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products through the broker channel and focusing on new products and geographies.” But the biggest change under way at CHU is the digital transformation of business processes and customer service. Mr Lehane wants to be the disruptor, like Uber, rather than the disrupted, like the taxi industry. “Over the next 12 months CHU will be releasing a number of new initiatives to follow in Uber’s footprints and revolutionise the way we think about service in the strata sector,” he says. “We will enhance our ability to interact digitally and simplify many of the cumbersome processes inherent to insurance. “No longer will clients need to wait for office hours to submit a claim or get a quote for insurance. We believe clients should be served when, where and how they want by multiple channels.” CHU has already launched the CHUniverse phone app, allowing people to submit a claim and receive updates on progress without the need to fill out lengthy forms. Staff will also benefit from digital systems and processes. “At the moment one of the biggest concerns with staff is the laborious nature of what we do. There’s a huge amount of manual work in quoting insurance. “Now, a significant proportion of this work will be easier and quicker to do, which will free up time to focus on more complex risks and growing the business.” The digital era suits Mr Lehane, whose professional background is in information technology leadership. He served as chief information officer at Zurich Australia and before that was chief information officer at construction giant Multiplex – now Brookfield Multiplex. He was also head of financial markets technology at Commonwealth Bank. More telling perhaps is the career trajectory Mr Lehane has chosen, parlaying his technology leadership roles into general management positions, providing the ideal combination of executive smarts for the age of digital disruption. “So many different businesses are going to be utterly transformed by technology,” he says. “Even before I was CIO at Zurich, I realised [general management] is what I wanted to do. I was never your stereotypical CIO. “I was always people-oriented and commercial, and I understood the impact technology was going to have on future business models. “I realised that was going to be the key to becoming a chief executive or getting into general management roles. I think we’ll see a lot more chief executives coming from IT backgrounds.” Mr Lehane joined Zurich Australia as chief information officer in 2007. When he left seven years later he was executive general manager
of the commercial insurance and SME/general insurance segments, having earlier been chief operating officer general insurance for the Asia-Pacific region. As part of its digital transformation, CHU has tapped into the market by appointing an advisory group. Known as Sage, it comprises eight authorised representatives, brokers and strata managers and meets quarterly with Mr Lehane and other senior executives. “The strata market has changed and strata insurance has changed,” Mr Lehane says. “As CHU goes down the path of change, we haven’t been alone. When we started to look at where we could take the business from a digital perspective, we brought the Sage group together and they have provided invaluable advice to us on our digital strategy. The path we’ve taken is as a result of advice from this group.” Sage has also provided market feedback on changes at CHU, and its composition underscores CHU’s commitment to adopt a multi-channel model. Matthew Dawson, director of Brisbane-based Direct Insurance Brokers, is a member of the Sage group. He describes his role as “providing a broker’s perspective on the strata market”. The biggest contribution Sage can make, he says, is honest feedback. “The open discussions we have provide a total picture of the strata market in Australia,” he tells Insurance News. “It allows CHU to look at all angles and hopefully assists it in providing enhanced products and servicing for our clientele.” Mr Dawson says being a member has also been personally beneficial. “[Sage] has given me a unique opportunity to interact with other strata industry professionals on the issues facing the changing insurance environment,” he says. CHU Solutions Architect Mark Borner, who previously held the same role at Zurich, was recruited by Mr Lehane to help shape “a vision for digitally enabling the company”. “What we’re doing is customising digital enablement for the strata segment,” Mr Borner tells Insurance News. “It’s about making our customers’ lives easier, but it’s going to be an ongoing evolution as we build capabilities, and we are being guided by Sage along the way.” Mr Lehane can look back on the past year with pride. But he knows what his digital guru means by “ongoing evolution”. He is not ready to rest on his laurels just yet. “The business is in a very strong position now,” he says. “We’re a business that is growing, we’ve exceeded our profitability targets, staff retention is high and staff engagement is strong. * “But we’re not even close to being the best we can be.”
“We will enhance our ability to interact digitally and simplify many of the cumbersome processes inherent to insurance.”
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