Insurance Business UK Elite Women 2021

SPECIAL REPORT

2021 IBUK salutes 49 women who have overcome myriad challenges to reach the pinnacle of the UK insurance industry

CONTENTS

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Feature article ............................................... 2 Methodology ................................................. 3 Elite Women 2021 list ................................... 5 Profiles ........................................................... 6

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SPECIAL REPORT

ELITE WOMEN 2021

ELITE WOMEN: RISING TO THE TOP AS IBUK celebrates this year’s class of 49 Elite Women, it’s a good time to reflect on where women are, where they’ve been and where they want to go in the industry.

The COVID-19 pandemic – and the lockdowns it has necessitated – has put increased pressure on women. Whether they’re working outside or inside the home, women are three times more likely to be responsible for most of the housework and childcare than men, according to McKinsey. Anita Bhatia, deputy executive director of UN Women, calls this the “care burden”. In a November interview with the BBC, Bhatia warned that this care burden could wipe out a quarter-century of women’s gains in the workplace and revive 1950s gender stereotypes.

Sam White, CEO of Freedom Group and one of this year’s Elite Women, has seen this

“We need to level the playing field for women who have family commitments and increase the ability to work from home and have flexible hours” Janthana Kaenprakhamroy, Tapoly

first-hand. At the start of the lockdowns, White was hopeful that remote working would provide some sort of competitive advantage for women in the industry, but she has been disappointed.

“Unfortunately, I have found that with the majority of homeschooling seemingly falling on women rather than men in house-

HOW THE INDUSTRY IS ADDRESSING INEQUALITY

58%

OF INSURANCE COMPANIES HAVE A DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM FOR WOMEN

76%

OF INSURANCE COMPANIES HAVE A DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION STRATEGY

88%

OF INSURANCE COMPANIES HAVE AN EXECUTIVE SPONSOR FOR DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION

Source: Association of British Insurers

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holds, I have seen a number of senior female executives leave the industry,” she says.

“My hope is that, when we return to some element of normalcy, we will retain the flexibility, which should make us more appealing to female candidates.”

Janthana Kaenprakhamroy, founder and CEO of insurtech Tapoly and a fellow 2021 Elite Women honouree, is likewise hopeful that the shift to remote work could end up being an opportunity for women in both the insurance and tech industries, as work-life balance remains a major concern.

According to data from the Women of Silicon Roundabout Conference, 32% of women in the tech industry said achieving work-life balance was their chief concern, compared to 25% who were most concerned about career development and progression.

“I can’t say for the industry, but my personal opinion would be we need to level the playing field for women who have family commitments and increase the ability to work from home and have flexible hours,” Kaenprakhamroy says. “I think COVID-19 has potentially brought more opportunities for women to apply this to their jobs and

achieve a work-life balance that would hopefully attract more women to the industry.”

Past and present problems On her climb to the top, White has experienced objectification and unwanted advances from male co-workers, and she believes the insurance industry needs to do more to ensure women are treated with the proper respect. One thing that could help, she says, is narrowing the gender pay gap, which is currently 33.2% for the financial services and insurance sector, according to the latest data from the Office for National Statistics.

“Financial services still has one of, if not the, worst gender pay gaps of any industry,” White says. “We also have a tiny percentage of female board members within organisations in the industry as a whole.”

Meanwhile, Kaenprakhamroy says she’s experienced her own challenges but now feels isolated from gender bias as the head of

her own company. Still, she feels that eradicating unconscious gender bias is important in male-dominated industries.

“There is no quick fix for this, but it is essential companies work to unpick these biases and promote diversity,” she says. “For example, at a strategic level, a company could include diversity as part of their mission statement, and at an operational level, they can make diversity and inclusion one of their KPIs to form part of the company’s recruitment and retention policy. This should be a good start toward creating a better working environment that would both attract and retain women in the workplace.”

