Shaun Tarbuck: 

Hello, welcome to this webinar, “Leading with purpose and the future of our industry”. We’re taking advantage today of part of the Executive Committee being here at ICMIF discussing the future strategy for ICMIF. My name is Shaun Tarbuck, I’m the CEO. Around the table we have here have Rob Wesseling, CEO of Co-operators; Hilde Vernaillen CEO of P&V; Nick Turner, CEO of NFU Mutual; Ylva Wessen, CEO of Folksam; and Robert Otto in the management committee board of ACHMEA. 

Welcome to you all.

We are hopefully going to have a lively debate now around leading with purpose. First question to each of you individually, to come back to the level of your organisation, is how are you leading with purpose and where are you on that strategic journey? First to you, Rob. 

Rob Wesseling: 

Perfect, thank you, Shaun. I’ll start off by saying the Co-operators exist, its purpose, it’s raison d’etre is to enable the financial security of Canadians and Canadian communities and so that’s what we get up every day to do. It differs then from the purpose of a PLC, for example. We don’t get up every day to enhance shareholder value, to maximise earnings. We get up every day to maximise impact. 

Now, we also have to run our businesses very well in order to be able to do that. Profits are important, growing is important, being appropriately risk is important, but it’s all in service of that purpose of enabling the financial security. 

A couple of proof points of that, areas that we’re quite proud of that where we think that purpose has come through. The first is that we were the first insurer in Canada to offer flood insurance. It was the single largest uninsurable physical risk that Canadians had and we’re still the only one that offers it ubiquitously across the country. Any Canadian family can buy flood insurance to protect themselves and to protect their property. We did that not because it was the next best commercial opportunity, we did it because it was the single largest uninsurable risk. 

Now it turned out to be good business and we have a large portfolio now, it’s profitable. Leading with purpose has led to good business outcomes as well, but that was a decision that was based on our purpose. It wasn’t based on commercial interests. 

The second that I’ll highlight is that we have 21% of our invested assets currently in externally verified impact investments. What these investments are doing in addition to providing market levels of return, at market rates of risk, but they’re also creating beds in long term care facilities for seniors. They’re creating educational opportunities. They’re leading to the generation of green energy. They are making buildings across the country more sustainable and more energy efficient. That 21% is the largest percentage of any financial institution in Canada, which we think is really quite cool for a cooperative like ours to have that distinction. 

Once again, it’s good business. It resonates with our members and our clients that we have this focus and quite frankly, during the steep downturn that we saw in the markets at the beginning of the pandemic, this portfolio performed much, much better than our portfolios on the whole. It’s purpose driven for sure, but it’s also good business. Those are a couple of examples of the work that we’re doing. 

Shaun Tarbuck: 

That’s brilliant. That’s a great anecdote as well to finish on some great studies and case studies behind that. Thanks Rob. Hilde. 

Hilde Vernaillen: 

Yes. Well, a little bit the same as Cooperators. We were created back in 1907 to offer protection to as many people as possible. That was the purpose, that was the vision at that time. Even if the vision and mission changed in the wording over time, today the vision is still to try to offer the best protection we can to as many people we can by making sure insurance is accessible to everybody. That’s the first thing. 

By including prevention and protection in everything we are doing. It’s kind of education as well, but it’s also investing in, for instance, decent housing, housing not only along rivers and things like that if you name plots as an example. 

Saying this is quite easy, but doing this every day is not easy. We try to define principles, to design products and to make sure we do respect those principles, but it’s really not easy doing this all day. 

We try to partner with others as well. It’s a little bit beyond insurance and that’s maybe building a more resilient word, we will come back to that. We started a journey for instance today around the concept of one health and one health is of course access to medical services, but it’s also access to decent housing, good food, protection prevention, education, and so on. We do that together with Health Mutuals, which is one of our most important stakeholder, but it’s really not easy to deliver on all this. It’s journey from the beginning and it will still be a journey in the future as well. 

Shaun Tarbuck: 

Fabulous, yeah. Some difficult tasks to undertake there. Congratulations and let’s keep going on that. Nick to NFU Mutual. 

Nick Turner: 

Yeah. NFU Mutual started out ensuring farmers at similar time to your organisation, Hilde. We basically were ensuring hay bales cause they were too close to what was the steam train engine to London and they couldn’t get insurance because of the sparks would fly out of the trains and ignite the hay bales. That speaks to making sure that we are clear about who we’re serving. Even now, 50% of our member base is farming still. We’ve grown it out into farming and the rural community. We’re very clear around who we serve. 

