The Chartered Insurance Institute’s new president Peter Blanc has called on the profession to address the unmet needs of society and show the true value of the advice it can offer.

Blanc said: “The insurance and personal finance profession needs to work together to address the unmet needs that exist today – everything from climate change and flooding to cyber risk, scams, later-life care and protection gaps.

“All the drivers in society today tend to be away from advice – they are aiming to cut out the middleman and get the quickest deal at the cheapest price – but I worry that is not the right answer for the majority of the public.”

Blanc, who is group CEO of insurance brokers Aston Lark, said the CII is evolving and, as CII CEO Sian Fisher steps down at the end of March, he feels this is a key time to make good use of member feedback from the recent Shaping the future together consultation.

Proposals contained in the consultation – which will be published later this year – included making the qualification framework and learning provision more user-friendly, accessible, and capable of meeting the future learning needs of all students.

Blanc added: “We need to reach consensus on what we, as a profession, want the CII to be during the next five years. My aims as president will be to support the current and new CEO in any way I can while working to further the CII agenda in building public trust in the insurance and personal finance profession, and make sure we are effective in solving unmet needs and underlining the importance of advice in society.”

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