Accountability
Corporate responsibility report
Community – UK
Amlin’s UK charity and community activities are guided and facilitated by a panel, chaired by the Group Finance Director, which meets at least quarterly and comprises senior representatives from each UK business area. Amlin seeks to align its corporate responsibility with business operations by supporting communities that are either local geographically to our offices or selected by a significant Amlin client.
In 2008, we donated £10,000 to the RNLI, a long-standing client, as part of a wider fundraising initiative by our marine underwriter to raise £100,000 towards a new lifeboat. We have also donated to the London Air Ambulance service, whose motor fleet we insure. In order to improve this business alignment, each business representative has the autonomy to allocate a local charity budget within their area.
Macmillan Cancer Support remained Amlin’s primary charity partner in 2008 and our £15,000 corporate donation, together with some £20,000 of staff fundraising, funded a Neuro-Oncology Clinical Nurse Specialist at St. Bartholomew’s Hospital for a second year. Our strategy thus far has been to fund new palliative care posts in order to prove their value and on the basis that the NHS Trust has agreed to continue the funding, in this case from January 2009. Given the current economic climate, we have decided that in 2009, we will support a new fund set up by Macmillan to provide patient grants to those undergoing cancer treatment for such essentials as heating costs.
Amlin UK, based in Chelmsford, selected Farleigh Hospice as their local 2008 corporate partner adding some £6,000 of staff fundraising to the corporate donation of £5,000. Their staff also raised over £15,000 for previous partner charity, Little Havens in 2008.
Amlin employees engage in skills transfer projects which make a positive impact on our community. In 2008, our Leaning & Development staff ran a two-day personal development workshop for students from the National Skills Academy for Financial Services. This specialist academy, based locally in Tower Hamlets, equips individuals of all ages and regardless of formal academic qualifications, with the skills needed to gain employment within the financial services industry.
Looking ahead to 2009, we have researched community programmes undertaken by other leading companies and obtained Board authorisation to design and implement a UK-based community project, working with specialist provider “Across the Divide”. The project aim is to give Amlin staff the opportunity to develop management skills outside the office environment while leaving a sustainable legacy in that community.
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