With extreme adventurer Sean Conway as guest speaker and the insurance industry faced with navigating change and challenge, endurance in various guises was very much the theme of the 29th Insurance Institute of the Isle of Man annual dinner.

Guests at the event, which was sponsored by The Mac Group and held at the Palace Hotel, included chief minister Allan Bell MHK and FSA chief executive Karen Badgerow, who heard the Island’s institute’s president Bryan O’Connor refer to the challenges being faced by the industry as it adapted to a changing regulatory landscape.

Mr O’Connor explained that, locally, supporting professional development was central to the aims of the institute which numbered some 325 members and, since April 2015, had provided more than 1200 hours of CPD. He added that the institute was also committed to strengthening positive links with other professional organisations to maximise members’ CPD opportunities.

The event also served as an occasion to celebrate members’ success with Mr O’Connor introducing three award winners.

Simon Martin, of AXA Insurance was presented with the Aon Insurance Award for achieving outstanding academic success, particularly at advanced level; Emmet McQuillan of Tower Insurance, with the Glyn Gilbert award in recognition of outstanding exam success; and Mike Stringer from Chase Financial Services, with the Young Achiever’s Award in recognition of exceptional talent among young members. (A new award in memory of the late Mike Henthorn, a champion of young people’s career development).

In closing Mr O’Connor wished his successor, Ann Collins, every success for when she takes up her role as president in April.

Guest speaker, the Harare-born extreme adventurer Sean Conway, as memorable for his take on ‘black tie’ as his take on life in general and endurance sports in particular, entertained his audience with accounts of some of his hardcore epic adventures. The first and only man in history to have swum the length of Britain, in 2013, from Land’s End to John O’Groats, a distance of some 1300 miles, the one-time cabbage cutter and former freelance photographer has also cycled from London to Paris in 24 hours, kayaked the Thames and cycled through the Alps to avoid paying for a flight.

A raffle and auction were held, with the proceeds to be divided equally between the Insurance Charities, which provides financial and practical assistance to those who work in the industry, and Mr O’Connor’s chosen charity for his year in office, Wish Upon A Dream, which grants wishes for sick and terminally ill children in the Isle of Man.

The Insurance Institute of the Isle of Man is the local branch of the Chartered Insurance Institute (CII) and also includes members of the Personal Finance Society (PFS). It acts as the educational representative body for all insurance and financial services professionals on the island.

As the leading professional body for the global financial services profession, the Chartered Insurance Institute (CII) exists to promote higher standards of integrity, technical competence and business capability. With over 112,000 members in more than 150 countries, the CII is the world's largest professional body dedicated to insurance and financial services.

Photo - Insurance Institute of the Isle of Man president Brian O’Connor with Chief Minister Allan Bell MHK and guest speaker Sean Conway at the institute’s annual dinner. Picture Andrew Barton.