As an insurtech CEO, Kaenprakhamroy’s chief concern is the glaringly unequal treatment of startups in the venture capital space, where there is a lack of funding for businesses founded by women. A study by the British Business Bank discovered that less than 1% of UK venture capital went to

METHODOLOGY Insurance Business UK’s 2021 Elite Women report was launched in December 2020 with a call to insurance firms across the UK to nominate the industry’s most noteworthy female trailblazers. Nominators were asked to provide details of each nominee’s achievements over the past 12 months, with specific examples of their professional accomplishments and contributions to the industry as a whole.

To compile the final list of Elite Women, the IBUK editorial team reviewed all nominations, examining how each individual had made a meaningful and tangible difference to the industry. The winners were judged by the substance of their nominations – namely, those that illustrated specific outcomes in support of their peers and the industry.

PROPORTION OF WOMEN IN THE UK INSURANCE INDUSTRY

60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10%

3rd

Total workforce

Insurance Business UK Elite Women list

56%

Management positions

39%

90

Executive team positions Board-level jobs

total nominations received

27% 20% from

32

0%

companies Source: Association of British Insurers

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SPECIAL REPORT

ELITE WOMEN 2021

most jobs today require increasing IT skills.”

INDUSTRIES WITH THE LARGEST GENDER PAY GAPS

Getting better all the time 33.2%

Financial services and insurance

24.6%

Education

Electricity, gas, steam and air conditioning supply Professional, scientific and technical activities

Human health and social work Information and communication

22.4% 20.5%

Service activities

Manufacturing

22.8%

16.3% 15.7% 15.1%

Source: Office for National Statistics, 2020

“Financial services still has one of, if not the, worst gender pay gaps of any industry” Sam White, Freedom Group

female-founded companies, while malefounded operations got 89%.

It’s a problem that not only hurts women’s progress, but also has a detrimental effect on the UK economy. According to the Rose Review of Female Entrepreneurship, closing the gender gap for female entrepreneurs in the UK could add an additional £250bn to the country’s economy. And unlike insurance, where women make up well over half of the

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industry, the tech space remains stubbornly male-dominated.

“According to Adeva IT, as of 2018, women held only 25% of all the jobs in the tech industry, despite women making up almost half of the total workforce,” Kaenprakhamroy says. “This has worsened, as this number is lower than the percentage of tech jobs held by women back in the 1980s. Hence, we need to encourage more women in the tech space, as

Despite the roadblocks that remain for women in insurance, White and Kaenprakhamroy both acknowledged current advancements and underscored the importance of furthering ongoing progress.

“In the past couple of years, there has been great development by the insurance industry to promote women and diversity,” Kaenprakhamroy says. “Evidence is the increase in the number of high-profile awards dedicated to showcase the best of female leaders in the industry, such as IBUK Elite Women and the Women in Insurance Awards, in which Tapoly was one of the finalists in a few categories.”

And as a female insurtech founder, Kaenprakhamroy is doing her part to close the gender gap. “I’m proactively promoting diversity in the industry, and we love to recruit women,” she says. “As a matter of fact, most of our senior roles are performed by women.”

White adds that she’s seen “a lot more senior female appointments in the last couple of years, more female-driven groups, etc.”.

However, there’s still a long way to go – the Association of British Insurers reports that only 27% of executive roles are held by women, and an even smaller number of women (20%) have reached the board level.

“These concerns are valid, and the industry is making progress forward,” Kaenprakhamroy says, “but there is still further work to do.”

On that note, IBUK would like to congratulate the 49 women who made this year’s Elite Women list, who have put in the extra hours while juggling the challenges of COVID-19 and navigating a locked-down economy. Their achievements have set the standard for a new generation of female leaders in the UK insurance industry.

