Minutes of EMAG committee meeting, 8th January 2001

Present: Vincent Nolan, Tom Lake, Michael Lister, John Gardner, David Browning (EMAG committee members) Richard Nolan, Edgar Samuel (EMAG members)

Apologies: Paul Braithwaite, Adrian Howard-Jones, Alex Henney, Brian Gott

1. Minutes of Previous Meeting
   
   The Minutes of the meeting held on Dec. 27th. were approved. ML will circulate copies (done). It was agreed that a record of decisions and action commitments would be sufficient minutes for this meeting.
   
   
2. Finance
   
   ML reported that the current bank balance was £13,241, with amounts due for payment of £3,963, leaving a net balance of £9,278.
   
   10,000 new recruiting letters were being printed and there were 27 volunteers to mail 500 letters each. Current membership was over 800. It was agreed to purchase a CD Rom of the complete ELAS membership list for £1,000.
   
   
3. Chairman
   
   It was agreed that VN would become Chairman with discretion to make operational decisions between meetings.
   
   
4. Expenses
   
   It was agreed that those attending Committee meetings and meetings with ELAS/other groups should be entitled to charge UK travel expenses to EMAG
   
   
5. Agenda for Meeting with ELAS on Jan. 19th
   
   It was agreed that the following should be on the agenda for the meeting with ELAS (Chris Headdon and Jennie Page - Jonathan Dawson will not now be available)
   
   
   1. Process of selecting Chairman - member involvement (Jonathan Dawson has subsequently indicated that ELAS believe this may be possible at the shortlist stage
   2. Specification for the Board, including Member Directors (see below)
   3. Transparency - including: second opinion on the size of the 'black hole'; information on litigation against auditors and regulators; policyholders concerns, e.g. information about the MVAs. ELAS needs to explain why they are necessary, equitable and appropriate
   4. The issue of selling the investment management operation
   It was agreed to invite Ron Bullen of EPHAG to attend this meeting
   
   
6. Ideal Specification for the Board of ELAS
   
   It was agreed that the non-executive Directors should include 3 'Member Directors' and specialist Directors with expertise in actuarial matters, investment, Public Sector and 'run-off' of closed funds. The Chairman should be a strong business man, who will inspire confidence in policyholders and staff, with a commitment to mutuality and a relevant track record in insurance.
   
   In addition, we recommend a Member's Advisory Panel, with the Chairman as one of the non-exec 'Members Directors'
   
   
7. National Association of Pension Funds (NAPF)
   
   It was agreed that JG would explore contacts with the NAPF and Mr. Pearson, Group Pensions Manager of Sainsburys who had made representations on behalf their scheme members.
   
   
8. Negotiations between GARs and Non-GARs
   
   EMAG supports the principle of negotiation between the Society and the policy holders (as proposed be Stuart Bayliss/ Leon Kaye and also by Colin Slater).
   
   
9. JL Opinion
   
   It was agreed that AH-J should continue his negotiations with ELAS. The Committee congratulates him and JL on their progress to date.
   
   
10. Membership Fee
    
    Majority opinion was in favour of retaining the existing fee of £20. A proposal for an experiment offering no charge to a sample was defeated on the grounds of equity between members. It was agreed to reconsider the issue after the next 20,000 mailing.
    
    
11. PB's Letter to Headdon
    
    The committee agreed that letters going out from the Committee should reflect the majority view of the Committee where possible.
    
    
12. Active vs. Passive Management of Investments
    
    EMAG does not wish to formulate ELAS investment policy but does encourage open discussion and transparency to members on investment matters.
    
    
13. EMAG Strategy
    
    It was agreed that we need to evolve 'position papers' on issues such as a settlement with the GARs,the future of the Board etc.. TL agreed to circulate a discussion draft on EMAG strategy.
    
    
14. Membership Recruitment
    
    An offer from RN to prepare a Press Release on why people should join EMAG was accepted.
    
    
15. Proposal for an EMAG General Meeting
    
    The idea of an EMAG General Meeting, to which all ELAS members would be invited, was considered. It would be funded by donations at the time, but EMAG would have to underwrite the cost. We need to take soundings from other Committee members, EMAG members and the other Action Groups. JG will investigate the Chartered Insurance Institute Hall as a possible location. It was agreed to pursue the idea after the Jan 10th meeting with ELAS.
    
    
16. Next Meeting
    
    Provisionally Monday 29th Jan., but needs to be checked with those who were not present at this meeting. (PB arrives back from Vietnam at 6.00 a.m. on Jan. 29th)