It’s so easy to make the connection between our business and the way people live because we are ensuring food effectively, the production of food. When you’re thinking about what you eat, what your children eat and what your parents eat, the fact that when you go to a supermarket and you can have food always there, that’s all about resilient supply chains. 

If you can improve the resilience of those supply chains and make lives better for people who are in the rural community or perhaps anywhere in the UK, you got a real sense of purpose. That translates into lots of business benefits. For example, our turnover of staff is much lower than proprietary organisations because there’s something to believe in. There’s a connection between what they’re doing and the way people live their life which I think is really important. 

Also, we ensure about three quarters of farmers in the UK. Thhey look after us and we look after them. There’s a natural contract between us where we meet their claims in an honest, transparent, fair way and it’s about doing what it’s expected of you, but doing good in the community as well. 

I’d say we also enhance our offer to make sure that given that we’re in that rural community, we need to make sure that we are delivering not just the expectations of our members, but also having an impact that’s positive in the community as well. So we outweigh some of our community work and charity work to really have that resonance and impact. It all comes back to that purpose, which is what you’re trying to build through ICMIF, making sure that purpose is really resonating. 

Shaun Tarbuck: 

That’s fantastic story. Yeah. The symbiosis between the affinity and yourself is another key element of the community piece. Ylva. 

Ylva Wessen: 

Yes, thank you. I can see some similarities here, it’s not hard to find. Folksam was also started over a hundred years ago and we were also founded to offer fire insurance for ordinary people that couldn’t afford to have it for their houses. And that vision is still alive today to be the insurance company for the money in Sweden. We are measured by Premiums, the largest insurance company in Sweden. We ensure every other household and three million people have their long term savings by us. 

Our vision is that our customers should feel secure in a sustainable world and that has an impact on everything we do and every decision that we take. For example, we have been working with sustainability issues since the 1950s. We have had roads safety research since the 1970s. This was not only driven for business, this was because it’s doing good and we think it’s valuable for the society and for our customers. There are many things that I’m very proud of when I talk about for example of what we do. I would say to have a purpose and to be a purpose led organisation, how we feel it is that it has an impact on everything we do every day. It’s important both for our customers and for our coworkers. It gives them an extra meaning to work for us. 

Shaun Tarbuck: 

Fabulous, a great example there. All formed about the same time as well, but the really old one in the room is ACHMEA, you are over 200-years-old. Not you personally Robert. 

Robert Otto: 

No, but I think once you’re over a certain age that the difference doesn’t really matter anymore. I think that’s also the case here because some great examples and indeed also similarities, also founded actually from an agricultural background. Farmers coming together and basically concluding if one of our farms burns down, we can’t afford to build a new one, let’s unite. This is how ACHMEA started. 

Actually the farming business is still very much part of the group. We have substantial market share. 80% of glass houses and 60 to 70% of the other agricultural risks in the Netherlands. For example, also in Australia, we have a specialised farm insurance company and the motto of this company actually is “Keeping farmers farming.” It’s actually quite appealing I thought. 

The challenge that we had is that all our brands and companies. They’re all part of the same group, all very much purpose driven already for very long time. Beautiful also similar examples. We want to include everybody. Where, for example, some competitors they pick and choose which clients they would like and which clients and cars, for example, they want to have. We always try to ensure and be there for everybody, but all the things that we were doing, they did not add up. It was scattered all over the place. We are trying to have more impact. 

Last year within the executive board we have a new CEO, Bianca. We started a process to define, let’s say a vision also for the group in terms of sustainability and what came out is sustainable living together, very much actually also in line. If you really look at the core of the elements with division and the vision of ICMIF and what we did, we said, well, to have impact, we’re going to focus on four areas where we really want to make four big problem areas for society, where we really want to make a change and we’re going to make it very concrete and we’re going to focus our efforts and money resources really on these four. 

I have to look for the translation. It’s bringing healthcare closer. How are we going to make sure that we maintain the healthcare system and keep it affordable and accessible? One way for sure is to bring healthcare closer. 

