‘Shaping the future together' consultation

Shaping the Future Together is designed to refresh the CII’s 2016 manifesto, which saw the professional body commit to becoming modern, relevant and diverse in order to deliver relevant learning, insightful leadership and achieve an engaged membership.

The consultation – www.ciigroup.org/en/shaping-the-future/ - outlines possible proposals for how the CII will work to raise public trust in the insurance and personal finance profession, including:

1. Making the qualification framework and learning provision more user-friendly, accessible, and capable of meeting the future learning needs of all students.
2. Giving members more flexibility to achieve the professional body’s Chartered and Fellow designation, so qualifications and experience are no longer the only route.
3. Replacing the current membership model with three levels of membership: Member, Chartered Member and Fellow.
4. Exploring a possible requirement for a statement of professional standing for insurance professionals.
5. Exploring possible amendments to the CII’s governance structure to provide greater clarity and cost efficiency.

Members and key stakeholders can use the online consultation form to share their thoughts about the CII’s proposals, the challenges they face, their current relationship with the CII and how they feel the professional body can best meet their needs in the years to come.

Dr Helen Phillips, Chair of the CII, said: “The Shaping the Future Together consultation gives members a great opportunity to have their say on how we ensure the CII can best inspire public trust and confidence in our family of professions by working with members’ to meet their needs and expectations as well as exploring how the CII’s current governance structure works and how it could evolve.

“We welcome feedback from all our members and, as a board, we will listen carefully to the responses. They will help inform how we shape our strategy for the next five years, and ensure we are fit for the future.

“I am very pleased that our members have opportunities to share their views at both the live events we have scheduled in coming months, as well as through the online consultation. I look forward to drawing on our members’ input as we develop our vision for the future of our sector.”

Julie Page, President of the CII, said: “Our Royal Charter states that the CII, as a professional body, must work to ‘secure and justify the confidence of the public’ in the financial planning and insurance professions.

“That means making sure that everything we do, as a professional body, helps our members support their clients in becoming more financially resilient and achieve their financial goals.

“I encourage all our members to engage with this consultation and have their say via the website about how the CII should respond to the demands of the modern world and evolve in step with it.”

Sian Fisher, CEO of the CII, said: “We know that, as a professional body, we can only provide our members with the support and services they want, if we truly understand their needs and expectations. That is why this consultation – Shaping the Future Together – is so important.

“This consultation will help shape what the CII delivers for members, corporate customers and students, based on their input, and input from the wider profession and consumers.

“We encourage and value participation – it’s a real opportunity for everyone to have a say on the skills, knowledge, insight and networking opportunities needed for every professional in our sector to thrive.”

The deadline for responses to the consultation is 17 December.

The CII will share the findings of the consultation and how it will help shape the group’s strategy next year.