Karen Weir with Chartered Insurance Institute National President Tom Woolgrove

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Weir shows its commitment to excellence

The owner of one of the North East’s longest standing insurance firms has been recognised for her outstanding contribution to the Chartered Insurance Institute at an awards ceremony in London.

Karen Weir, managing director of Blyth-based Weir Insurance, is one of only five recipients of a service award in 2014 – the only one from the North East.

The second generation, family run firm is one of the largest independent insurance brokers in the region, employing 12 people at its central office in Blyth.

A keen and vocal supporter of the institute and the Chartered Insurance Institute (CII) for the last seven years, Karen has ensured that Weir Insurance has actively supported CII events, putting staff through a number of CII qualifications to become one of the first firms in the North East to run insurance-specific apprenticeships.

Karen said: “It’s a huge personal honour to be awarded this prestigious accolade and I thank the CII for their recognition. However this award doesn’t just recognise my individual achievements, it is also reflective of the fantastic support team behind me at Weir Insurance.

“One of the main reasons behind our success is over the last 40 years is that, despite our growth, we remain an intimate business with an outlook which is progressive and which continues to evolve and challenge the industry.”

Throughout her career to date, Karen has pioneered for a number of changes in the industry. From 2007-2012 she took up service with the CII as Education Secretary, during which time she worked to provide training and educational events to satisfy demand from financial advisers in the run up to the Retail Distribution Review (RDR).

In addition to Karen’s role as Education Secretary and President, she also actively promotes and delivers Discover Risk events to local schools, working with careers services to help young people learn about the general insurance profession.

Karen also got the ball rolling to help create a study centre at City Library, resulting in a number of members making use of the material to accelerate their learning, and opening up the profession to university students.

Richard Talbot-Jones, Vice President of the Insurance Institute of Newcastle upon Tyne, added: “Karen is a natural leader, who takes charge of situations. She is far-sighted and incisive, and is able to perceive ways forward to achieve clearly set out goals. Having her on council has enabled us to do far more than we otherwise could have done, and her impact will be felt for many years to come.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Weir Insurance .

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