Conference Preview - Industry reputation - Industry with a past.

(From Post Magazine)

Let's face it - the insurance industry's public image is pretty appalling.

A bad reputation is bad for business: if people do not trust you, they will not do business with you.

In increasingly competitive global markets, a bad reputation can damage the amount of capital coming in, and the number of customers coming to you. It can also inhibit the industry's ability to influence key decision-makers at a time when it is essential we are involved in the debates that shape our future.

In this year's Lloyd's annual underwriter survey, almost a third of those questioned admitted that the industry's overall reputation was poor. When asked for the solution, 36% cited increased transparency and disclosure, and a further 35% highlighted better communication as the way ahead.

Both groups are right - I will be discussing how the industry's reputation is crucial to its survival at the UK Insurance and Financial Services Conference. It is something I spoke about last year but recent events have brought it to the forefront of all our minds.

During the past 12 months, the industry has faced an extraordinary level of scrutiny from regulators and legislators throughout the world. New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer's allegations of illegal price fixing; the uncertainties raised by the Silverstein trial, relating to the destruction of the World Trade Center; and chief executive of the Financial Services Authority John Tiner's calls for the industry to achieve contract certainty by the end of 2006, have all shone a spotlight on our industry.