Viewpoint - "I'm in insurance and proud of it."

My five-year-old daughter asked the most awkward of all questions recently. No, not where babies come from but something far worse for an insurance man: "Daddy, what do you do at work?"

My nutritionist wife has people visit her home surgery, so my daughter knows that she makes people feel better, but how do you explain things like risk transfer mechanisms to a child?

It made me start to think about what it is that we do - marketing, investment management, return on capital - how do you explain the essence of insurance? Then it came to me: "We help people," I said. 'When people's houses burn down we rebuild them; when someone bumps their car we repair it; when someone gets injured we give them money so they can afford to live."

It made me think about the way we market our industry and why we are perceived so poorly in many circles when we actually do so much good.

We need to learn how to put this message across. During the storms of January 2007 I remember hearing an industry spokesman on Radio Four saying the storms had caused millions of pounds in damage but that people were not to worry as it was not a big enough event to increase premiums.

Surely, the message should have been that thousands were lucky to be due millions of pounds to rebuild their homes for paying a few hundred pounds in insurance. We spend more time talking to customers about price than the cover we provide.

The good we do in the community is misunderstood. Try to tell any complaining motorist about the work of the Motor Insurance Bureau and how we have to pay millions each year; they will not believe the government does not cover this.

So next time you are at a social event and someone asks what you do for a living, respond proudly: "I help people. I work in insurance." Go on, try it; it certainly helped me remain a hero in my daughter's eyes.

- Mark Smith, sales director, Provident Insurance.