Carefree living and working, smart mobility and income for today and tomorrow. These four domains, we really ask all the group companies to focus the activities on these four. We have some beautiful examples. Just to mention one, also how it comes together. We are a healthcare company and one of the challenges that we have as society is that healthcare is affordable, but also accessible. There’s got to be big challenge to get, hence at the bats, we simply don’t have healthcare employees anymore, or not enough. We are looking at, in a few years, a shortage of 100,000 so it means that people need to start taking care of each other. 

We’re also building and developing and designing houses. We have this project in the center of Amsterdam where different generation, but starting at 50, living together. Basically let’s say the younger take care of those who need support. Whether it’s because they’re lonely or because they have a health issue. Even up to people who can’t get out of their bed anymore, there’s also room for them. There’s a community manager, that’s a real role, and if somebody needs help is not getting it, or is somebody where there’s somebody who can give it but is not giving it, then the role of this manager is to bring this together. It’s a pilot, but we are looking at starting these kind of pilots in multiple cities in the Dutch market, because one way or the other, we all need to step in to support and help each other also in this way. 

Shaun Tarbuck: 

Brilliant. If what I’m hearing to be purpose led basically means to go beyond insurance, but that’s actually good business. The impact you have is got to be long lasting. That’s what I’m hearing from all those wonderful case studies. 

 We’re here obviously to discuss the next four year strategy to present back to the board in terms of being purpose led with impact. How is that living out or could it live out within your own organisations in terms of their future strategy? Rob, maybe you first again. 

Rob Wesseling: 

Yeah, I’m really excited about the timeframe that’s ahead of us for purpose led organisations, for mutuals, and for the insurance sector at large. The things that I’m excited about, I think ICMIF can enable, encourage, inspire these things across the entire network. Let me unpack that a little bit. 

I think we’re very clearly in a timeframe now where purpose led organisations are of increased importance. You hear it talked about constantly across different industries and consumers are demanding it and with good reason. I think what we’ve heard here is that we’ve got a substantive advantage in that space because of the work that we’ve been doing, in some cases for hundreds of years. I’m excited about that aspect for us. 

I’m excited about cooperatives and mutuals because of the time horizon that we have. The challenges that we’re facing currently as a society, we’re not going to solve climate change adaptation, we’re not going to solve that in the next five years, we’re going to solve it in the next five decades. I think we are so well positioned as mutuals and cooperatives to take that long term approach. I’m really excited about the role that ICMIF can play and really excited about how those connections can occur with our own organisation. 

Then finally, as the insurance industry, we’re the risk managers of the world, we have this wonderful opportunity really to step up and elevate because what we’ve been doing for the last 300 odd years, won’t be enough moving forward. It’s not enough just to put people back after a bad thing happens. Indemnity’s not enough. We’re going to need to expand that to think about protection, to think about resiliency and how we can provide those broader deliver on those broader goals in a much more substantive way. I guess it feels like it’s our time and I’m really excited about that. 

Shaun Tarbuck: 

Great, love that. Feels like our time. Hilde, do you want to build on that? 

Hilde Vernaillen: 

Our time, yes, and maybe it’s always our time. If you look a little bit back and forward for ICMIF, ICMIF has always been there to assist their members to develop in their own market. When we talk about resilience, it’s like the next building block. It’s very important that ICMIF is there to get with the members to build on the previous building block. When it comes to resilience, while it’s a little bit showing the way maybe. It’s also benchmarking ourselves to others, but also to the market. It’s bringing the tools, make it easier for the members to build on the previous blocks and to build the next block. As I said, it’s a journey. It’s being there in that journey for the members. 

Shaun Tarbuck: 

Nick. 

Nick Turner: 

Yeah, I mean, just to bring a practical example to how we worked with ICMIF. The economic, social, and governance frameworks that we’re all responding to, I mean, you could argue mutuals have been doing ESG for years but along comes a new framework and it’s always a good idea to rethink around how you are operating. Is there anything that you can improve upon? Some of the things that you are thinking through at ICMIF are some things that we can lean on to construct our own framework and get that insight and you get natural benchmarking from what others are doing around the world. 

It enabled us to create a really useful framework for thinking about slotting the activities that we’re doing into an overall aligned framework which has great amplification and power. We found that journey, we’ve put on it for a couple of years now with ESG but found it very useful. I think that has, as you develop your strategy out, I think it will become really, really beneficial to the membership to leverage that insight and collective insight around some of these long-term issues. 

Shaun Tarbuck: 

Thanks. Ylva. 

