2010 round-up - Professionalism: The year of the professional

The main event of the year was the launch of the Aldermanbury Declaration in March, which asks brokers and insurers to make a commitment to introducing minimum standards of excellence.

Already, 150 firms have signed up and Alasdair Stewart, head of business development at the Chartered Insurance Institute, is confident that many more will. He says: "It has been a great start and we will be building on it." Stewart was nervous as, at the end of 2009, when discussing plans for 2010, there was much uncertainty around the economy. He has been pleased with the response from across the insurance community, saying that insurers and brokers were far more engaged with what the CII has to offer and were being far more active.

On the up
Another of Stewart's priorities is to increase broker take-up of chartered status, which ensures that brokers have a formalised training and development programme to help align staff with management. He says that more than 60 brokers are now chartered and that there is a healthy line of broker prospects. A CII survey of 500 brokers showed that 15% want to be chartered, with many medium-sized brokers expressing the most interest. Many brokers are now proudly displaying the corporate logos on their websites and are trying to differentiate themselves.

In a roundtable in September at the CII, Carolyn Marshall, operations manager at Heartland, said that one of her sales team had won at least five clients in three months because of the firm's chartered status. Marshall said that there were drawbacks for brokers at board level, with some struggling to show that they are properly qualified to be chartered (a minimum of one board member needs to have chartered status). She stated: "[Membership application] has to be led from the top downwards."

There is still a long way to go for the Investing in the Profession campaign but, given the economic circumstances, it has started off well; look out for more developments in 2011.

• For more on the professionalism campaign, type 'investing in the profession' into the search box on www.broking.co.uk.

Chartered broker firms
• Alan & Thomas Insurance Brokers
• Alec Finch & Company
• Alsford Page & Gems
• Antur Insurance Services
• Backhouse Insurance Brokers
• Barnett & Barnett
• Bartlett & Co
• Berkeley Insurance Group
• Bridge Insurance Brokers
• Britam
• Bruce Stevenson Risk Management
• Castle Insurance Consultants
• Caunce O'Hara and Company
• Chaseside Insurance Brokers
• Clark Thomson
• Corporate & Personal Investment Planning
• David Haskoll
• E Farley & Son
• ECS Insurance Brokers
• Gargash Insurance Services
• Glenbow Financial Management
• Hamilton Robertson Insurance Brokers
• Harbour Insurance Brokers
• Haven Insurance Brokers
• Heartland (Midlands)
• Hettle Andrews & Associates
• Hine Insurance Brokers
• Indigo PI
• INRE Management Services
• Insurance Risk Solutions
• Jeffery Associates
• John Millin (Southport) t/a Millins
• Linkfield Corporate Solutions
• Lockton
• Luker Rowe Hibernian
• Macbeth Insurance Brokers
• Mackay Corporate Insurance Brokers
• Marshall Wooldridge
• Mason Owen Financial Services
• Millennium Insurance Brokers
• Morrison Edwards Insurance Brokers
• Norris and Fisher (Insurance Brokers)
• Oyster Risk Solutions
• Perkins Slade
• Peter Hattersley and Partners
• PJ Insurance Brokers
• R A Cowen & Partners
• Ravenhall Risk Solutions
• Realty Insurances
• Reich Insurance Brokers
• Rigton Insurance Services
• Rockingham Independent
• Rowlands & Hames Insurance Brokers
• Simmons Gainsford Insurance Solutions
• Smith Robinson
• Taylor Patterson Insurance Services
• The Insurance Partnership
• Thomas, Carroll (Brokers)
• Towergate
• Walmsleys Commercial Insurance Brokers
• Watson Laurie
• Woodward Markwell Insurance Brokers