The Insurance Charity – supported by insurance people for insurance people

Catalyst Services UK Managing Director Brad Jackson has met The Insurance Charity’s new Chief Executive, Helen Sanson, to talk about the charity’s latest plans, including its most important annual event.
The Insurance Charity is preparing to launch its annual awareness week, which takes place from Monday 23rd of June to Friday 27th of June, to promote its work across the insurance industry.
Brad is a council member of the Insurance Institute of Manchester and is the institute’s Ambassador for The Insurance Charity across the North West.

Tailored packages of support

The discussion he had with Helen has been published by I Love Claims, the insurance claims networking organisation. It gives an excellent insight into the important work the charity has done since it was founded in 1902, as the Insurance Clerks Orphanage.

Brad told Helen: “As someone who The Insurance Charity supported more than 10 years ago while I was setting up Catalyst, I have a passion for raising awareness about its work and to give something back to a charity that does such good work for people connected with the insurance industry. What support do you offer?”

Helen said: “We can offer both financial support and practical guidance – sometimes it will be a combination of the two. We look at every application on a case-by-case basis to provide a tailored package of support to an individual or family.

“Financial support can be offered on a one-off or ongoing basis depending on the circumstances. Also, we sometimes provide charitable loans to applicants but unless someone has received one of these you would not need to repay anything the charity has provided.

“I would invite anyone who is considering applying for help, or who is thinking about supporting us, to go to our website and look at the real-life stories about just some of the many people we’ve helped.

“I should make clear, as you know Brad, all interactions with the charity are confidential. These people have agreed to tell their stories to make others aware of the help available.”

In 2024, The Insurance Charity, which has undergone a rebrand over the last 12 months, awarded over £1.4 million to insurance people in the UK and Ireland.

Awareness week toolkit

It paid for things such as property adaptations, mobility aids, rehabilitation, physiotherapy, furniture, electrical appliances and support for day-to-day essentials such as food, travel and rent.

The Insurance Charity has created an awareness week toolkit to make it easier for supporters across the insurance industry to promote its work. It includes:

• Key messages about the charity
• A suggested email template to send to colleagues
• Ideas for social media posts
• And myth busters aimed at encouraging people to seek help if they need it.

Brad Jackson said: “Both I and colleagues at Catalyst will be supporting the Insurance Charities Awareness Week. We would urge other insurance colleagues to do the same. It’s a cause for insurance people that is supported by insurance people, which makes it particularly relevant and powerful.”

Find out more

The Insurance Charity Support’s Toolkit can be downloaded from its annual awareness campaign web page.