Ylva Wessen: 

Well, I have to build on what you already said. Yes, the building blocks. The climate change is the great challenge of our time. To build a resilient society is then we talk about our future. It’s absolutely necessary that we do it. Of course, we can do it and it’s important that we do it as a singular insurance company, but that has not the effect that we need and the world need but if we do it together, we can have a real impact on the world. 

I think that’s the role that ICMIF can have for the future. For us to inspire along the group of mutuals and cooperators, but also to inspire the sector, the insurance sector as a whole if we can. Can we inspire and can we challenge it on each other? I think that ICMIF will be a part of the solution to tackle the climate change and that’s not a small thing to achieve. 

Nick Turner: 

I did mean environmental, not economic, but you’re right, absolutely. 

Shaun Tarbuck: 

We’ve been building so we’re going to come to the crescendo now Robert. 

Robert Otto: 

First of all, as we also discussed earlier, we are facing such big issues actually globally, climate for sure, geopolitical, economically, socially, that the world is demanding everybody, but certainly corporations and insurance companies to be purpose led. Everybody’s going this direction, but it’s really our DNA. I think we are an excellent spot as mutuals, as members of ICMIF to basically lead the way so to say, and to step even more forward. 

I liked your wordage very much. That’s how I listened to it at least. In this timeframe, this is also what new generations expect. Although we are looking at a big shortage let’s say of employees, what we experience is that until now it’s not impossible yet to fill our positions also because people want to work for a company with the signature that we have as mutuals. I think that’s very strong. 

Maybe one more thing that also contributes to that in our case, we are quite modern when it comes to some of our HR policies. The standard working week is 34 hours. Maybe some of you are now shocked, but 34 hours. Also, to free up time to do other things, whether it’s work life balance or assisting somebody in your environment who needs help. As a first one, in our market at least, as part of the collective labor agreement we negotiated a climate budget. 

We said we’re not going to increase pay. You’re going to get a net climate budget which you can spend on improving let’s say your footprint as employee of ACHMEA. We’re going to, but also these may sound like little things, but it helps also, although it was not the intention, in profile because it came from inside. Profiling ACHMEA as a place to be. 

Maybe one final thing. What can help us, certainly also part of our network, the world is getting more and more global and it’s appealing also to new generations to work for something that’s global. Many of us, we are really focused on one country or sometimes a region in a country. To have a platform that is cross border can be very important. Maybe we still need to think about how to leverage that more, but can be very important also in attracting talents. 

Shaun Tarbuck: 

Fabulous, that’s great alignment there. I think with all you we built up and I love the climate budget that you’re giving to the staff. That’s a great idea, some novel thing. We always say at ICMIF we’re member driven so the new strategy. Resilience is going to be very important by the sounds of it, but we have a point in time just coming up next month, it’s going to be the ICMIF 100 year conference. You’re all going to be there we know and hopefully bringing some of your own staff and your own boards to it. 

Just a quick round table, what is it you are hoping to get out of it when you go there and what will you try and maybe bring back into your organisation once we’ve finished the conference. I mean, we can’t just sit it there and say, oh, pat ourselves in the back say that’s well done. It’s what we take back and how we change or we go back. Maybe some reflections on those two points. 

Rob Wesseling: 

I’d have to count how many conferences I’ve been to, Shaun, you might know, but I’d have to count to know for sure. What I can say is that at every one of those conferences, I’ve been inspired by something that another member of ICMIF has done. The whole concept of moving from protection to prevention. That came from people sitting around this table and it came from that. It came from a conference a number of years ago and that’s become something that’s really important to the Cooperators. 

Ylva, one of the examples that you’ve view that you’ve shared about investing in resiliency at Folksam, that inspired the cooperators to take on a mandate that we’re currently working on as well. Shaun, one of the things I’m really looking forward to is finding that inspiration. I can’t tell you where it’s going to come from, but I can tell you it’s consistently happened. 

Then just very quickly, the second thing that I’m very much looking forward to is interaction with these partnerships that we have developed that are just so important. With the United Nation Center for disaster risk reduction as an example. Here we are all talking about resilience and we’ve got this partnership with this global entity. When we talk about inclusive insurance and the United Nations Development program will be there in force. I’m really looking forward to those interactions across the membership as well. 

Shaun Tarbuck: 

Fabulous, thanks Rob. Hilde. 

