Your article on the impressive Own Merit housing initiative, which was created by a former lifer and a probation officer, quotes the latter saying: “We can’t even get insurance because Steve [Gallant] is a director and he’s a lifer” (Fishmongers’ Hall heroes in housing project for ex-inmates, 5 May). This sharply underlines a problem in our insurance industry: an apparent inability to embrace reformed lives.
People like Steve Gallant, who pivoted from facing a terrorist to fostering a community for former prisoners, symbolise the transformative power of redemption, rehabilitation and meaningful second chances.
Yet, despite their profound personal change, these individuals confront an insurance system that is hesitant to reassess their potential. Stability is threatened by outdated risk models that focus on past misdeeds rather than present realities.
The risk associated with rehabilitated citizens is not akin to natural disasters such as flooding. It is quantifiable and manageable, and should be insurable by an appropriately skilful and community-minded industry. Indeed, state-backed schemes support high-risk contexts such as flooding and terrorism, so why not encourage risk-averse, profit‑focused shareholders and extend similar support to those who have demonstrably changed?
It is not enough just to give people a medal and a second chance. We must, like Own Merit, give them the means to make the most of that chance – for them and for us.
Anthony Lawton
Market Harborough, Leicestershire
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