insurancebusinessonline.com.au Issue 10.06
TOP EMPLOYERS
Insurance professionals name the places they love to work
PARAMETRIC INSURANCE
Does it hold the key to a faster rebound from natural disasters?
SHIPPING UNDER STRESS How new technology can help ease supply chain woes
THE EVOLUTION OF INSURANCE Clayton Utz’s Fred Hawke on the biggest change the industry has seen over the past four decades
BROKERS ON UNDERWRITING AGENCIES Which agencies are consistently exceeding brokers’ expectations?
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One resource, many connections. UAC congratulates award-winning agencies, as judged by the broking community.
UAC is THE Resource for brokers and THE Resource for its members, providing a range of services to help agencies build their businesses. The Underwriting Agencies Council connects diversified specialist underwriting agencies, creating a focal hub at www.uac.org.au as an essential resource for brokers. For more information contact us at admin@uac.org.au.
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ISSUE 10.06
CONNECT WITH US Got a story or suggestion, or just want to find out some more information?
CONTENTS
@InsuranceBizAU facebook.com/InsuranceBusinessAU
UPFRONT 02 Editorial
When Doctor Who meets Lloyd’s of London
FEATURES
40
FIXING THE MOTOR CLAIMS PROCESS
22 RISK AND REWARD
Insurance law expert Fred Hawke reflects on what’s changed the most during his four-plus decades in the industry
18
06 News analysis
How parametric insurance can help communities recover more quickly from natural disasters
08 Intelligence
SMEs get a new flexible option for management liability
10 Insurer update
48
12 Underwriting agencies update
Behind the scenes of Hollard’s purchase of CBA’s general insurance unit The outlook for the underwriting agency sector is only getting rosier
16 Opinion
Five things brokers and ARs can do to thrive in a hard market
BROKERS ON UNDERWRITING AGENCIES
PEOPLE
Key data that should be on your radar
Does better technology hold the key to a more efficient claims experience?
FEATURES
Brokers reveal which underwriting agencies are stepping up to help them find solutions in a hard market
04 Statistics
FEATURES
INNOVATION MAKING WAVES
How technology is helping a global shipping industry that’s under unprecedented stress
53
FEATURES 44 Stronger together
Improving safety in the transport industry will require a concerted effort by insurers, brokers and their clients
PEOPLE 62 Training day
After establishing a successful brokerage, Amanda Morris made it her mission to help others do the same
64 Other life
A lesson in perseverance from marathon runner and BDM Trang Ha
SPECIAL REPORT
TOP INSURANCE EMPLOYERS Discover which companies are providing the best compensation, benefits, culture and more
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UPFRONT
EDITORIAL
“EXTERMINATE” the underperformers
P
icture this: Daleks – the violent and merciless cyborg aliens from Doctor Who – are gliding around the world-famous underwriting room at Lloyd’s of London’s Lime Street headquarters, but rather than barking their usual “EXTERMINATE,” they’re saying “REMEDIATE” while pointing their evil eyestalks at underperforming syndicates and lines of business. That’s essentially what has happened at Lloyd’s over the past three years – minus the Daleks, of course. At approximately 335 years old, Lloyd’s of London is by far the oldest insurance marketplace in the world. It also plays a critical role in the global insurance and reinsurance industry. Every day, more than 50 insurance companies, over 300 registered Lloyd’s brokers and a global network of more than 3,900 local coverholders operate in and bring business to Lloyd’s, taking advantage of the specialist underwriting expertise, thought leadership and innovative solutions the market has to offer.