Hilde Vernaillen: 

Well, first of all, I want to say that I’m very, very happy that we will have a physical conference again. Even if ICMIF did tremendous good work in providing all kind of webinars to the members and we did very well over that period providing virtual material and all kind of ways to connect with members but once in a while, and it’s been too long now, you need to really connect with people. With members, the partners, and try to exchange like we did today and we are going to go on with this afternoon. Very important for me to have that contact again. 

Then what we are going to take back, it’s the same as Robert’s, inspiration. What we tend to do is preparing the conference with our delegates. We have meeting before the conference, looking at a program and say, oh, I think that would be interesting, maybe we should look at this. We look at the list of the participants and we will use the knowledge hub going through this. Maybe you should talk to that person because that can be interesting, that can be interesting and so on. We will have a meeting afterwards and say, okay, what did we hear and what are we going to take forward within our own organisation? 

One example of the last one in Auckland was making insurance redundant, which is of course, just a way of saying you need to invest even more in prevention than before, because it is very important for a more resilient world. We use that sentence all over within P&V to invest in prevention and education on the risks and so on. 

Shaun Tarbuck: 

Thank you very much. Nick, this will be your first one so unlike these guys have been to many, different perspective. 

Nick Turner: 

Yeah, I think the agenda looks really, really stimulating. There’s three things that I’ll be listening intently on and listening as much to the content as the people’s views. I suspect the questions and dialogue at these sessions will be really eye opening. 

 The three that I’m really interested is mutuality at the heart of a purpose driven business. We’ve talked about it. We’ve had a session today and we’ve talked about that, but I think it’ll be so interesting to see how people link mutuality with purpose and do that in other organisations and there’ll be things to be there to take out. 

Then using sustainability as a strategic differentiator. I mean, that one’s just interesting, you could put a question mark at the end of that, discuss, and you’ve got a days dialogue. Absolutely, if you can crack that one, then that’s fantastic if you can do it in a way that really is a differentiator, very powerful, rich vein of discussion to be had. 

I think this protection and prevention, I mean, I also think that the two are important and to be linked and you should never give up on either of them. We should be seeking new risks to protect, but seeking the ways of reducing and eliminating the risks that currently exist in society. Again, that one you could spend a week on alone. I’m really looking forward to all of those topics coming to life with all the vibrant views from everybody around the tables that’ll be in Rome so just fantastic. 

Shaun Tarbuck: 

Thanks, Ylva. 

Ylva Wessen: 

Well, I share the views that you already shared with us here that I want to be inspired. I’m also certain that I will be. This will be my second conference that I attend and I really looking forward to it because I know it was such an inspiration when I went to Auckland. 

From time to time, I lose hope that we will be able to tackle the climate change, that we will be able to succeed. I hope to find hope again at the conference and to meet all these peers around the world and to hear about good things happening around the world. At this point in time, I think we need it because the news that coming up from the IPCC reports and the fires that has been going on this summer, we need good news. I hope that we can find strength together to take this into the new strategy, the next coming strategy for ICMIF for the coming four years. That’s what I’m hoping for. 

Shaun Tarbuck: 

Wonderful. Robert, bring us home. 

Robert Otto: 

Yeah, actually I’m already, I’m also learning and getting inspiration today to be honest, because I really like the idea of a preparation meeting. What we typically do if we visit a conference like this, my second one is to debrief when we come back. I see the executive board or with the leadership reporting to us, that what we all do. We really try to get back to learnings, but it would be even better if we prepare for it so thank you very much. 

It would be good because I’m not sure if I have the complete overview of those colleagues who will be attending, but I will be very pleased just to check, but to get the list of the representatives from our group companies. That’s certainly something that I will be doing. Other than that, absolutely indeed networking or seeing friends again. Very happy that it’s a physical meeting. I’m looking forward to lots of inspiration there will undoubtedly be and well we’ll see what we’re going to get back, but I’m going to prepare myself for it. 

Shaun Tarbuck: 

Thank you very much, everybody. From our perspective, we get inspiration as the leadership team and ICMIF staff here from these guys. I love the idea, as you say, you prep before and you debrief afterwards. We know a number of organisations that do that. Hopefully we’re going to see you all in Rome. Let’s go there, let’s get inspired, let’s make some good news, and let’s make an impact and try and change the way and the direction of our industry that is going and let’s put mutuality back at the center of what we’re doing. Thank you very much. 

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