2021 Sharon Brown

Donna Scully

Managing director Harbour Underwriting

Director Carpenters Group

Phone: 020 3829 9400 Email: sharon.brown@harbourunderwriting.com Website: harbourunderwriting.com

Phone: 0344 249 3536 Email: dms@carpentersgroup.co.uk Website: carpentersgroup.co.uk

Jaya Handa

Julie Rayson-Flynn

Privacy director Liberty Specialty Markets

Operations director Brokerbility

Phone: 020 3758 0000 Email: jaya.handa@libertyglobalgroup.com Website: libertyspecialtymarkets.com

Phone: 0116 281 9213 Email: jflynn@brokerbility.co.uk Website: brokerbility.co.uk

Abbhi Bala Finance director Gallagher Re Alison Martin CEO, EMEA & bank distribution Zurich Insurance Group Amanda Blanc CEO Aviva Angela Moran IS Group and UK&I director of business management RSA Group Bethan Perris Account executive Tysers

Helene Stanway Global head of technology innovation AXA XL

Kim Alcock Head of UK casualty & TPA operations McLarens

Henrietta Butcher Managing director Tysers

Kirsten Shastri Specialty underwriter. life sciences Beazley

Holly Shepherd Managing director Shepherd Global

Kishan Mangat Senior associate DWF Lea Cheesbrough Managing director Movo Partnership

Irem Yerdelen Client & business development director Willis Towers Watson Jackie Hyde Managing director Stanmore Insurance Brokers

Caroline Hairsine Head of construction Aviva UK

Jane Chewins Managing director Jane Chewins Ltd

Christine Dearden Senior project manager Sedgwick

Jane Portas Co-founder Insuring Women’s Futures

Claire Davies HR director Gallagher

Janette Evans-Turner UK head of sourcing & procurement Zurich Insurance Group

Clare Talbot-Jones Business development director Talbot Jones Ltd Emily Fraser Underwriting effectiveness and strategy director RSA Group Fiona Shaw Head of strategy & operations Willis Towers Watson

Janthana Kaenprakhamroy CEO Tapoly Jennette Newman Senior partner Clyde & Co. Kay White Owner Way Forward Solutions

Milena Mondini de Focatiis CEO Admiral Nadine Haschka Customer service manager Atradius Penny James CEO Direct Line Sam White Founder and CEO Freedom Group

Leonie Rainbow Operations manager Anthony James Insurance Brokers

Sandra McDonald Head of client services McLarens

Linsey Scott Branch director and head of office Marsh Commercial

Sara Fardon Managing director Willis Towers Watson Networks

Lisa Bartlett President, UK & Ireland Crawford & Company Louise Flood Vice president Lockton Companies Louise Sharifi Operations manager for specialty and multinational Aviva UK Mahima Agarwal Senior manager – actuarial, rewards & analytics Deloitte Marjorie Adejumo Head of regional development ERS

Shashi Adatia Director Moneywise Investments Shona Robertson Partner H&R Insurance Services Shradha Patel Head of conduct and customer, claims RSA Group Sian Fisher CEO Chartered Insurance Institute Teniola Tijani Associate underwriter Travelers Victoria Mavin Head of commercial services Zurich Insurance Group

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ELITE WOMEN 2021 DONNA SCULLY Director Carpenters Group

U

nder the joint leadership of Donna Scully and John Carpenter, Carpenters Group has been achieving gender parity without realising it – and it’s paying off. Women make up 58% of the company’s total workforce, 50% of its executive board, 61% of its operations board, and 59% of managers and team leaders.

However, Scully stresses that this wasn’t achieved by hiring women purely to achieve gender parity – a practice she disagrees with. “It’s got to be best person for the job, and sometimes it’s a woman – you need to have an open mind to see that,” she says.

For Scully, reaching a position to make a positive impact has been a long and sometimes arduous journey. Initially from Dublin, she left school at 16; after moving to England, she attended night school to study law, eventually qualifying as a solicitor in 1995. “I suppose I’ve always been ambitious,” she says. “I didn’t think I should be held back because I’m a woman.”

In 1997, Scully moved from London to Liverpool to join Carpenters Group, which was then a small commercial practice, and she’s helped grow it into what it is today. Among her long list of accomplishments, Scully won the Outstanding Achievement Award at the 2014 Personal Injury Awards, and this is her third appearance on IBUK’s Elite Women list.

