clients
Career to date
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Trainee Bank Clerk with Royal Bank of Scotland in 1986
– Bank qualifications
– Seven years working up to Branch Assistant Manager
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‘Man from the Pru’ for three years
– FPC qualification (previous version of Certificate in Financial Planning)
– Universities’ and schools’ AVC pension schemes
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Financial Planning Manager at RBS in 1996
– Three years of working with small business customers in Lanarkshire
– AFPC qualification (replaced by Diploma and Advanced Diploma in Financial Planning)
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AFS as Independent Financial Adviser (IFA) since 1999
– Pension and Investment Specialist
– Chartered Financial Planner status
– Management buyout in 2007
Changing landscape
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25 years ago
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Now
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Insurance salesman
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Fee-based (specified or hourly rate)
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Home service
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Long-term client relationship
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Initial commission
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Qualifications?
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Recurring income generation
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No regulation
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Wealth management
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Short-term client relationship
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Career path
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Highly regulated
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Higher qualification entry level
A financial planning process
Define Goals
Agree your investment
aims & objectives
Regular Reviews
Risk Profile
Ongoing portfolio management
review at agreed time intervals
Assess your attitude to risk
Tax Strategy
Asset Allocation
Ensure the most tax efficient
implementation of your
investment portfolio
Determine the appropriate
asset allocation to meet your
risk/return objectives
Fund Selection
Partnership with SEI & fund
selection for peripheral asset
classes
Typical financial planning services
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Mortgages
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Protection
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Personal
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Business
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Trusts
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Inheritance Tax
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Charities & Non-Profit Organisations
Saving Tax (Avoidance not Evasion!)
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Savings
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VCT, EIS, Film Partnerships
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Investments
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Offshore
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Product selection
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ISA’s
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Collectives
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Offshore
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Stakeholder and Personal Pensions
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Specialist Products
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Group Schemes
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SIPP’s
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Wealth Management
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Retirement Planning
Lifestyle Financial Planning
Typical Clients
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Self-employed business owners
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Employers
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Pre-retirement
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Post-retirement
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Will & Tax Planning
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Moving home
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Medium/long-term Investment
Great opportunities in financial advice
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Ageing sector means many retire soon (average age of IFA is over 50)
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Professional standards continue to go up
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Various Options
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Support services (Retail sector)
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Paraplanner (£15K to £35K) – many graduates start here
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Mortgage Advisers (£20k to £35K)
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Company-employed (‘Tied’) advisers (£25K to £50k)
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Independent Financial Advisers (£25K to £100k+)
Modern business models – excellent Business Owner opportunities
THIS PRESENTATION HAS BEEN DELIVERED BY
Authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority
Accountants Financial Services (Scotland) Ltd.
Buchanan Court, 132 Calton Road
Edinburgh, EH8 8JQ,Tel: 0131 557 0777
14 Royal Crescent, Glasgow
G3 7SL, Tel: 0141 331 0800
Web: www.afsl.net
The values of investments can fall as well as rise and past performance is not a guide to future performance
Big business
Major employers include
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Tenet
Sesame
Bankhall
Positive Solutions
Origen
Plus the major banks
Skills
Not just numeracy!
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Analysis
Negotiation
Written and verbal communication
Adaptability and flexibility
Relationship building
Qualifications
• CII Certificate in Financial Planning – key
• CII Diploma in Financial Planning – RDR
• CII Advanced Diploma in Financial Planning
• Fellowship – FPFS
• Chartered Financial Planner
Qualifications – subjects
Subject areas include
• Retirement planning
• Trusts
• Financial planning
• Mortgages
• Personal tax
• Investments
Looking ahead – GI
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Many formalised graduate schemes
Most open Q3
Most close by year end
Limited internships and placements
Getting work experience will really help
SMEs?
Some useful websites GI
• britinsurance.com/careers/graduates
• allianz.co.uk/careers
• lloyds.com/about_us/careers/graduate_careers
• jobs.axa.co.uk/graduates/index
• willis.com/careers/graduate_careers
• whatifaon.co.uk
• escapethehorror.com
Looking ahead – FS
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Very few formalised graduate schemes
Few internships and placements
Getting work experience will really help
SMEs?
Some useful websites FS
• tenetjobs.co.uk
• origenfs.co.uk/people/careers
• moneyportal.com/join-us
• awdplc.com/careers
Credits with your degree
Insurance framework
• It typically takes 3 years to get to ACII level
• You will get credits equal to two or three
units (saving several months of study) with a
degree in one of the following
•Accounting
•Business
•Economics
•Finance
•Law
•Management
Credits with your degree
Financial advice framework
• It typically takes 2 years to get to Dip FP level
• You will get credits equal to two or three
units (saving several months of study) with a
degree in one of the following
•Accounting
•Business
•Economics
•Finance
•Law
•Management
Careers office information
• Top 50 UK insurance companies
• Top 15 UK life assurance companies
• Top 50 UK financial advice companies
In summary
• Great industry with wide range of roles
• Great opportunities to progress quickly
• Great future – even now!
Take a closer look
cii.co.uk/thepfs.org
Caspar.bartington@cii.co.uk