Industry voices speak at Management Event

October's PB Management Event took place in four locations, Weston-super-Mare, Bolton, Harrogate and London, where the event finished with a tour of Lord's.

Taking place against the backdrop of global financial turmoil, PB's editor, Andrew Tjaardstra, opened the event and talked about the vital requirement for businesses to be sustainable: "Business is about the long term and short-term greed and prosperity is no substitute for well-run, successful businesses that perform year after year and decade after decade. As business managers, you have great responsibility for ensuring the growth and stability of your companies and now is a challenging time."

Watchword

The event's main slogan was Winston Churchill's quote 'Difficulties mastered are opportunities won', especially apt in today's market where clients are looking to cut back on insurance expenditure and are worrying about funding, growth and inflation.

Differing opinions on the timing of a hard market were put forward throughout, with Trevor Newbery, partner at Grant Thornton, joking that you wait for 10 years for it to harden and then it only lasts half an hour. Meanwhile, Jonathan Davey, director at SSP, believed that the earliest sign of a hard market would be at the end of 2009, adding that there was plenty of insurer capital looking to find a home. Newbery also spoke of $100bn in spare capital in the reinsurance market.

However, the situation appears to be changing rapidly, with third-quarter losses from insurers and reinsurers reflecting the devastation caused by Hurricanes Ike and Gustav. Investment returns have been hit dramatically also, with Ace reporting a net realised and unrealised loss of $1.5bn from its investment portfolio in the third quarter. Newbery and his partner, Peter Allen, are confident that brokers should be well placed in a downturn because insurance rates are poised to rise (see Viewpoint, p.14).

John Batty, director at Manchester-based Caunce O'Hara, told delegates at Bolton that his firm was bullish about its prospects for next year and highlighted that building a community with clients and business partners was an integral part of his firm's success. Paul Anscombe, managing director of London-based James Hallam, warned that he saw more competition coming from direct insurers and national brokers for SME business, though was confident that independent brokers could rise to the challenge by differentiating themselves. He also felt that some consolidators could struggle in today's financial markets and that the fallout could affect staffing at these larger firms. Anscombe added that both IT and marketing were now needed on brokers' boards: "I need these guys around me to build relationships and help win business."

Mark Owen, company solicitor at business employment law and health and safety specialists Peninsula, spoke about the dangers of clients cutting back on health and safety going into a downturn. He commented: "The most important aspect of health and safety is commitment from the top." He cited the new Corporate Manslaughter Act as an example of where a jury "focuses on the culture of the company senior management."

Responses

Meanwhile, Terry Saunders, manager of the small firms and contact division at the Financial Services Authority, confirmed that the regulator had seen a lot of "vehement feedback" about commission disclosure, adding that it was influencing the regulator's thinking in the lead-up to an announcement on the subject before the end of the year. The watchdog's statement is expected to fall short of mandatory disclosure, to the disappointment of the likes of Marsh and Willis.

PB is currently working on plans for its 2009 Management Event. Contact Oli Henry for sponsorship and exhibitor opportunities at oli.henry@incisivemedia.com.