“If you work in the London insurance market, through the risks you see, you travel the world every day from your desk, and then once a year, you travel the world.”
Sharing the advice he was given early on in his career in the London Market, City of London Alderman Bronek Masojada (pictured) revealed why he’s so passionate about advocating for the visibility and viability of the London Market. In essence, he said, insurance is about dealing with the challenges that stem from an evolving of the world – whether that’s the evolution of technology, political systems or societies. “It’s about the world and so, anyone who wants to have a broader view of the world and the way it works should consider a career in insurance.”
Speaking with Insurance Business in Monte Carlo, where he made history by marking the first time a Sheriff of the City of London has attended the Rendez-Vous de Septembre (RVS) conference in that capacity, Masojada – who passed on the role of Sheriff to another Alderman earlier this month – shared how his journey with the City began many years ago. He was deputy chair of Lloyd’s when he first became aware of the City of London corporation as Peter Levine, who was then chair of Lloyd’s, had been Lord Mayor. “I went along to a number of events, and I said to Peter, ‘I’m done with the City of London, because they only ever talk about banking, fund management, accountants and lawyers. What about the insurance sector?’
“And he eventually said ‘put up or shut up’, which I recognized as a fair point because if the insurance sector won’t get involved outside of the insurance sector, then it deserves to be ignored. Having realised that, when I came to the end of my executive career and had more flexibility, I decided it was time to get involved.”
His first move was to get elected as an Alderman of the City of London in the Billingsgate Ward where he noted that there is a rich variety of insurance sector related firms, among them brokers, underwriters, lawyers, tech companies and head-hunters. Every year, one or two Aldermen are selected as a Sheriff and he was appointed one alongside Alderwoman Dame Susan Langley.
What’s important to recognise about the City of London, he said, is that while it runs the Square Mile as a local authority, it is also responsible for promoting London as a centre of finance, insurance and professional services. “Taking on the role of Sheriff felt like it was really in response to that comment some 15 years ago,” he said. “That if we don’t get involved in the sector, we can’t expect to be visible. When we’re telling our story, we shouldn’t be surprised when people don’t know it, if we’ve only been telling it to each other up until that point. We need to start conversations beyond the sector.”
On where his ambitions for the visibility of London stems from, Masojada noted that like so many, he didn’t start his insurance career with an ambition for the market. He was working for McKinsey and Company when Robert Hiscox offered him the job of managing director of the Hiscox group, he said, and being in his early 30s at the time, it was recognition of the opportunity at hand rather than any particular interest in insurance that led him to say ‘yes’. “Like so many others before and after me, I fell into it, so to speak. But once you’re involved in it, it’s then you figure out that this is an amazing industry and you start to see how visibly supportive it is of all of society.”
That was recently driven home to him again, Masojada said, when he was asked to host an investment conference held by the Nepalese government in London. The event was about hydroelectric power, which as an engineer by training was of great interest to him. In conversation with Nepal’s finance minister, the critical importance of insurance in supporting the construction and success of these projects became very clear.
“They recognized that without risk capital, they can’t insure the construction or the operations of these plants,” he said. “Again, it was real example of insurance as an invisible force helping the world evolve. But because you only pay people money when things go wrong, when things go well, people ignore it. Look for example at the grain coming out of Ukraine, you need insurance to be able to do that. Everyone sees the food, but nobody thinks, ‘well, where does insurance fit into that?’”
The commitment of the City of London to amplifying the voice of the London re/insurance market was defined last year when the Lord Mayor of the City of London attended the conference, and affirmed by Masojada’s presence in 2024.
He noted that the City of London Corporation will be hosting an insurance and risk conference in London next year – with key themes touching on AI, cyber, natural catastrophes, geopolitical risk and supply chain uncertainty. “We’re road testing those ideas now, and other potential topics including the role of public-private partnerships as part of solving the geopolitical and supply chain issues,” he said. “But our message to the market is clear. We want to engage. We want to support you and we want you to support us.”
