The Worshipful Company of

InsurersIncorporated by Royal Charter

www.wci.org.uk2019

Membership

A modern Livery Company promoting excellence in insurance and maintaining the ancient traditions of philanthropy and support to the Mayoralty and the City of London.

www.wci.org.uk

The Worshipful Company of Insurers brings together two key elements of the City of London, Insurance which is now the largest employer within the City, and the City civic where Livery Companies have taken an active part for centuries. The Insurers Company, gives insurance professionals the opportunity to meet, network and socialise, both formally and informally, with fellow professionals. Members of the Livery also have the opportunity to contribute to the profession and wider community through educational activities participation in City life and tradition and by supporting a wide range of charitable causes.

Our MissionThe Worshipful Company of Insurers

The mission of the Worshipful Company of Insurers is to be the City Livery Company for influential leaders in insurance.

Our aims are to:

Promote insurance as a force for economic and public benefit

Encourage excellence in insurance education and practice

Support the City of London and the Mayoralty

Raise funds for and to be involved in charitable work

Foster fellowship and discussion among members

History of the Company

The Company of Insurers, a Guild company, was incorporated in June 1979. It was granted its Livery status in September 1979 and became the Worshipful Company of Insurers.

It was presented with letters patent of the grant of the Livery by the then Lord Mayor, Sir Kenneth Cork GBE, DLitt, at the Mansion House in October 1979. In achieving Livery status within three months of incorporation, the Company of Insurers probably holds the record for speed, a fact that recognises the high esteem in which the insurance industry is held in the City. On 1st September 2015 the Company was granted a Royal Charter. On the 28th June 2019 the Company will celebrate 40 years as a Livery Company with a splendid event in Guildhall.

The Company is governed by a Court of Assistants. Each year the Court elects from its ranks a Master, together with a Senior and Junior Warden.

The Court is responsible for policy, strategy and overall management of the Company and appoints a Clerk as CEO.

History of the GuildsAlmost from their earliest times the ancient guilds undertook a responsibility for the education and training of young people. We are no exception, and are proud of the funding we provide to this sector.

Trade and craft associations have flourished over Europe for centuries, but the City of London companies, now known as the Livery, are unique in number and diversity.

The livery companies probably had their origins in this country before 1066. Guilds (or mysteries, from the Latin ‘misterium’, meaning professional skill) flourished throughout Europe for many centuries.

The word ‘guild’ derives from the Saxon word for payment, since membership of these fraternities was (and is) paid for. The word ‘livery’ refers to uniform clothing as means of identification. Today, new companies in their formative years are usually referred to as guilds.

Early companies were the medieval equivalent of trading standards bodies, checking quality of goods and weights and measures. They also controlled imports, set wages and working conditions, and trained apprentices. After many years of fierce dispute, an order of precedence for livery companies was finally settled in 1515, starting with Mercers at Number One.

The social and economic conditions which produced the guilds have long been overtaken by changes in industry, commerce, and consumer and workplace legislation but the Livery still flourishes today. The companies have survived because they continue to foster their trade in a wide context, serving the community, and embracing modern skills and professions. Today there are 113 livery companies in the City of London with around 25,000 people in membership.

Becoming a Liveryman offers a unique opportunity to participate in City life, both modern day business, and the traditions going back many centuries. Modernity and tradition rest easily together in The City and The Livery.

Open HouseThose interested in finding out about membership are welcome to join our informal, once-a-month lunch at the City University Club, 42 Crutched Friars, EC3N 2AP, which usually takes place on the first Friday of every month.

Contact us to check the date of the next gathering.

Responsibilities of MembershipThe obligations of those fit and proper persons who are admitted to the Freedom and the Livery of the Company are set out in a formal declaration to the Court at the admission ceremony. They are what are expected of a good citizen of the City.

The aims of all Livery Companies are fellowship, welfare, charitable support, and generally, to support the Lord Mayor, Aldermen and Common Council, that is, The Corporation of London.

The motto ‘omnium defensor’ means defender of all.

