Operating & Financial Review

Corporate social responsibility – measuring and managing our impact

  • As a leading UK based insurer, Amlin aims to conduct its business in a socially responsible manner.
  • We place high emphasis on integrity and professionalism in our relationships internally with employees and externally with third parties.
  • We aim to engage with and build relationships with communities of relevance to Amlin.

We remain a member of the FTSE4Good Index and we continue to utilise the Corporate Responsibility Exchange, a single platform from which subscriber investors, analysts, media and peers may source relevant data to report on corporate responsibility and governance. Corporate responsibility information about Amlin can be found at http://cre.blueprintserver.com.

In this report, we summarise our Corporate Social Responsibility activity in relation to employees, clients, the Lloyd’s market, the environment, charity and community.

Employees

Amlin aims to be a responsible employer, operating first class employment practices and engaging with employees. Activities aimed at meeting and advancing our position in relation to these aims are outlined here. In particular, in 2006 Amlin has:

  • Through MORI conducted a second survey of opinions on Amlin as an employer, gathering valuable feedback which will be used to further develop our employment practices. Included in the output was positive feedback on our internal communications;
  • Obtained shareholder approval for a Share Incentive Plan which is intended to result in all employees having a stake in the Company; and
  • Continued to invest in the development of employees, in particular with the design of a core competency framework for claims personnel.

The good conduct of employees in their management of business relationships and with colleagues is critical to our Corporate Social endeavours. In 2006 the Company adopted a set of corporate values, as shown here, to help guide employees and sustain the long term success of the Group. The values have been incorporated in the Group’s Code of Conduct, which is available on our website, and workshops have been initiated to provide employees with the opportunity to consider how they can apply the values in their respective roles.

Employee communication – how do you feel about the amount of information you currently receive?

Amlin also has a whistle blowing policy setting out procedures for employees to raise, in confidence, matters of concern and, where appropriate, for an independent investigation of such matters.

Employee communication– benchmarking

Client and broker relationships

Amlin places a high emphasis on integrity in dealing with brokers and clients. Additionally we aim to provide high levels of service.

Please click here for Commentary on our client relations. In 2006, Amlin has:

  • Continued to research broker and client relationships with a view to better understanding their expectations of us; and
  • Led and been engaged in a number of initiatives, some involving the wider Lloyd’s market, aimed at removing inefficient market processes and improving client service.

The Group operates a client complaints policy with procedures for reporting, investigating and responding to complaints. Complaints are logged centrally, their resolution is monitored and the nature and frequency of complaints is reported to operating company boards.

The Lloyd’s market

Amlin is one of the largest participants in the Lloyd’s market and 86% of Amlin’s 2006 premiums were written in Lloyd’s. As such, Amlin seeks to contribute to the sound governance and operation of the market so that it remains attractive to brokers and clients for the placement of their risks. risks. In 2006:

  • Representatives of Amlin have participated on the Council of Lloyd’s and on a number of market associations;
  • Amlin and five other like-minded Lloyd’s businesses engaged in driving forward a number of initiatives aimed at improving the attractiveness of the market; and
  • Amlin seconded its Operations Director to Lloyd’s on a part time basis to help Lloyd’s manage market wide process change.

Environment

As a financial services business employing 620 people, mainly in the UK, Amlin’s direct environmental impact is relatively low.

Global climate change, however, is expected to have a major impact on the insurance industry and on its evaluation of insurance risks, particularly wind, flood and fire risks.

Amlin aims to manage the environmental impact of its activities, including in such areas as internal processes, responsible consumption and energy use, re-cycling and by encouraging our suppliers and clients to act responsibly regarding environmental impact and risks. During 2006 Amlin:

  • Transferred its corporate taxi account to a provider that has undertaken to offset fully carbon emissions on our behalf;
  • Added a specific request for information on environmental policies from new suppliers;
  • Collected and measured data on our 2005 carbon emissions from all UK sites, including from heat and power, business travel and commuting, adopting the GHG Protocol as recommended by the Carbon Disclosure Project;
  • Primarily for environmental reasons, elected to participate in the Financial Times Crisis Christmas Card Challenge instead of sending Christmas cards in the UK; and
  • Successfully reduced its UK paper consumption, following the 2005 introduction of double- sided printing and increased use of scanning.

As tenants in several of our offices, we do not have primary control over all energy purchasing and waste management decisions. However, we fully support the initiatives taken by Aviva, our St. Helen’s landlords.

Amlin has won a Gold Award every year since 1998 under the City of London Clean City Award in recognition of our waste management practices.

Weather patterns and the publication of both the Stern Report on the Economics of Climate Change and the more recent report by the Inter-governmental Panel on Climate Change have materially heightened concerns relating to global warming. In response to this, Amlin intends to actively increase awareness of the risks and actions that can be taken by employees at home and at work. We also plan to explore options for mitigating our carbon emissions, which for 2005 were estimated at 5,827 tonnes of CO2.

Climate change and the insurance industry

Climate change affects an estimated 35% to 40% of global insured risks and is thus a significant external risk to the business.

As an underwriter of property and catastrophe risk, Amlin has a keen interest in understanding the effects of climate change and ensuring that changes to our risk profile arising from climate change are factored into our risk management, structuring and pricing of products. Amlin subscribes to a number of risk modelling agencies which are evaluating the impact of climate risk. Amlin is also supportive of the thought leadership programme on global climate change initiated in 2006 by Lloyd’s on behalf of the market.

Charity and community

Amlin aims to play a positive role in the community through charitable donations and encouraging employees to engage with local community partners.

The Company’s charities budget is agreed each year by the Board and is overseen by a Charities Committee whose members are drawn from across the Group. The focus of charitable support in on children and health in London and other areas local to our offices as this is relevant both to our employees and our future. Summarised below are some of Amlin’s 2006 charity and community activities.

Macmillan Cancer Support remains Amlin’s primary charity partner. Following the success of our three-year commitment in supporting a palliative care radiographer post at Guy’s and St. Thomas’ Hospital, this post is now being funded by the health authority. In September 2006, we commenced funding of a bi-lingual occupational therapist, again for an initial three-year period. This professional is providing advanced stage palliative care for residents of Tower Hamlets, Hackney and Newham where previously no such care was available to those communities.

Significant funds have been raised for our chosen charities during 2006 by staff participation in triathlons, sponsored runs, a wine tasting and treks in Peru and Chile. The Company provides matched funding and up to five working days per employee per annum to enable staff to take on these challenges.


During 2006 we have developed modest staff engagement with our community partners, ChildLine and Hackney Quest and have decided to retain both partnerships for 2007 in order to build on these relationships. In 2006 our funds have enabled ChildLine to produce three Casenotes publications, designed to raise awareness of the issues facing young children.

We provided regular evening football coaching to Hackney Questors and organised two special events in 2006: an excursion to Twickenham Rugby Stadium to attend the schools’ competition; and a day’s sailing from Southampton on the Lloyd’s yacht Lutine (as pictured below). Both these events were hosted by Amlin staff and were a positive experience for all involved.

Amlin is also supporting Little Havens, an Essex- based children’s hospice. Fundraising has been linked with Sports and Social Committee events organised by our UK Commercial division based in Chelmsford , with additional funds raised by one staff member completing the Mount Kilimanjaro trek in 2006.

In its first full year of operation, Amlin Bermuda has made charitable donations to several local charities including the Bermuda Foundation for Insurance Studies, the Family Centre and The Bermuda Society of Arts.