Lloyd’s has managed to return to profitability and reassert its historic dominance as a world-leading specialty insurance marketplace Historically, brokers have also been attracted by the financial certainty of the Lloyd’s market – but this came into question in 2017 and 2018, when Lloyd’s suffered a dramatic decline in profitability, thanks to an uptick in natural disasters and the low interest rate environment, which was depressing investment yields. Enter the Daleks. In 2018, Lloyd’s took action to improve its underlying performance and restore profitability with the launch of the Decile 10 initiative. Lloyd’s managing agents were told to focus on the worst-performing 10% of premium for each syndicate and enact remediation plans. Failure to reduce expenses and bring the underperforming syndicates and classes of business back to profitability would result in plans being rejected and classes of business and syndicates being ... well, exterminated. Lloyd’s CFO Burkhard Keese recently revealed the impact of the Decile 10 initiative: Since 2018, managing agents and syndicates have remediated nearly £7bn, or 20% of premiums. In doing so, Lloyd’s has managed to return to profitability and reassert its historic dominance as a world-leading specialty insurance marketplace. The effort proves that if insurers exterminate their weakest links and grow stronger at their specialties, we could eventually reach a global marketplace that is even more focused on expertise, value-added services, innovation and providing customers the best possible experience they could ask for. The team at Insurance Business
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EDITORIAL Managing Editor Paul Lucas Senior Editor Bethan Moorcraft Journalists Danny Wood, Maria Hoyle, Mia Wallace, Surina Nath, Ryan Smith, Ksenia Stepanova News Writers Lyle Adriano, Terry Gangcuangco, Roxanne Libatique, Gabriel Olano Copy Editor Clare Alexander
CONTRIBUTORS Tony Walker
ART & PRODUCTION Designer Joenel Salvador Production Manager Alicia Chin Production Coordinators Kat Guzman, Loiza Razon Customer Success Coordinator Isabella Concepcion
SALES & MARKETING General Manager Peter Smith Commercial Development Manager Sophie Knight
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Insurance Business is part of an international family of B2B publications, websites and events for the insurance industry Insurance Business America cathy.masek@keymedia.com T +1 720 316 0151 Insurance Business Canada john.mackenzie@keymedia.com T +1 416 644 874O Insurance Business NZ alex.rumble@keymedia.com T +61 2 8437 47O8 Insurance Business UK gemma.powell@keymedia.com T +44 20 7193 0935 Insurance Business Asia peter.smith@keymedia.com.au T +61 2 8437 47OO Copyright is reserved throughout. No part of this publication can be reproduced in whole or part without the express permission of the editor. Contributions are invited, but copies of work should be kept, as the magazine can accept no responsibility for loss.
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B y
out s the
Cyber Tired of constantly hearing about the risk of cyber attacks without being offered an easy and costeffective insurance solution? Here at Pen, we would rather help than scare.
Our claims services are locally based and managed by Sparke Helmore, including our 24-hour hotline -1800 029 237, pencyber@sparke.com.au
Our new-to-market Cyber product is designed to assist the Insured during, and after, a cyber incident/event. A cyber event can include computer hacking, malware (malicious software), or data theft.
We have a very broad appetite, targeting risks with a turnover between $5m - $450m. Our capacity is 100% certain underwriters at Lloyd's.
•
E-theft
•
Operational error
•
Reputational harm
•
Breach costs
•
Costs for damage to data or programs
•
lnsured's network failure - income loss and extra expense
•
Network security, privacy and confidentiality liability
•
Network security, privacy liability (regulatory)
•
Multimedia liability
•
Cyber terrorism
•
Payment card industry data security standard - fines penalties and assessments
For more information on how we can best assist you, get in touch with the team today. Chris Bounos
Louise Sautter
07 30561480
07 30561406
chris_bounos@penunderwriting.com
louise_soutter@penunderwriting.com
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UPFRONT
STATISTICS GLOBAL M&A MOMENTUM CONTINUES
GROSS WRITTEN PREMIUM GROWTH BY REGION, 2020 P&C
Total
Life
Global
US
2%
2%
0%
0%
-2%
-2%
-4%
278
Global M&A deals in second quarter of 2021, the highest of any Q2 on record
137
Global M&A deals during the same period last year
$414m
Median deal value in the second quarter of 2021
-4%
-6%
-6%
GWP DECLINE NOT AS BAD AS EXPECTED Last year, the COVID-19 pandemic triggered the worst economic recession since World War II, but the impact on the insurance industry was less severe than initially feared. According to Allianz, global GWP fell by 2.1% in 2020 – almost double the decline witnessed during the global financial crisis in 2009, but less than the insurer’s preliminary estimate of just under 4%. The industry was buoyed by the P&C segment, which recorded positive growth globally. Allianz credited the segment’s resilience to a rapid and smooth transition to digital operations, which allowed acquisition of new business to continue amid mobility restrictions. The life segment, on the other hand, saw significant declines in every region but Asia, which Allianz attributed to its more complex and advice-intensive products.
