Standing tall

All set to show your glory? Welcome to the digital era – where the good get spotted easily – but somehow many just don’t stand tall long enough.

And that is why we have the Asia Insurance Industry Awards – which are all about recognising and saluting talent in the market. There are many companies and people in insurance who are inspirational in their dedication to the industry and to seeing insurance shine in society.

I know many people who work just for the passion they have for insurance - and some of them are wealthy enough to work without seeking rewards and returns.

So we launch these 23rd Awards with great confidence and faith in the industry at a time when it is going through phenomenal change. The challenge is even greater today in our fast-paced society where gratification is instant and where the core of insurance is about delayed enjoyment, about being secure for the future.

So our job just got even harder and we consciously underscore this important aspect of insurance with our inclusion of a category on sustainability - although we still link it to CSR. The greater glory of insurance these days really comes from its contribution to CSR - to raise the awareness of people and business to the risks they face every day - from cyber or natural disasters through to their careless friends and family or colleagues.

Believing in the nobility of the insurance business, we are proud to launch the 23rd Awards with a defined criteria and fully transparent processes that are independently audited. But the integrity of the Awards is underpinned by the distinguished esteemed panel of judges drawn from the industry in Asia and worldwide.

At the end of the day, the success of the Awards depends very much on the quality of the nominations received.

So if you know you are standing tall, do nominate yourself if you think you are doing better than your competitors. Likewise, in the interest of insurance, if you see someone beavering away doing the industry proud, be bolder and nominate that company, person or project. This is how the industry will continue to get better. Let the light shine on the really good stuff and don’t damage the industry by playing up the bad ones in the name of competition.

Let’s raise the benchmark by standing tall. Time for insurance to receive its rightful place in society. Nominate those whom you think are the best now. Let that be your conscious ‘good deed’ for the industry this year.

I am grateful to the panel of 35 judges and 15 sponsors who have kept faith with us to see the industry stand tall with winners. Some are legendary.

Let’s salute excellence with pomp not envy.

Sivam Subramaniam
Editor-in-Chief
Asia Insurance Review & Middle East Insurance Review