by Benjamin Hindson, NGIN Chairman
2018 has been a busy year for NGIN! As we make final preparations for the end of the year I have taken stock of the highlights of the past twelve months and look forward to some of the things that we have in the pipeline for 2019.
Firstly, I’d like to say a huge thank you to all our members, partners and sponsors who we have worked with this year. It’s been a pleasure welcoming you to our events, planning how we can work together better and making lasting relationships to help fellow young professionals shape the world they live in. NGIN is a network which solely exists for its members and without all the passion, time and commitment everyone gives it wouldn’t be the industry leading network it is.
For our network of 1,850 professionals NGIN has hosted six events over the course of the year and partnered with others to give our members access to many more. We began the year by running our largest peer mentoring scheme to date, once again kindly sponsored by DAC Beachcroft. I’m pleased to say that the scheme will run in 2019 and we look forward to sharing more details with you in the New Year.
This year we have also focused on events giving a more holistic approach to professional life and in conjunction with Redington and Hays Recruitment we asked members if they were financially fit and investing in their future and also provided advice on how to best develop a professional brand and network.
I was very pleased that NGIN worked with Dive In Festival to represent age diversity and that our event – Part of the Team: Creating an Open, Empowering and Inclusive Workplace – facilitated a panel debate to a pack room of over 140 people about being part of the team, looking at how to empower teams to work better together. Thank you to Millers for hosting us in such a fantastic venue, our brilliant panellists and Dive In for supporting the event.
In 2018, we also launched our Back to Basics series which gives attendees the opportunity to not only learn about key insurance topics but also to ask questions in a relaxed and friendly environment. The aim of the series is to empower NGIN members by helping them to gain a broader and deeper understanding of how the insurance
market works. Through organising these talks we hope to assist members in becoming a well-rounded professional with the knowledge needed to thrive in an often complicated and versatile industry. Following a successful Introduction to Business Interruption hosted by BTVK Advisory, our next event will be an Introduction to Broking with Aston Lark on 11 January.
It wasn’t all serious, and our annual Pub Quiz at Steam Wine Bar was an opportunity for our members to get their thinking caps on and battle it out on the quiz sheets and the dance floor to be crowned winners. Congratulations to the winning team and we will see you next year to defend the crown!
Whilst our events are core to what we do for our members, our monthly newsletter has been providing a roundup of all things NGIN while our recently revamped Instagram page has been giving more insight into the people behind NGIN. Through over 30,000 emails sent this year, we have shared industry news, special access for NGIN members to conferences and tips on the best places for Christmas festivities around the City.
In June we welcomed new committee members and have continued to grow our Advocate pool. We were also delighted to welcome Travelers and IGI as NGIN Sponsors. We affiliated to the London Young Professionals Network, a cross industry networking group representing over 25,000 professionals, as the exclusive insurance representative and we have continued our relationship with our international affiliates. In 2018 we have also begun to develop an Outreach strategy and are looking forward to working with other industry bodies including the IICF.
It’s been a busy, but very rewarding, year and as it comes to an end we are starting to turn our attention to what’s to come. NGIN keeps adapting to be even better for our members. Look out for some exciting announcements in the New Year about some exciting changes!
I’d like to wish all of our members a joyful and magical festive season and happiness, peace, and prosperity in the New Year.