North America 2% 0% -2% -4% -6%
GLOBAL P&C RISK POOL TO MORE THAN DOUBLE BY 2040 Global P&C premiums are projected to grow by US$2.5trn over the next 20 years, according to the latest forecast from Swiss Re, which expects property and liability cover to take a greater share of premiums at the expense of motor. Emerging markets are also projected to contribute more to global premiums over the next two decades.
GLOBAL P&C PREMIUMS BY SEGMENT
Motor
Property
GLOBAL P&C PREMIUMS BY REGION
Other
Liability
Advanced markets
Emerging markets ex-China China
$21bn
Largest M&A deal during the period (7-Eleven’s acquisition of Speedway) Source: M&A Quarterly Deal Performance Monitor, Q2 2021, Willis Towers Watson; all figures in US$
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21% 2020 42% 12% (ESTIMATE) 25%
10%
25% 13%
2040 (FORECAST) 29%
32%
16%
10% 2020 (ESTIMATE) 80%
17%
2040 (FORECAST) 67% Source: Sigma 4/2021, Swiss Re
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ORGANISATIONS AREN’T PREPARED FOR HEIGHTENED CYBER RISK
China
Western Europe
6%
2%
4%
0%
2%
-2%
0%
Many businesses are now extremely reliant on digital technology – but according to Aon’s latest study on cyber risk, fewer than half of the companies surveyed had satisfactory levels of preparedness across four critical areas: digital evolution, third-party risk, ransomware and regulation.
-4% -6% -8%
Japan 0% -2%
40%
Asia (excluding Japan)
-4%
6%
-6%
4%
-8%
2%
-10%
0%
of organisations said they have adequate strategies to address remote work risks
21% of firms said they have baseline measures for overseeing critical suppliers and vendors
31%
Rest of world
of companies reported having sufficient resilience measures against ransomware
6% 4%
36%
2% 0%
of organisations said they have ample levels of data security preparedness
-2% Source: Insurance Report 2021, Allianz
Source: 2021 Cyber Security Risk Report, Aon
REINSURANCE CAPITAL CONTINUES TO GROW
EMERGING MARKETS TO FUEL CONSTRUCTION GROWTH
Global dedicated capital for reinsurance has kept up its growth trend – Willis Re reported US$688bn of total reinsurance capital at the halfway point of 2021, a 4.3% increase from the end of 2020. Since 2015, reinsurance capital has grown by 61%, at an average annual pace of 6%.
Construction is one of the main drivers of the global post-COVID-19 economic recovery, stoking demand for construction insurance. In its latest report on the sector, Marsh projected that emerging markets in Asia-Pacific and Sub-Saharan Africa will experience the most growth in construction over the next decade due to growing populations and rapid urbanisation.
DEDICATED REINSURANCE CAPITAL Index
Major regional and local reinsurers
Alternative capital
PROJECTED COMPOUND ANNUAL GROWTH RATE FOR CONSTRUCTION, 2021-2030
2018 $526bn 2019 $615bn
6%
2020 $660bn
2%
5% 4% 3%
1% 0%
H1 2021 $688bn Source: Reinsurance Market Report, September 2021, Willis Re; all figures in US$
3.6%
2.8%
3.5%
2.1%
Global
North Latin Western America America Europe
2.8%
3.9%
5.7%
1.8%
5.1%
Eastern Middle East/ Sub- Asia-Pacific Asia-Pacific Europe North Africa Saharan (developed) (emerging) Africa Source: The Future of Construction Report, Marsh
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UPFRONT
NEWS ANALYSIS
A new era for parametric insurance After a summer of extreme weather events, the pressure is mounting on the insurance industry to explore new innovations to help communities recover from catastrophic events – and that’s put parametric insurance products in the spotlight IN AUGUST, a parametric insurance policy written by the Caribbean Catastrophe Risk Insurance Facility (CCRIF) was triggered by the 7.2-magnitude quake in Haiti, delivering a record payment of $40m. Within a week of the disaster, CCRIF had paid $15m of the claim to the Haiti government, shining a spotlight on how quickly and efficiently
The growing frequency of natural catastrophes around the world has resulted in substantial economic losses and adverse social impacts, and Mäder says this frequency is likely to continue to increase in many parts of the world. Weather-related catastrophes remain massively uninsured in many countries, particularly in emerging and developing
“Putting clear pricing on a specific CAT event helps the insured understand the cost of the risk, and they can decide how to mitigate future risk” Jonathan Charak, Zurich North America parametric insurance can support devastated communities. “Parametric insurance ensures that a payout is triggered automatically once a pre-defined threshold of an index is reached or exceeded, meaning policyholders get paid without having to go through a relatively lengthy insurance claim and loss adjustment process,” explains David Mäder, head of sales and delivery for P&S solutions at Swiss Re.
