Preserving Our Industry’s Legacy
As the insurance industry continues to evolve in light of the digital revolution, it’s easy to forget our roots: the tangible contracts and policies, the ghosts of insurers past who now haunt the same streets and corridors we work in today. In episode 6 of Changing the Conversation, we spoke with Howard Benge, director of the Insurance Museum, about the importance of celebrating our industry’s history as we continue to pioneer new practices. Here’s why enshrining those stories is key to emboldening our future:
Changing Public Perceptions of What We Do
A career in insurance can be hugely exciting and multivariate. However, the presiding public perception of our industry is one dominated by gloomy offices and endless reams of paperwork. A great way to alter this is to use topical stories from across our industry’s history to illuminate its various aspects, and the many ways in which you can be involved.
People do not believe that insurance is exciting as there is a lack of understanding about what we do. We can precipitate change by proliferating new resources to combat that notion. The Changing the Conversation podcast seeks to facilitate change within the industry – but what about beyond it? By celebrating the legacy of our industry, we can inspire new generations to get involved, and talented professionals considering a career change to switch to the insurance lane.
Educate and Inspire the Next Generation of Insurance Talent
A major priority for the Insurance Museum is to teach children from a young age about the true nature of insurance and its countless applications in our daily lives. If we can educate children about how fundamental our industry is to the innerworkings of public life, we can easily generate interest in a future career in insurance.
Surely our industry is far too complex for classrooms of young children to understand? Not so, argues Howard, if it can be articulated through analogy and storytelling. The Great Fire of London is a prime example. It’s a story all children are taught and understand. In the aftermath of the fire, Dr Nicholas Barbon devised fire insurance, underpinned by a simple principle. A group of people all pay a small sum of money to a company in the event that a fire breaks out in their home. Then, if disaster strikes, the company has sufficient funds to pay out to individuals to mitigate its effects.
Thus, inserting insurance into the national curriculum could be achieved with ease. With a considerable number of children having already decided their future career by the age of seven, if we wish to cultivate motivated future insurance professionals, we need to capture their curiosity from an early age.
The Value of Digital Assets
Whilst the Insurance Museum ultimately aims to become a physical space in London SE3, it is currently underpinned by digital learning resources to stimulate learning and new conversations about the history of our industry and its future. You can listen to the full conversation with Howard here.
Digital resources such as podcasts can inspire and educate both children and adults alike. They can also be repurposed in various ways to preserve your message for longevity. At Macaii, we can help you do that too, and assist in the setup and maintenance of a podcast which can serve as a springboard for a vast array of content for years to come.
