The Chartered Insurance Institute (CII) has formed a new advisory board drawn from senior figures across broking, underwriting, and claims. The body is pushing to give practitioners a more direct role in shaping its professional standards and learning agenda.
The Professional Communities Advisory Board (PCAB) includes representatives from the British Insurance Brokers’ Association (BIBA) and the Association of British Insurers (ABI). It will support the CII’s work on thought leadership, professional development, and guidance.
Richard Napoli, divisional director for customer solutions at Markel, chairs the board. Joel Markham, director of schemes and delegated authorities at AXA, serves as deputy chair. Three further members are Janet Edey, Chubb’s financial lines director; Kerry D’Souza, underwriting director at First Central; and Eibhlin Swan of Allianz. Alycia Thomson of PIB, Nicola Maguire of BIBA, and Sheryl Fernando of the ABI complete the board.
The PCAB arrives alongside other structural changes the CII has made in 2026. In May, the body appointed a new executive director for member engagement and a separate director for learning.
Both hires are part of a broader effort to modernise the CII’s learning offer for brokers, underwriters, and claims professionals at a time when firms are placing greater weight on structured qualifications to demonstrate competence under the FCA’s Consumer Duty.
The board will give the CII a more consistent mechanism for drawing on practitioner insight across research, learning content, and professional guidance. It works alongside existing specialist adviser groups in broking, claims, and underwriting.
Adam Harper, executive director for advocacy and professional standards at the CII, said practitioner input had become more important. The profession, he said, faced a range of pressures from changing customer expectations to new regulatory demands.
“The insurance profession is navigating significant change, from evolving customer expectations and emerging risks to new technologies and regulatory developments,” Harper said. “At times like these, it is more important than ever that the CII’s work is informed by the experience and insight of practitioners working across the profession.”
Harper has previously warned that a shift toward principles-based regulation presents a risk if not managed carefully. He said the move away from detailed rules could “devalue the reputation of the sector” and that the CII was overhauling its qualifications framework to go beyond technical knowledge and address behavioural and enabling skills.
Richard Napoli said the board would help the CII keep its work focused on practitioner priorities. “The formation of the PCAB will help the CII ensure its initiatives continue to be focussed on the priorities that are key to those operating in the industry,” he said.
The CII’s move comes as the professional body sector faces questions about how well trade qualifications and CPD frameworks keep pace with market change. The PCAB is also the first structure to bring both BIBA and the ABI formally into the CII’s governance in this way.
That context matters. Talent attraction and retention rose from seventh place to become the top business challenge for UK insurers in 2026, according to Gallagher Bassett’s Carrier Perspective report. Some 72% of UK respondents reported greater difficulty finding qualified candidates.
The structural pressures run deeper still. Around one in four insurance employees is over 50. More than 70% of insurers report shortages in data and digital skills, and only 4% of young people see insurance as a viable career option, according to CII research. For a professional body whose remit is standards and learning, those figures set the stakes for the PCAB’s work.