markets, presenting a strong need to offer broader insurance coverage that can increase the financial resilience of vulnerable communities. Parametric insurance offers one suitable option for bridging this protection gap. Parametric solutions started as weather derivatives in the energy markets during the 1980s, but have since evolved across the insurance space. Unlike traditional insurance solutions, parametric insurance allows for the use
of insurance and risk transfer tools to address very short-term needs, says Simon Young, senior director of Willis Towers Watson’s Climate and Resilience Hub. “Both public and private entities have trouble financing emergency response within annual or multi-annual budgeting cycles,” he says. “You can put aside a rainy day fund, which is the current, traditional way that we think about dealing with disasters, but there’s usually a limit to how much money you can set aside which isn’t being put to work.” “By insuring against a catastrophic weather event, parametric insurance can round out a customer’s insurance coverage by purchasing additional cover against a specific peril,” adds Jonathan Charak, emerging solutions director for Zurich North America. “Further, the purely objective nature of parametric insurance provides clear pricing and discussion of the chance an event occurs.” Young and Charak both emphasise that a key point of difference between traditional insurance and parametric insurance is the speed at which a claim can be paid. These faster payouts support vulnerable communities affected by climate change and natural catastrophes with immediate cash relief, Mäder says. Therefore, promoting alternative
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NOTABLE PARAMETRIC INSURANCE PAYOUTS
$4.5m
Paid by the Pacific Catastrophe Risk Insurance Company (PCRIC) to the government of Tonga in the aftermath of Cyclone Harold in April 2020
$1.4m
Paid by the African Risk Capacity Insurance Company to the government of Zimbabwe in response to drought conditions in July 2020
$800,000
Paid to the government of Quintana Roo, Mexico, for damage to coral reefs in the wake of Hurricane Delta in October 2020 channels of insurance in regions of the world with large protection gaps could have a major impact in reducing the overall losses from natural catastrophes. Parametric insurance allows insureds faster, unrestricted access to payouts, Charak says, which in turn enables them to use the money in the most efficient way possible to
against precisely the conditions that affect or threaten your businesses,” he says. “Once this is designed, an insurance company can offer a quick and clear claims process, as the claims process is streamlined. Further, putting clear pricing on a specific CAT event helps the insured understand the cost of the risk, and they can decide how to mitigate future risk.”
“If you know you’re going to get some money [from an insurance payout], then that really incentivises making a plan for how you’re going spend that” Simon Young, Willis Towers Watson recover from a catastrophe. From a claims perspective, he says, the quick payout potential of parametric insurance offers value to customers beyond just being able to insure something that wasn’t covered in the past. The trigger in the insurance contract provides certainty that when conditions are met, a payment will be made. “Parametric insurance is a viable proposition providing a way to secure protection
Parametric insurance lets government agencies, for example, take advantage of much more streamlined pre-, during- and post-event management, Mäder says, enabling a faster recovery and rebuilding of critical infrastructure and services. Young adds that the research points to compelling recovery and economic benefits of having money quickly available in the wake of natural disasters.
$2.5m
Paid by CCRIF to the government of Barbados following Hurricane Elsa in July 2021 Sources: Prevention Web, African Risk Capacity, The Nature Conservancy, Relief Web; all figures in US$
“One of the things we have seen is that if you know you’re going to get some money, then that really incentivises making a plan for how you’re going spend that … and we see that across the full spectrum of the clients that we’re working with,” Young says. “The value of insurance for incentivising better risk behaviour is very real. And we think that parametric insurance is a way to bring that to countries and to settings where traditional insurance either has low penetration or hasn’t been thought about in the context of being useful.” Mäder notes that the increasing global interest in parametric insurance solutions also brings opportunities for insurers to access new distribution channels. “There is still a lot of room to fully leverage the benefits of parametric covers,” he says. “Insurers and regulators, as well as reinsurers such as Swiss Re, have important roles to play to grow the adoption of parametric products.”