Admission to the CompanyAll Insurers joining the Company today are expected to be professionally qualified in insurance or otherwise experienced by virtue of having held management or academic positions where insurance has played a prominent part, for instance as a lawyer or accountant

Membership of any Livery company is a privilege and a recognition of achievement. Once gained it offers access to a unique blend of professional and social contact and interaction, with the opportunity to take an active part in the pageantry and ancient customs of the City of London

To apply for membership you will need to be proposed by two liverymen (one of whom should be a Court Assistant) and your proposer will be asked to provide a covering letter of support. Your application will then be placed before the Membership Committee, and thence before the Court, which is the governing body of the Company. Because the Company is limited by the Court of Aldermen to 400 Liverymen, progression to the Livery is subject to selection and vacancies.

If successful you will receive a personal Freedom Certificate, with an invitation to support the Company’s events. All new Freemen are invited to begin supporting events in their first year and to attend at least two of the Company’s Great Events.

Subsequently, you will be eligible, and invited to apply for, the Freedom of the City of London and to become a Liveryman of the Company, known as being “clothed” in the Livery. Once clothed you are entitled, after a period, to vote for the Lord Mayor of London and to take a full part in the life of the City. Only Liverymen may become Court Assistants, and this again is by invitation. Thereafter, once on the Court, lies the opportunity to rise to become elected as a Warden and, subsequently, Master of the Company.

A Modern LiveryBy joining the WCI you will become part of a modern Livery Company that actively contributes to the development of best practice in the insurance sector and promotes inclusion and diversity in very practical ways.

There are groups for insurance Non-Executive Directors (iNED), Women in Insurance (iWIN) and younger members (iENGAGE). All of these have their own educational and social programmes open to all members.

The Company also has close links with Brokerage CityLink which reaches out to schools in the boroughs surrounding the City to provide opportunities for talented young people from very diverse backgrounds to learn about the City and its business and to give them the chance to develop careers in insurance.

CostsJoining a Livery Company should be viewed as a long term commitment.

The costs involved are:

Annual Quarterage (or membership subscription) currently set at £430 p.a. (subject to annual review), the Freedom Fine of £250, and the Livery fine of £500 both of which are one-off payments. Quarterage and the Freedom Fine are reduced by half for those under the age of 37. In addition there is a commitment to support the Company’s Charitable Trust regularly in whatever sum you can reasonably afford.

Great Social EventsThese are the formal occasions which are held in City Livery halls, the Mansion House and other historic buildings is the City.

All members are encouraged to bring family, friends and colleagues to the Great Social Events.

Common Hall (The Company’s AGM)

Installation Dinner and Church Service

Winter lunches

Banquet at Mansion House in honour of the Lord Mayor

There are also less formal, and generally less expensive, events and activities throughout the year, including City walks, golfing with the WIGS, inter-Livery events and visits to many of the interesting places in and around the City.

On the first Friday of every month members and their guests meet for an informal lunch in the City.

Professional EventsThere are many professional and social occasions throughout the year, most held in interesting and unusual venues many of which are exclusive to members. As well as offering a better understanding of insurance, these provide opportunities to meet regularly with the key people within the industry.

Service AffiliationsMany of the older Livery Companies had established links with the voluntary military services of the Crown and, encouraged to follow this pattern the Company of Insurers has forged a relationship with the Kent and Sharpshooters Yeomanry, who have always had strong ties with insurance, London and the Home Counties. The Company is also affiliated to HMS AUDACIOUS, an A-class submarine, 71st Signal Regiment, Middlesex & North West London ACF 21 Company and 1034 Surbiton & Esher Air Training Corps.

PhilanthropyAll members of The Worshipful Company of Insurers are expected to make an annual contribution to support the work of the Company’s Charitable Trust (Registered number 1175425). The Trust is primarily concerned with the furtherance of education within the insurance industry, mentoring young people from disadvantaged backgrounds and City charities supporting ex-offenders and social welfare charities in the poorest boroughs of London.

For further information about the Insurers, visit www.wci.org.uk or contact the Clerk:

Mrs Sarah Clark, The Worshipful Company of Insurers, First Floor, 21 Lombard Street, London EC3V

T: 020 7600 4006

E: clerk@wci.org.uk

If you would like more general information about the City of London, or to learn more about its Livery Companies, access the website www.cityoflondon.gov.uk.

www.wci.org.uk