Insurance Times Awards 2026: Acini on building a culture of inclusivity

Why did you put yourselves forward for the category?

We thought this category is to a large extent about values and hence it resonated well with the whole Acini concept. We try to keep things fair within our company, as well as give back to society, so this category seemed like a good match for us.

At Acini, we believe that diversity and inclusion are fundamental to building a stronger business, delivering better outcomes for our clients and creating an environment where people can do their best work. We have intentionally embedded these principles into how we recruit, develop, support and promote our team.

We put ourselves forward for this award because we are proud of the culture we have built and the progress we have made in creating an inclusive workplace where individuals from different backgrounds, experiences and perspectives can thrive. As a growing consultancy, we recognise that diversity and inclusion are not standalone initiatives but an ongoing commitment that influences our decisions, behaviours and long-term success.

What do you think makes your entry stand out and why should you win the award?

When setting up Acini in 2021, we started our discussions from company values. We decided that key for us is transparency, life balance, acceptance, keeping things simple, quality and sustainability.

I think that some of them resonate very well with diversity and inclusion. Transparency means that company decisions are communicated with the team and reasoning behind them is also explained. Transparency also means we have transparent finances, this creates an environment where salaries are equal based on skills and experience, and not biased, for instance gender biased. Sustainability means we give back to the society, both in Poland where most of our team is, as well as in the UK where the majority of our customers are. Acceptance promotes us being ourselves and being diverse, as long as we stick to other values.

So I think that sticking to values is a good reason to be a winner. On the more operational level, I think our female representation in the team is around 50% higher than the industry average, which makes us pretty unique. Also our working model – remote first approach – significantly differs us from most companies. While now there is a push for coming back to the office, we leave it to the every team member decision, when and if they want to meet in the office, which promotes diversity.

What would winning this award mean to you and your firm?

It would be a nice way for celebrating our culture and sticking to our values. It would be a nice way to recognise that we are doing things right and others find it meaningful.

Winning this award would be a proud milestone for Acini as we celebrate not only what we have achieved so far, but also the values that define who we are. It would demonstrate that creating an inclusive workplace is not reserved for large organisations with dedicated programmes and resources. Smaller, specialist firms can also drive meaningful change when diversity and inclusion are embedded into everyday decisions, behaviours and leadership. For our team, it would be recognition that every voice matters. For our clients and industry partners, it would reaffirm our commitment to building a business that reflects the diverse communities we serve.