A phone call between two broking chief executives in the aftermath of 9/11 has grown into a London market tradition that has supported more than 100 students and directed over £900,000 into the industry's next generation.
On September 11, 2026, the insurance and risk management community will gather at Walton Heath Golf Club to mark the 25th anniversary of the attacks, continuing an event that began as a way for the market to remember colleagues who were lost.
The London Insurance Market Charitable Trust traces its origins to a conversation between David Martin, then CEO of Aon UK, and Mike Hammond, CEO of Marsh UK and Ireland, who wanted to bring the market together following the attacks. Hammond, now chairman of the Trust, recalled that the pair "engaged with our counterparts at Marsh and Aon on the London Wholesale side of the business, Steve Matanle and John Turner. The four of us then launched the idea."
The first Golf Day, held at The London Golf Club in Kent, raised more than £60,000, leaving the founders to decide where the money should go. Hammond, who had recently returned from six years working in New York, suggested working with St John's University, then known as the College of Insurance, where he had recruited staff during his time in the US.
That decision established a model that has endured for more than two decades: an annual act of remembrance paired with financial support for people building careers in insurance.
The event has since grown to include up to 25 teams of four from across broking, insurance, reinsurance and loss adjusting, with one firm acting as title sponsor each year. The proceeds have remained focused on education throughout.
Recipients have included students at St John's University, master's students at Bayes Business School and, over the past four years, 16 students studying risk management, finance and insurance at Glasgow Caledonian University. Selection is handled entirely by the universities against criteria set by the Trust and based on family income, avoiding potential conflicts of interest.
The programme goes beyond financial support. Recipients come to London for a two-day orientation hosted pro bono by trustee firms, giving students direct exposure to the market, its businesses and the people working within it, along with routes into internships and graduate roles.
The Trust's current trustees are Hammond, Richard Dudley of BMS, Catherine French of Marsh, Doug Markey of Willis and Tim Pritchard of Lockton, with trustee firms also involved in hosting the students.
Many of the students supported by the Trust are first-generation entrants to higher education with no family history in insurance and, as Hammond put it, "no easy access to advice and mentoring." He highlighted two former recipients who went on to build careers as an aviation reinsurance broker and underwriter in the Middle East and North Africa, and as Deputy Commissioner of Ghana's insurance regulator.
Hammond said creating a long-running talent initiative was never the original intention. "We simply wanted to create an event, once a year during early September, to remember our friends, colleagues and businesses that were impacted," he said.
Twenty-five years on, that purpose remains at the centre of the event. But the money raised along the way has also built a lasting legacy, giving students who may otherwise have had little exposure to the industry a way into it.
This year's Golf Day takes place at Walton Heath Golf Club on September 11, with former Ryder Cup captain Sam Torrance attending in support of the event. Torrance made his Ryder Cup debut at Walton Heath in 1981 and was captain of the European team for the 2001 Ryder Cup, which was postponed following the 9/11 attacks and played the following year.
Those unable to attend can still support the Trust and its scholarship programme through its online raffle at https://app.galabid.com/2001.
