At QBE Insurance, inclusion is embedded into our company DNA. Our active commitment to creating accessible, inclusive workplaces is driven by a belief that everyone deserves to feel they belong, can thrive, and are heard. Through bold leadership, strategic partnerships, and employee-led innovation, we have built a culture where inclusion is not just encouraged—it is expected. In 2024–2025, QBE has advanced inclusive practices, focused on accessibility for all our employees. We launched our new Leeds office, accessibility-focused – quiet workspaces, adaptable meeting rooms, gender-neutral facilities, and faith rooms ensure all feel welcome. Our Flex@QBE model promotes flexible working, supporting needs of carers, neurodivergent colleagues, and those with disabilities. We also updated our flexible working policy, including a toolkit for our leaders. QBE’s commitment extends beyond QBE. As an Industry Transformer with GAIN (Group for Autism, Investment, Insurance, and Neurodiversity), we’ve hosted industry events, contributed to the Dive-In Festival, and been recognised in GAIN’s Career Club Newsletter. Our 2025 GAIN Benchmarking Report showed a +0.6 improvement to 1.83, remaining ahead of the benchmark, whilst in 2024, QBE became the first organisation to achieve Level 2 in any metric – specifically for culture, exceeding the industry benchmark for 2 years in a row. We’ve introduced a dedicated IT ticket system for reasonable adjustments, streamlining and standardising the process across Europe. This ensures easy support requests and quick, consistent leader responses. In our latest GAIN Benchmark Report, we observed a noticeable improvement in satisfaction with this request process. We’ve also launched resources like our Disability People Leader Toolkit, a Global Neurodiversity Workplace Guide, and an Accessibility Hub, empowering inclusive conversations and support access. Our Inclusion Workshops have been a cornerstone of our cultural transformation. Designed to build confidence and capability in managing inclusion-related situations, these bespoke sessions have reached over 470 out of 682 (69%) of UK people leaders so far, with 612 enrolled. The workshops are based on real leadership cases and have received an overall satisfaction rating of 4.7/5 from our leaders, with a 4.28/5 score for building confidence. They embed inclusive leadership across QBE and are supported by senior leaders and our dedicated Inclusion Advocates (nominated leaders who actively showcase best practice). To complement these efforts, we introduced the QBE Passport—a global practical tool that supports open talks on preferences and accessibility. This initiative normalises flexibility and embeds inclusion. We also held our first Global Learning & Development Festival, focused on boosting career skills. A highlight was a talk by former Team GB Wheelchair Rugby Captain, Steve Brown, on accessible workplaces. This partnership has continued into 2025. Our employee networks are empowered to drive change. Our 6 networks have worked with a chosen charity each for the last year, supported via a £25k grant via the EO Foundation, and have hosted talks on topics like domestic abuse, menopause, neurodivergence and depression. Alongside this, we have created personal story videos, each dedicated to a topic like caring, gender, disability and endometriosis to foster workplace openness. Our networks are also supported by senior sponsors and engage with our CEO and senior leadership via bi-annual forums. This ensures inclusion remains a key strategic priority, not a side initiative. Our inclusive hiring practices have been recognised in the Lloyd’s Market Policies and Practices Report, which confirmed that QBE’s hiring rates and representation for gender and ethnicity are above the market average. Moreover, our Women in Leadership representation rose from 35.9% to 37.2% in our international division. Crucially, our culture is shaped by our people. Feedback from surveys, focus groups, and employee networks shapes our strategy. It led to updates in our flexible working policy, the creation of our People Leader Toolkit, and the design of our Leeds office. Given QBE’s Global Belonging Targets, we have now closed belonging gaps across our International division (Europe & Asia) in gender, ethnicity, disability, and sexuality, keeping <5ppt variation in Voice survey. QBE’s inclusive culture is not a project – it is a promise. A promise to listen, to act, and to lead. As Chris Killourhy, Managing Director, puts it: “It is down to all of us to deliver an inclusive environment for all our colleagues”. That’s why we believe QBE is a worthy recipient of the Inclusive Culture Initiative Award.
QBE | London, UK
