The Chartered Insurance Institute (CII) is a professional body dedicated to building public trust in the insurance and financial planning profession. The CII's purpose, as set out in its 1912 royal charter, is to 'Secure and justify the confidence of the public' in its members and the insurance sector as a whole. It aims to do this by setting standards of integrity, technical competence, and business capability. CII is a part of the Chartered Body Alliance which includes Chartered Institute for Securities & Investment (CISI) and Chartered Banker Institute.
In April 2022 Alan Vallance was appointed as the CEO of Chartered Insurance Institute, taking over after Sian Fisher's 6-year tenure. In October 2023, news reports suggested that CII had announced the departure of CEO Vallance in Q2 2024, potentially, to take up an equivalent role at the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW).
Origins
The first Insurance Institute was established in Manchester on 14 March 1873 to provide an environment for the social exchange of knowledge and ideas on the subject of insurance, with a particular focus on fire insurance, given the number of textile manufacturers in the city. The Insurance Institute of Manchester had a selective membership policy and required members to hold senior positions within the industry, which led to the creation of a Junior Insurance Institute (later Insurance Association of Manchester) in 1883 to provide education to those new to insurance.
The second local institute to be formed was the Insurance and Actuarial Society of Glasgow founded in 1881, which held education as its main focus. Following that the Insurance Institute of Ireland (in Dublin, 1885), Insurance Institute of Norwich (1886), Birmingham Insurance Institute (1887), Insurance Institute of Yorkshire (in Leeds, 1888), Bristol (1890), Insurance Institute of Newcastle upon Tyne (1896), and Nottingham (1896), were formed, though with varying names, e.g. Insurance Social and Musical Society of Bristol.
There was a growing interest in the idea of a central institute which would bolster the work and profile of the existing institutes, and so in March 1897 a conference of representatives from the 10 institutes was held in Manchester, and it was decided that they should form an association called The Federation of Insurance Institutes of Great Britain and Ireland. At this conference, it was also proposed that an annual journal of insurance papers should be produced, that the institutes should jointly offer examinations and certificates, and that an insurance clerks’ orphanage should be established.
Initially, the responsibility for the Journal was assumed by the Birmingham and Glasgow institutes, while the Yorkshire institute and the Manchester association prepared the educational program, proposing that the Federation should act only as an examining body while local institutes undertook the teaching. The Insurance Clerks’ Orphanage was established as an independent organization in 1902, operating out of the offices of the London Salvage Corps.
At the 1906 conference of the Federation, it was decided that a royal charter should be sought and that the London Institute should act as a headquarters. In 1908, as a step towards gaining the charter, a constitution was agreed between the institutes, and the name was changed to The Insurance Institute of Great Britain and Ireland. The royal charter was granted in 1912 and the Insurance Institute of Great Britain and Ireland became the Chartered Insurance Institute. At this time there were 21 local institutes in Great Britain and Ireland and 4 affiliated institutes from within the British Empire.
Charter
The royal charter incorporating the Chartered Insurance Institute was granted on 17 January 1912 by King George V. Each royal charter that is granted is unique in format and content as it is drawn up and contains the bye-laws deemed relevant by the body to be incorporated. A new supplemental charter, replacing all former versions of the charter, was granted by Queen Elizabeth II on 27 January 1987.
Article 3 of the CII's current charter identifies the six "objects and purposes for which the Institute is constituted":