Interview with Jackie Chadwick, Executive Assistant, The CILA

“We never let a birthday slide at the Chartered Institute of Loss Adjusters...especially when it coincides with celebrating 10 years of loyal service,” says the current President Andrew Homewood as he beams at the birthday cake that’s been wheeled into the boardroom complete with candles.

Jackie Chadwick, Executive Assistant at the Institute is not only celebrating a birthday, but has also been here for 10 years this year.

Apart from a 13 year gap served in local government in Bromley, Jackie has always worked in Insurance. Local government couldn’t compete with the buzz of the City and before too long she was lured back, applying for an assistant’s role through a London recruitment agency in 2001. A few interviews later with the then President Gerald Williams, and she’s not looked back since. With a coy smile Jackie recalls, “I suppose I have a soft spot for Gerald because he was my first President. It wouldn’t be right to have a favourite, but if I had to pick one it would probably be him. I remember him sitting across from me looking very stern and studious. He peered at me over the tops of his small glasses that sat poised on the end of his nose. He was lovely though really and very approachable”

The Institute offices in those days were rather aptly located at Peninsular House at the bottom of Pudding Lane where any self respecting loss adjuster will know is where the Great Fire of London started in 1666. The office was located on the seventh floor and if the lift was out of action there were a lot of steps to climb!

I ask how things have changed at the Insitute since those days: “We’re still a small busy team, but it’s more the members we represent who have changed the most; for years the stereotype of a white middle aged man was definitely true, but that simply isn’t the case anymore. We have far more women now in the industry with greater representation on Council as well as playing leading roles on Specialist Interest Groups and Committees. Our qualifications and examination structure has come a long way too. The Institute has developed a reputation all over the world as being the gold standard benchmark in claims handling and loss adjusting and we’re fiercely proud of that.”

But there must still be room for improvement at the institute – what would Jackie do if she had a magic wand? “Well, we might have come a long way in better representing the modern member’s concerns and issues and developing a framework of qualifications that are fit for purpose today, but I do think our current offices don’t really reflect our new modern approach.”

Ok, so time to get personal. Come on, Jackie, there must be beans you can spill about all those past Presidents…or how about Malcolm, the Executive Director? She laughs… “Seriously they have all been so lovely. I do remember one President (who shall remain nameless) disappearing at one of our AGM dinners and he was eventually found ‘having a little doze’ in his hotel room….ah bless.”

What’s the most challenging part of your job as Executive Assistant these days? Without hesitation Jackie smiles and says “that one’s easy – Malcolm! It’s hard to keep up with his mental energy. We’re a good and close team here – it’s always all hands on deck.”

Jackie is so unassuming and modest. It’s clear from everything she says and the way her colleagues talk about her that she is what is technically termed ‘a bit of a star’ and highly dependable. I ask her though what she feels has been her biggest achievement in the 10 years she’s been working for the Institute? “That has to be our annual lunch. While I’m proud of what we’ve collectively achieved with the new qualifications, my personal achievement has to be increasing the profile and the numbers who come to our annual lunch…we’ve gone from around 400 attendees when numbers plummeted when we changed the event from a dinner to a lunch event, to well over 750 now and growing. The Institute's Annual Luncheon is probably seen as one of the biggest networking events for the industry. We attract some really prominent figures from across the industry on our top table and I’m really proud of that.”

Here’s to the next 10 years Jackie!