Scully’s advice for other young women in insurance? “You can do it,” she says. “It is a bit painful, and it can take time, but if you want it, there are some opportunities, and you have to push. [The work environment for women] is changing, and I’m really pleased about that.”

JAYA HANDA Privacy Director Liberty Specialty Markets

F

or Jaya Handa, the key to success in the insurance industry is simple: “I love what I do,” she says. “I’m a data protection nerd, I’m passionate about helping young people [and] D&I, so all of my activities have a meaningful purpose, which for me are not just moral niceties – they’re corporate necessities.”

In addition to being the privacy director at Liberty Specialty Markets, Handa acts as the group data protection officer in Europe and is also responsible for data protection across the Middle East, Latin America, Bermuda and Asia-Pacific. She is a consultative expert on digital ethics in insurance at the European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority, chair of the London Market Association Data Protection group and a member of the European Commission’s AI Alliance.

Handa has set up a successful mentoring scheme at Liberty Specialty Markets and sits on various advisory boards, including the Black Solicitors Network Junior Lawyers Group and the Next Generation Insurance Network. She also chairs LSM’s Cultural Awareness Network and is a trustee of the Change Foundation charity.

“I’ve always been passionate about paving the way for the next generation, particularly those from disadvantaged backgrounds,” Handa says. “I’m very conscious that when I go out and I’m talking about working in the insurance sector, I am an embodiment of the insurance sector for those young people, so I want to be the best role model I can be.”

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JULIE RAYSON-FLYNN Operations Director Brokerbility

C

onnections and relationships – that’s what Brokerbility’s Julie Rayson-Flynn says is most crucial to her success in the industry. “The insurance market is still about people,” she says. “I’m passionate about people.”

Now she’s passing that passion on to the next generation. As president of the Insurance Institute of Leicester (IIL), she launched a local mentoring scheme and supported 23-year-old Florence Dennis as a prospective future president. She also created ‘shadow roles’ to encourage young people to learn from the organisation’s more experienced members.

“It’s probably the single most important thing to me that people are managed by good managers,” Rayson-Flynn says. “In insurance, we tend to take a good technical person and make them a manager, when actually that may not be their skill set. You can get much more out of a team, out of individuals, if they’re well managed.”

Rayson-Flynn has also injected new life into the IIL’s charity dinner, which was experiencing waning sponsorship and had dwindled to around 120 attendees. Leveraging social media and past connections, she grew the dinner to nearly 300 attendees, including all major insurers and suppliers, as well as a record number of sponsors.

Rayson-Flynn says there’s a reason why she takes her work on behalf of the industry so seriously. “I certainly had some very good mentors,” she says. “They were people who guided you and showed you the way; it is our responsibility to then continue that legacy.”

SHARON BROWN Managing Director Harbour Underwriting

S

haron Brown brings a boundless energy to her work. “I’m bowled over by her knowledge, enthusiasm and warmth, and by the fact that her confidence in me is probably greater than mine in myself,” says Elly Barry, an underwriting assistant at Harbour Underwriting.

“She has such infectious energy and humour that working long hours with her is actually fun,” adds Nameeta Biswas, chief compliance counsel at Harbour Solutions Group.

For Brown, it’s all about creating an atmosphere in which all members of her team can thrive. “Your enthusiasm and relentlessness and zest make everybody else feel like that … if you exude an energy, then that helps the workforce,” she says. “The goal is to make everybody as confident as possible in the workplace, to be able to question things.”

After returning to the insurance industry in 2011, Brown joined QLCC, a small ATE litigation insurance underwriting agency, in September 2019. Within months, she had rebranded the agency as Harbour Underwriting and implemented new business processes and procedures, consolidated an elite team, formulated a new strategy, diversified the product range, and revamped distribution. Her efforts have paid off – over the past 12 months, Harbour Underwriting has seen a 256% increase in gross revenue and a 441% jump in net income.

During her career, Brown says she’s seen a major shift in the industry, particularly in women’s roles. She advises the next generation of female insurance professionals to “feel the fear but do it anyway. You can do it.”

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ELITE WOMEN 2021

2021

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