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We all want to see greater diversity in the insurance sector and while there are various industry-wide initiatives making headway on the issue, it’s often the individual actions that bring about real change.
At Tokio Marine HCC International (TMHCCI), that local action takes many forms but one of the latest was a speed networking event we hosted in partnership with Women in Credit Insurance (WICI) UK at our Broker Lounge in London.
Founded in 2023 and part of the International Credit and Surety Association (ICISA), the WICI is an informal group of brokers and insurers who work together to increase the representation of women in the Trade Credit sector, with a particular focus on opening up more leadership roles to more women.
As members of the WICI leadership team, Jane Hull, Underwriting Director and Leigh Carnie, Commercial Underwriting Manager for Trade Credit (both of TMHCCI), worked with our marketing team to bring together over 70 mentors and mentees from a range of Trade Credit insurers and brokers, including Allianz, Atradius, QBE, Coface, Aon, Marsh and Xenia.
“In close-knit sectors like ours, who you know is often as important as what you know, so networking events like these are significant in helping women build up a professional network in a male-dominated industry,” said Leigh.
“We wanted to bring a wide range of people together so that those starting can benefit from the decades of experience represented by the mentors and progress their careers in the Trade Credit and wider insurance market.”
After a welcome speech from the WICI Chair and founder, Sarah Murrow, TMHCCI’s Head of Risk for Trade Credit, Nick Walklett, kicked off the event by splitting the audience into groups of six and from there, attendees spent 15 minutes with each mentor before moving on to the next, getting as much advice as possible in one evening.
“Of course, there’s only so much experience you can absorb in that time, but the event was more about connecting people, breaking down perceived barriers and taking those first important steps towards building a long-term professional relationship,” explained Jane.
“It’s the first time we’ve held one of these events, but we’ll be doing more in the future as we had a great turnout and the feedback has been fantastic,” she added.
Some mentee feedback from the event:
WICI has plans for further events with the next, hosted by Marsh with guest speaker Group CEO of Allianz Trade, Aylin Somersan Coqui, Details of upcoming events can be found by following Women In Credit Insurance on LinkedIn or on the ICISA WICI page.
