What the new, expanded organisation will mean to members
In February 2009, members of the CII and its Australia/New Zealand counterpart the ANZIIF will vote on plans for a merger.
The merger would create Chartered Institute of Financial Services (CIFS), a giant training and professional membership organisation of more than 105,000 members. It will also employ about 250 staff.
Members of the CII, from Toronto to Tehran, appear to be united on the concept that a merger will be of benefit to the insurance industry as a whole. By merging, the managers of the two organisations aim to maintain consumers’ trust in insurance amid the financial problems of the latter part of 2008.
Then, of course there is the work of suggesting legislation or responding to issues as they arise. The leaders of the CII (the Chartered Insurance Institute) and ANZIIF (Australian and New Zealand Institute of Insurance and Finance) believe they would be better equipped to achieve these goals with their members as a merged organisation.
Lord Hunt, who will be standing for election as the first chairman of the CIFS global board, was optimistic about response to the merger in the global insurance industry.
“I believe the CIFS will rapidly become recognised throughout the global financial services market,” he said.
“The management teams will work effectively together to bring new and innovative services to market, and promote an ethical code around the world.”
He said further benefits would be means to drive through a globally portable package of professionalism to enhance capabilities and competence within the insurance and financial services communities.
An expanded international membership body would also be better placed to promote a standards in order to raise the profile of industry qualifications, as well as behavioural standards and ethical practice, with consumers, regulators and government policymakers;
The new organisation will also be better placed to expand its presence in such emerging markets as China and the Middle East, where the CII already has a growing presence. The CIFS is also expected to create a global ethical framework to offer a professional response to the recent seismic events in global capital markets.
In the coming weeks, CII and ANZIIF will write to all members with full details of the proposed merger, including the timeline for the vote required to implement this change. A dedicated website has also been created (www.institutemerger.com) to publish regular updates and a series of member roadshows will begin in January 2009.
The work that went into the merge took place during 2007 and the first part of 2008, according to a statement from the CII. It included an investigation of the most appropriate business structure for the new institute along with a study of how both institutes served their members. The conclusion of this detailed investigation resulted in both boards signing off on a Merger Implementation Agreement (MIA) in May.
An independent due diligence audit on both institutes was conducted in 2008 and the resulting report was signed off by both CII and ANZIIF boards during September 2008.
