As a trade association representing the international life sector, AILO has been around for over 36 years. Originally established in 1987 at a time of major regulatory change to represent the interests of cross-border life companies in a variety of jurisdictions, it has continued to influence the sector’s development through its collective actions.
However, in recent years there has been a conscious shift in AILO’s strategy to embrace the wider interests of the sector by focusing on the people within its member businesses as well as representing the corporate bodies they work for.
This more holistic approach has seen a significant increase in the number of people engaging with AILO, from new members of staff to those with more experience in addition to the senior executives shaping the sector’s future.
Despite this broader-based approach, much of the work of AILO is not widely known or understood by many of the estimated 8,000 staff that comprise the AILO membership. Much good work takes place within the various AILO committees in helping to influence the sector and in setting standards of best practice, often with little ‘song and dance’. Similarly, a number of AILO’s educational developments are relevant to some groups of AILO members of staff, but less so to others.
In view of this ‘mystique’, AILO feels there’s a need to showcase the diversity of its activities for the benefit of its own members and the wider market.
‘AILO in Focus’ is an 18-page brochure that captures in words and pictures the wide range of the association’s activities in 2023:
• For each of the six AILO committees, there’s a common, ‘what we do’, ‘what we’ve done’ and ‘what we’re planning’ format. This is intended to shed light on the purpose, aims and achievements of these committees and the valuable work they undertake on behalf of AILO members. There’s also a more detailed insight into the Legal & Regulatory Committee;
• The annual CEO and Leadership Forum events are featured together with the Member Events that took place in the Isle of Man and Dublin in 2023;
• AILO now has a series of annual awards. The James Ball Award recognising the person making a significant contribution to the sector, whilst the Emerging Talent Award highlights an up-and-coming individual making a telling contribution. The Student Awards, presented for the first time in 2023, recognise the best academic performance in each of the main AILO jurisdictions;
• 2023 also saw the emergence of a series of Special Interest Groups focusing on a particular thematic aspect of the sector covering Digital Futures, Actuarial and Employee Benefits;
• AILO produced a series of survey-based reports in 2023 on topics as diverse as distribution, technology and capital management. In addition, there were separate reports on the size of the global and European cross-border life market, providing valuable management information for AILO Members;
• AILO’s eLearning programmes are also featured in ‘AILO in Focus’. Since 2020, this has become a central feature of AILO’s service offering and the way in which many new staff are now inducted into the sector. AILO already offers 26 hours of accredited CPD, which will extend to 41 with the introduction of Navigate 2 in mid-2024;
• Finally, the report also highlights the AILO’s webinar programmes that have now run in the spring and autumn of each year since 2020. Taking place on Wednesday lunchtimes for 45 minutes on a range of relevant topics, attendance often tops 50 people with many more choosing to watch the recording at a later time.
Commenting on the launch of ‘AILO in Focus’, AILO CEO Bob Pain stated: “This publication illustrates the wide variety and depth of activities conducted by AILO on behalf of its member businesses and the staff they employ. By showcasing AILO’s activities in this way, we hope to encourage further engagement and use of the association’s services”.
The full ‘AILO in Focus’ brochure is available for anybody to download as a PDF via the Document Library tab of the AILO website.
