MM Meets Sian Fisher: ‘We act for consumers, not for the sector’

Karen Hatch photography

You feel the history of the Chartered Insurance Institute (CII) when you observe its coat of arms at the entrance to the office reception, located at 20 Fenchurch Street in London.

The history continues as you pass the fire marks on the walls: iron-made insurance policies that show how firefighting used to work in the capital. Before the creation of the London Fire Brigade, a network of private insurers would put out fires only at buildings with the correct insurance policy marked on the door.

As I meet outgoing CII chief executive Sian Fisher [who stepped down at the end of March], the firefighting metaphor is suitable for the Covid crisis we are all just exiting. Fisher has been at the deep end of this as she has led one of the flagship industry bodies in the advice space during a turbulent period.

What I was curious about when I came here was: what’s the point of the royal charter?

The importance of the CII arguably comes from its combination of prestige and high media visibility. What it says and does both matter to a lot of people, the evidence for which are the passionate comments left underneath any article about it in the trade press.

Direction of travel

This intense interest many have in the CII means it is a bellwether for the direction of travel in the advice sector. There has been no shortage of media stories critical of the august organisation that has a royal charter and a history that stretches back to 1897.

There have been accusations the CII has sought to solve its own commercial problems through an attempt to de-register the Personal Finance Society (PFS) to seize its funds.

We’ll get to that later but I want to know what it was like to be in charge of a body with such a long and distinguished history.

Long may the insurance, financial planning and pensions worlds continue to exist, for the protection of us all

“I have been a member of the CII since the mid-1980s and I had been involved through the City of London,” says Fisher.

“I was aware the CII had been established with a royal charter in 1912 and there was a federation of insurance institutes that actually came together in 1897.

“But what I was really curious about when I came here was: what’s the point of the royal charter? I felt one of the key things we needed to do was put the ‘Why’ back out there a bit more overtly.

“The charter basically says we exist to ‘secure and justify the confidence of the public in insurance and personal finance’.

“And that meant quite a lot to me because a professional body is there to act in the interests of the consumer, not as the advocate for the sector.

If I’d known Covid was going to happen, we’d have done the transfer to online exams and virtual exams a year earlier

“Of course, the two can often align, but I felt we had to be more overt about it.”

Does she feel she has been successful in this endeavour? Fisher lists several steps to achieve it, from the strategy review with PwC in 2016 to the Public Trust Index for consumers and the recently concluded Shaping the Future Together consultation.

The latter’s findings were published at the end of February and one picked out by many was the majority of CII members wanting the PFS to stay within the group.

More broadly, the CII said the wider feedback included the need for the following reforms:

1. Streamlined qualifications, modern assessment methods and the introduction of behavioural content, provided the emphasis on technical knowledge is not diluted.
2. A focus on raising public trust in the profession through the promotion of professional standards and increasing confidence that member misconduct will be addressed.
3. A common strategy and clear purpose (and objectives) agreed for societies, local institutes and regional committees.
4. A governance and operating structure that achieves greater economies of scale.
5. A professional map that provides individuals and firms, both large and small, with clarity around the competences required of a professional and what development support is available to address any gaps.

The backdrop of Covid-19 ties conveniently with the themes of the CII’s work culture, heritage and commercial model we are discussing today. All were challenged by the pandemic and offered an opportunity for Fisher to reflect on the direction of the organisation.

The CII managed to save a significant sum last year, she says. This was done through 56 local institute networks that are funded via a grant mechanism from the professional organisation. In 2020, at the height of the pandemic, these networks did not spend their funds. They collaborated with the CII to use the money the following year.

We sort of gambled through some of our modernisation programme without actually saying enough about it

Fisher says: “This saved us nearly £1m in 2021. And the reason that was important was it bought us some time to restructure our organisation strategically, rather than having to just furlough staff or make significant redundancies to save money.

“I need to say a big thank you to the local institute networks.”

The work Fisher and her colleagues had done prior to the pandemic helped the CII weather the storm when it struck. This was rooted in the move to the new office, which was open plan and enabled staff to work remotely. But it was not easy.

