The Isle of Man Insurance & Financial Services Institute (The local branch of the CII and Personal Finance Society, PFS) recently hosted a talk on ‘Ensuring Space’ by Tim Wakeman, Executive Vice President of Aon International Space Brokers. The talk followed the Institute’s Annual General Meeting during which Sharon Sutton of Thornton Associates became the new President of CII. Sharon Sutton, who is preceded by Nick Boon of Gough & Co., will take up the presidency for a year, which involves assuming responsibility for a number of CII events and activities. Sharon commented, “I am excited about taking on this new role for the year ahead. As a Chartered Financial Planner, being President gives me an opportunity to pass on my experience and knowledge in the sector. The CII local council is made up of a motivated group of industry professionals and we will continue to drive up awareness of the relevance of the CII and its extended family (Financial Service, General, Captive Insurers, Life Companies etc.), supporting our members to increase and maintain their professional standards. We very much embrace the challenges ahead to lead the financial services community towards higher levels of professionalism through a wide programme of activities. We believe professionalism means ethical and behavioural standards, interpersonal and business skills and technical knowledge. This will lead to the ultimate benefit of the profession and consumer alike.” The event’s speaker, Tim Wakeman is a space insurance broker responsible for the placement and servicing of insurance programs for a large number of customers. He has 28 years of experience in the industry and has worked in the field of space risk for over 10 years. Tim gave an introduction to the space insurance industry and talked about its capacity and future trends. He commented: “Space is an area that has appeal to most people. However, many don’t realise the lengthy assessment of risk that goes on behind each satellite launch and space mission. The Isle of Man has shown focused attention on its space industry and promoted itself as a centre of excellence. A great deal of the work that is done here contributes to space development on a global scale.” Sharon continued: “It is a pleasure to have someone of Tim’s calibre speaking on a subject that many of us know little about. However, space has been a relevant topic in the Isle of Man recently and we can all gain from some more in depth knowledge on the subject. His presentation highlighted the importance of the UK insurance markets being, globally, the largest player in insuring space” The Isle of Man CII hosts regular industry events, training seminars and social activities for its members. For more information visit http://www.cii.co.uk/cii/localandglobal.aspx ENDS