The IIG Class of 2026 Programme arrives at an important moment for the insurance industry – in a time where collaboration, innovation and connection are becoming just as valuable as technical expertise. With the accelerating advent of AI technologies and the unpredictability of insurable trends and patterns, the biggest value add in the insurance industry is the promise of peace of mind to our clients and that needs the humanness of empathy and connection and so it is only apt that this year’s theme is Aspire Together. This programme offers young professionals an opportunity to rethink what meaningful professional growth looks like and what better way to do it other than drawing inspiration from your professional peers?
While networking has also been emphasized as an essential part of career development, the conversation is often centered around networking upwards by building relationships with executives, senior leaders and decision makers. This sponsorship gives you the edge and a steppingstone however cross networking is one of the most powerful forms of connection as it is a career development strategy that sharpens your professional perspective, helps foster collaboration and innovation and brings an entrepreneurial mindset that is needed in the workplace – one that rewards solutionist thinking and a self-starter attitude.
Coming into this programme as a young professional who has only worked at one insurance company, I came in with the goal of meeting industry peers and investing into a community with whom I will be walking the journey of greatness. There is often pressure placed on young professionals to focus on impressing those above them, but industry transformation and innovation also comes from empowering those beside us. In the past few months that I have been on this journey, I have had belly laughs, formed friendships and have had courageous conversations with people from all walks of life who through shared conversations, collaboration and exchanges of perspectives have inspired me to be a more dedicated professional who invests into their career development.
Being part of Class of 2026 is therefore more than just a career milestone; it is an opportunity to embody a new way of leadership and connection. To ‘Aspire Together’ means recognizing the value that exists within peer networks and understanding that collective progress is more powerful than individual advancement.
I am honoured to be a part of this cohort of young professionals who will build a stronger, collaborative future for this industry.
Written by A-Re-Fa Seleho
Non-Motor Claims Consultant – Discovery Insure