During Covid, Fisher had the stress of managing the CII’s closed defined benefit scheme that was large for a non-profit organisation. The heritage building was the covenant to the pension fund but it was not cash. It had to be capitalised to meet the pension fund requirements and remove the risk of working in an old office space.

A modern work culture has got to be more than just what it feels like being together in the office

She says: “I had to make very clear we could not just forget about this during the challenge of Covid. It sounds really strange that Covid was going on and at the same time we were working very hard with the pension trustees.

“Heritage gives you an obligation to the past as well as to the future and you’ve got to honour that, whatever the challenges and risks.”

Tradition and modernity

The settlement of the pension obligations and the sale of the old office highlighted the need to navigate both tradition and modernity.

“We turned all this into a positive,” says Fisher.

“Moving from the heritage building allowed us to create a different form of working called ‘Anytime anywhere’. When Covid hit, it was not a real shock for us because we were already doing that. It almost unleashed a culture that was probably already here.

[If there was another crisis like Covid] I would think more about what you might call ‘all-day everyday communication’

“It may sound weird, but the previous environment had made that difficult and suddenly people were able to work together. When Covid came, there was what you might call a collegiate feeling that was very responsive to a crisis-type situation.”

Fisher hopes the CII will be able to maintain the spirit and co-operation demonstrated during the pandemic. But she acknowledges the post-Covid work culture that is hybrid in nature is difficult for those just starting their career.

She says: “The challenge everyone has is when new people start. Where does culture sit? A modern work culture has got to be more than just what it feels like being together in the office. It’s got to be more than that, otherwise we’re all going to struggle.

“There is something about the feel of an organisation you pick up when you’re a new joiner. You sort of get it very quickly. And how do you get across things like the importance of inclusion and how we treat our customers? How do you get those things across if people are not seeing it around them?

“This is how we approach it and we have to see how it goes.”

Harnessing hindsight

Although there have been upsides from Covid, some things have not gone so well. Fisher admits communication could have been better handled during the pandemic, and says the CII relied too much on formal channels such as the journal and annual report.

I need to say a big thank you to the local institute networks

“We sort of gambled through some of our modernisation programme without actually saying enough about it. And obviously Covid probably exacerbated some of that.

“I would think more [next time] about what you might call ‘all-day everyday communication’.”

Another lesson, she says, is that a crisis can punish you for what you were planning to do but have not yet done. Specifically, she mentions online exams.

“If I’d known Covid was going to happen, we’d have done the transfer to online exams and virtual exams a year earlier. It’s difficult because obviously you look back and see there were other priorities.

“Hindsight is a wonderful thing,” she adds.

Almost 3,000 candidates suffered CII exam disruption

Personal commitments

In terms of her personal commitments during Covid, Fisher spent the first lockdown living with her mother, who has dementia.

“She is going to be 90 this year and it has been a challenge to spend time with her while she is still with us and build that in with a very busy job. I will be grateful to spend more time with her.

“I’ve done a lot of work with the Alzheimer’s Society and it is a little-understood area for all of us. Anything we can do to support the charities that are trying to look into this whole unknown world of diseases of the brain is important.”

As for interests, Fisher loves to travel and has a passion for Victorian novels, particularly those by Charles Dickens. She sees a connection between the world depicted in them and the world of financial advice today.

She argues one need only read novels from the 19th century to learn what life was like for most people in this country before there was insurance, and before the ability of the general public to build financial resilience.

Heritage gives you an obligation to the past as well as to the future and you’ve got to honour that

Fisher says: “You also see the position of women, because they had no legal standing or rights.

“The number of famous Victorian novels where, if it were not for lucky happenstance — such as somebody who dies suddenly and mysteriously leaves some money — the lady would be in trouble [is significant]. You realise, without money, you were in such a desperate situation.

“What we do matters. Long may the insurance, financial planning and pensions worlds continue to exist, for the protection of us all.”

This article featured in the April 2022 edition of MM. 

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