True Britt

New CPCU president looks at the Society's heritage, growth potential and new directions

By Bruce D. Hicks, CPCU, CLU

A tropical sunrise recently shone at the dawn of the term of office for Jim Britt, the newest president of the Chartered Property and Casualty Underwriters Society. Britt, a managing director for Marsh USA (Charlotte, North Carolina, office), took over the lead of the venerable organization as the Society welcomed nearly 4,000 new CPCU designees into its global ranks during its 2007 annual meeting held in Honolulu, Hawaii. Britt acknowledged a critical connection from the Society’s past to its future when he shared:

“We were founded by veterans, were grown by Baby Boomers … there’s huge, huge room for the X and Y Generation members to move us along.”

The theme under Britt’s term is “Heritage and Horizons” which will culminate in the 2008 annual meeting in Philadelphia. During his inaugural speech, he made a point that being a CPCU means adhering to education and ethics. He also shared his excitement regarding the year’s focus. Heritage, he said, relates to the organization’s return to its founding roots in Philadelphia; Horizons represents responsibility. “When there’s an event that creates a crisis, we need to be there to respond,” Britt stated.

Prior to his first speech, Britt discussed a number of issues involving the CPCU Society.

Question: What objectives do you believe are critical for you to accomplish in this coming [organization] year?

Britt: Under the theme “Heritage and Horizons,” I hope to stress reconnecting with colleges and universities [with schools] that teach insurance and risk management. We can create links to brokerage work with academic institutions and find [partnership] models such as the Central Indiana Chapter’s relationship with Ball State University and the Philadelphia Chapter’s relationship with Temple University’s Gamma Iota [insurance and risk management-focused] fraternities.

I plan to visit Middle Tennessee State and I want CPCU chapters to act as mentors, be active in shadow programs and get involved with [educational] special events. I encourage college students to graduate with CPCU [exam] credits.

Our organization was founded in the ’40s and ’50s and grew in the ’60s and ’70s. We’re now shifting to the X and Y Generations with a different culture. They are more technically oriented, informal … more casual and nimble. Particularly, Y folks might develop into loyal Society members if given opportunities. The Society needs to promote more online learning just as the Institute is creating more online learning. We have to shift over to make room for emerging leaders.

Question: What motivated you to seek the Society’s presidency?

Britt: I addressed this issue in my book, Building Leaders One on One [Information on the book at www.cpcusociety.org]. I received my [CPCU] designation in ’73 and got immediately involved in CPCU with teaching courses. Then I got involved with two “leading ladies.” Alice Fielding, a principal in Heston-Fielding Associates, an independent agency in Jacksonville, Florida, planted the seed in my mind regarding taking a leadership role. Anita Bourke [the CPCU Society’s first female president] nurtured the idea.

I also had several other influences as I had opportunities to work with a number of national leaders. Former CPCU Society Presidents Wes Ooms, Roger Joyce and Roger Smith always encouraged me to become a leader. It has been the encouragement of other leaders and their support that inspired me to seek the presidency. I was blessed to have that encouragement.

Question: What would you like to see happen with the large [2007] class of CPCU designees?

Britt: I think this class of 3,949 new designees can bring a tremendous surge of new energy! I want to see them all get involved with their respective chapters. We need their new ideas and perspectives.

I want our latest designees to know how important it is to get involved in chapters. Getting a CPCU should not be the last destination, but be a juncture to the rest of one’s career. They are all welcome and needed to join our forums. We want them!

Currently, there are around 40,000 CPCUs and we’d love to have them all. The 40% of the group who don’t belong to the Society are missed and I would love to have them join or re-join the fold.

Question: What progress do you see being made with the CPCU Society as a global organization?

Britt: Well, we have just approved Korea as a working chapter. We’re also exploring China and other areas in Asia [for chapter development]. I foresee several new candidate chapters. Much of this activity is spurred by foreign students who work with insurance companies in the United States and who become interested in our designation.

Currently our European and Bermuda Chapters are thriving. Tony Cabot [board member from Milan, Italy who serves as the Society Board’s international chapter governor] is championing a very active development, and he is playing a key role in our growth as a global organization.

I also think that our members have an increasing level of awareness of our being a worldwide organization. Of course their awareness often depends upon their regular work concerns that are typically either local, national or international.

It’s important that, as the CPCU Society grows, we must be sure that we respect existing insurance organizations in other countries. We need to take care to find our proper place, rather than assume the exact role or position we have in the U.S.

Question: How do you view agency and broker personnel and their role in the CPCU Society?

Britt: I believe that agents and brokers should be a larger percentage of the Society [membership]. This segment of our industry frequently tends to chase other designations. That preference might be influenced by the fact that our group’s name has “underwriter” in it.

We all need to remember that agents do and always have been the very first course of underwriting. We all share a concern over this core function. I would welcome more members from this segment. It would strengthen us and give us more balance.

Question: What is your philosophy on leadership?

Britt: I am a proponent of high-touch/high-contact leadership. My role models are teachers who often possess unique delivery styles, coaches who refine our [initial] learning and mentors who provide confidence-building relationships.

Our careers [in insurance] often begin with loads of technical information imparted by various teachers. We are then exposed to coaches who assist us with handling and applying this knowledge. Later we come across mentors with whom we may form a special business relationship; perhaps even to the point of sharing personal information. I call these business-personal and personal-personal relationships.

Role models are important, even when such persons are unaware of their position. Persons become role models when other persons adopt their attributes. Therefore, we should all be aware that we influence others. We should seek to be teachers, coaches, mentors … role models.

CPCU veterans need to realize that younger insurance professionals don’t network and communicate in the same manner as we do. We need to alter our “connectivity” to make sure we relate to them. I’m depending upon our Emerging Leadership Taskforce to provide some insights in this area.

I also think that I must take the lead in demonstrating a high level of openness toward diversity. I’m very encouraged by the higher amount of diversity I’ve witnessed in my travels and greater diversity is important, as we become a more global organization. I’m also encouraged by the level of diversity reflected in a broader dissemination of insurance expertise. I’m very impressed with the thriving insurance centers in several large chapters such as Des Moines, Columbus, Ohio, and Central Indiana. All of them are highly connected with their business and educational communities. The Midwest is blessed with intellectual capital.

Question: What role do you see played by CPCUs and their employers?

Britt: Many employers are so generous with their support. I’d like to reach out to employers who, so far, have not made it a priority to assist employees who want to pursue our designation. They need to realize that, if they want the best people, those people should be credentialed. We need the best people working in underwriting, claims and information technology.

Doctors, lawyers and accountants have long operated under the need to partner licensing with credentialed knowledge. We must all get to the point where the world should expect insurance professionals to do the same, using the CPCU designation.

Further, there are thousands of persons with the requisite abilities to handle the requirement of attaining a CPCU. I believe it is very important that such knowledgeable professionals take the steps to do so and join the Society. *