History

The Insurance Institute of Bedford and Milton Keynes was formed in 1923.

Bedford was initially founded and joined with Northampton in 1908 to form the Northampton and Bedford Insurance Institute at the instigation of local insurance professionals AJ Bennett, PW Dale (who became the first President at a meeting held on 19th June 1908) and JHC Dawes to be a local branch of the Insurance Institute of Great Britain and Ireland.

The first event was a dinner held on 17th October at a price of 2/6d (12.5 pence). The body quickly became affiliated to the national body and a lecture programme was initiated, despite the travelling difficulties associated with the 20-mile distance between Bedford and Northampton - and a dearth of public transport that modern readers will identify with.

On the other hand, at least we now benefit from the availability of private transport, something not shared by our predecessors, who frequently had to rely on local hospitality in order to attend events.

The national body became the Chartered Insurance Institute in 1912 and was authorised to grant the degrees of Associate and Fellow, following completion of appropriate examinations.

The membership in Bedford was large enough by 1923 for it to become an independent institute in its own right.