Chris Wallace: Charitable campaign targets £1m single day fundraise following market-wide ‘momentum’

Volunteer led charitable movement Insurance United Against Dementia (IUAD) is preparing to enter a new phase of its mission, with campaign founder Chris Wallace urging the UK general insurance (UKGI) industry to help it surpass a £1m fundraising target in a single day this November.

Wallace, UK executive director at insurer QBE, as well as a founding member and past chair of IUAD, says UKGI’s united backing of the sector focused Alzheimer’s Society offshoot had already driven breakthroughs in dementia research and support services – but he argues that there is “so much more value that we can bring” as an industry.

He tells Insurance Times: “When you build momentum on something, it becomes unstoppable. The campaign now has this really strong momentum of support in the market and it’s got recognition.”

IUAD first launched in 2017 with a goal of raising £10m for UK charity Alzheimer’s Society, which supports families living with dementia.

According to the Alzheimer’s Association, dementia is a general term referring to the loss of memory, language, problem solving and other thinking abilities that are severe enough to interfere with daily life.

The IUAD’s initial fundraising target was swiftly met, Wallace explains, enabling the Alzheimer’s Society to become a founding funder of the UK Dementia Research Institute – which launched in 2017 – as well as helping to power 120 research assistant posts over the last eight years.

Fundraising by IUAD has additionally firepowered phone-based services such as the Alzheimer’s Society’s Dementia Support Line and Companion Calls, both of which were set up around the time of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020.

The Companion Calls service has so far provided comfort and friendship to those living with dementia via more than 140,000 calls, while the Dementia Support Line has helped more than 70,000 people across the UK since its creation.

The insurance sector has not just shown its support financially, however.

Wallace adds that around 20,000 general insurance employees have completed a Dementia Friends session since 2017. These are free, interactive meetings designed to raise awareness about dementia and how it affects people’s lives.

Wallace says: “Our job is to help people and put them back into a place where they were comfortable before – so you’re very much providing an educational support structure.”

Next phase

Building upon these foundations, IUAD is now preparing to scale up for the next chapter of its work. This includes aiming to double fundraising returns from its flagship event, the Insurance Day for Dementia, which will be held on 27 November 2025.

Wallace says: “[The Insurance Day for Dementia is] now in its fourth or fifth year. It touches nearly 2,000 people. [Around] 60 or 70 businesses raised £500,000 last year alone on a single day.

“Now we’ve got some momentum, can we get that figure up to £1m [for the] day? That would be quite significant.”

He adds that IUAD is helping to establish internal staff support networks and improve understanding about dementia across UKGI’s firms.

According to feedback gathered through IUAD’s social media channels and industry webinars, many carers within the market relayed that the campaign gave them vital encouragement and a sense of solidarity. Others praised the initiative as a “powerful reminder of how much can be achieved when our industry comes together for a cause that touches so many lives”.

Sustainable mission

Wallace notes that sustaining positive energy and momentum around a charitable campaign for more than eight years requires resilience and regular renewal. He believes IUAD has successfully achieved this longevity by fostering a diverse and evolving board made up of professionals across the insurance market.

“We’ve probably had about four to five reiterations of the IUAD board itself and each time there’s 10 to 15 people in that group,” he explains. “That variety has been one of the most remarkable pieces. [IUAD has] brought everyone together for a common cause.

“There was an individual right at the start of the campaign that suggested this will be a challenge because people obviously move on, people change and people have other commitments. The fact we’ve been able to establish IUAD as a campaign that has [a] sustainable shelf life, if you like, is testament to the brilliant people that are included in the group.”

Wallace believes IUAD can now evolve beyond fundraising and awareness raising to become a leading voice in the national conversation about dementia – both inside and outside the insurance market.

“IUAD can become a thought leader as well,” he says.

For Wallace, who originally founded the campaign as a deeply personal response to family experience with Alzheimer’s disease, the campaign has grown into something bigger than he imagined. 

“This isn’t just about the insurance industry. It’s about people helping people – loved ones, family, friends,” Wallace says.