Plumeri urges industry to "aim higher"

Yesterday evening, as the St John's University School of Risk Management honored Joe Plumeri, chairman and chief executive of Willis Group, as the 2006 Insurance Leader of the Year, Plumeri turned the tables on the industry by heaping praise on the professionals assembled and challenging them to aim higher.

Recognising the critical role of insurance and extolling the virtues of brokers, clients and carriers alike, Plumeri said that insurance gets a bad rap that it does not deserve. While most people have a negative perception of insurance because it is associated with something bad happening, the industry sees people and businesses through times of great adversity and is therefore filled with heroes.

Referring to insurance as the DNA of capitalism, Plumeri said that it is incumbent upon the industry leaders to re-brand the sector. “Be mindful of the wonderful work you do. And just as important – be proud of the work you do. Passion, self-esteem and pride – these have to be the hallmarks that define what comes next for us,” Plumeri said.

“From this night forward, let's take our game to a higher level of compliance and higher standards of service…Not standards that are imposed on us by others,” Plumeri said. “What we do – enabling dreams – is much too important for us to be mechanical. It's too important to the global community for us to be passive participants. We've got to drive this.”

In celebrating and supporting the great work of the School of Risk Management, Plumeri urged the gathering to do all that they can for the School as it is the training ground for the next generation of insurance industry leaders.