In a discussion with IB Talk, the former CEO of Marsh Commercial Anthony Gruppo highlighted that a succession planning process really starts from the day you take up your position. For QBE’s Chris Wallace ,who has led the Insurance United Against Dementia (IUAD) campaign since it launched in 2017, the decision to pass on the baton of his chairman’s role to Aon’s Richard Dudley (pictured) was an instinctive next step.
“I’m a big fan of keeping things fresh,” said Wallace who will remain on the board going forward. “My passion and support for the cause have not changed whatsoever. But I think it’s good to keep things energised and fresh and have new people coming in. I will still be actively involved, I still want to drive greater awareness and support and guidance across the industry… And seeing how Richard was becoming increasingly established on the board over the last five years made it feel like a natural progression.”
Looking back to how IUAD came to be, Wallace noted how losing his grandmother to Alzheimer’s in the 80s revealed the widespread distress caused by the disease to him. He approached the Alzheimer’s Society because he wanted to contribute to efforts to fighting it, he said, and from there he set up a team across the insurance industry to target £10 million in fundraising – and so IUAD was born.
Where IUAD differentiates itself from a lot of other charitable initiatives is that it goes beyond fundraising and looks to also galvanise the wider market and educate market players to drive greater awareness of dementia and how sufferers can be supported. That’s about making sure that everybody knows they’re not alone, he said, and ensuring access to available services. From the beginning, IUAD had a vision of how it could change how the industry tackles dementia and has since pursued that agenda tirelessly.
“The aim, ultimately, was to try and get help to employees, families and loved ones,” Wallace said. “And the impact was amazing. I think no-one had really seen that kind of campaign to drive a unique bringing together of the insurance industry before. So it was quite a nice message for the industry to be able to bring people together in that way.”
Stepping into his new role as IUAD’s chair, Dudley emphasised that his engagement with the campaign was driven by his research into the reach of the disease and its impact on families. Over 900,000 people are currently living with dementia in the UK, with this figure projected to rise to almost 1.6 million by 2040.
Alzheimer’s is the leading cause of death in the UK and is set to become the biggest killer globally, he said, and the amount of money that goes into research and care of this disease is disproportionately small relative to other conditions. COVID has only exacerbated the problem, with one in four of those who died during the pandemic being dementia sufferers. Meanwhile, for every one dementia researcher, there are four cancer researchers, and for every £1 million cost of the condition, there are 0.5 researchers, compared to 5.2 for cancer and 2.7 for heart disease.
The research unearthed a disparity that has stayed with Dudley and he also felt there is a strong parallel between the collaborative work being done by dementia researchers such as the Dementia Research Institute and what the insurance industry is looking to achieve.
“Insurance is quite a collaborative industry anyway,” he said. “And with the way that risk is changing in the world, we’re repurposing and rethinking how we use data and analytics and this is exactly what’s happening in the field of dementia research as well. For me, there were some really obvious parallels as to why this was not only worthwhile for me personally but also why I thought there was such a strong connection with the industry as a whole. [And] we say we care in insurance and we’re about picking people up and helping them to recover from incidents and disasters – and this is another good example of that.”
IUAD has had a superb response, not just across the range of businesses that make up the insurance ecosystem but also across every level within those businesses, Wallace said. It’s a subject that has touched at all different levels and resonated with so many people. Hearing the stories from those impacted shows the power of the insurance industry, the power of its relationships and the power of people helping each other – which is the key theme of insurance.
“We’ve been overwhelmed by the moral support, but also the fundraising, which obviously is a critical piece and raising nearly £7 million in that period has been quite extraordinary,” he said. “And a lot of the funds we’ve [receiveded] through the course of the last couple of years with COVID have been not only to support dementia cure but also emphasising the care aspect as well…
“Significant gaps exist in society at the moment in terms of being able to support that care aspect and so we’ve really tried to evolve the messaging of the campaign to look at the research and the cure [element] but also to place emphasis on the care aspect as well.”
There’s still a lot of work to be done and Dudley and Wallace alike highlighted the myriad of ways insurance professionals can get involved with events, initiatives and fundraising drives that will support the campaign going forward. To find out more, Dudley said, he encouraged readers to reach out to IUAD and the Alzheimer’s Society to explore every available opportunity.
“It’s a wonderful campaign to integrate yourself across the industry,” Wallace said, “and an opportunity to meet new people and do something that makes a difference. [IUAD] is something that drives a change of mindset and galvanises everybody in what is a very strong, engaging industry. It brings people together. And my request is ‘come and join us’. Enjoy the experience and help us drive change and support society. It’s a wonderful platform we’ve got and the more people involved, the greater scope and progression we can achieve.”