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UPFRONT
INTELLIGENCE CORPORATE ACQUIRER
TARGET
PRODUCTS COMMENTS
Chubb
Cigna
Chubb is snapping up the companies that house Cigna’s personal accident, supplemental health and life insurance business in seven Asia-Pacific markets
McLardy McShane
Intercharge; Sydney Insurance Brokers
Insurance broking group McLardy McShane has made two key deals in Sydney, acquiring Sydney Insurance Brokers and taking a majority stake in Intercharge
Petcover
Petplan
The two pet insurance companies have merged under the Petcover Group umbrella
Resilium Partners
Cornerstone Risk Group
Cornerstone serves the business, commercial and personal insurance needs of clients throughout Australia
AIA creates Australia’s first personal health mentor
AIA Australia has teamed up with international digital healthcare management company Medix Global to create the first personal health mentor and navigation service in Australia. AIA Personal Health Mentor customers will receive support from diagnosis to treatment from a dedicated Medix case team, including a local doctor and a coordinator nurse. They will also have ongoing access to Medix’s network of 300 in-house doctors and more than 4,500 local and global medical specialists. Support is available across a wide range of mental and physical health conditions.
Resilium Partners makes Cornerstone swoop
Cornerstone Risk Group is now part of Resilium Partners, the entity introduced following Ardonagh Group’s majority investment in Resilium Insurance Broking earlier in 2021. Specialising in all forms of business, commercial and personal insurance, Cornerstone supports clients throughout Australia from its offices in Brisbane and Toowoomba. The Cornerstone transaction, the financial terms of which were not disclosed, follows Resilium’s purchase of Queensland-based Fassifern Insurance Services in February. “We are thrilled to have joined the group and already have our own established pipeline to acquire like-minded insurance businesses,” said Cornerstone joint managing directors Damien Mulvenna and Scott Mitchell. “We are excited to be working with Resilium Partners and Ardonagh and look forward to announcing our own acquisitions over the coming months.”
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TAL rolls out income protection products
Life insurance specialist TAL has released three new income protection insurance products: Income Protection Enhance, Income Protection Assist and Income Protection Focus. Income Protection Enhance is TAL’s most affordable longterm cover, while Income Protection Assist features additional support at the start of the claim through an Early Support Booster for the first six months. Income Protection Focus is a short-term option that applies an ‘own occupation’ definition for the entire one-, two- or five-year benefit period to remove any uncertainty around ongoing eligibility for benefits.
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PEOPLE Arch launches flexible management liability
Arch Insurance Australia has rolled out ML+, a comprehensive, flexible management liability product, via its CoverHub online quote-and-bind platform. ML+ provides insurance options for private and unlisted public companies, sole traders, partnerships, and not-for-profit organisations. Coverage includes D&O liability, company liability, employment practices liability, statutory liability and crime protection. ML+ is available for SMEs domiciled in Australia and New Zealand with an annual turnover below $25m. Companies with higher turnovers can be quoted via referral to an Arch underwriter.
Travel insurance sales put on hold by nib
Insurer nib has paused sales of travel insurance to Australia and New Zealand residents due to the expiration of underwriting arrangements. All of nib’s brands, as well as its white-label partners, are included in the stoppage. International sales, which account for more than 75% of the company’s total travel insurance sales, are unaffected, and all travel insurance policies purchased before 5 October remain valid. According to nib managing director Mark Fitzgibbon, the insurer is currently pursuing new underwriting arrangements across its domestic and international markets.
MLC Life also plans to launch income protection
Shortly after TAL introduced its suite of income protection insurance products, competitor MLC Life announced it is planning to roll out its own income protection offerings. MLC Life’s new line, which includes Income Assure and Income Assure+, will provide various cover options to suit specific needs and budgets and make it easier for advisers to help their clients. Income Assure provides an income replacement ratio of 70%, with tiering for income above $150,000, while Income Assure+ delivers a ratio of up to 90% for six months post-claim if customers select the ‘booster’ option.
NAME
LEAVING
JOINING
NEW POSITION
Bridget Messer
IG Group
Suncorp
Chief risk officer
Carl Hess
N/A
Willis Towers Watson
President and incoming CEO
Dallas Booth
National Insurance Brokers Association
Insurance Council of Australia
Chair, ICA Business Advisory Council
Greg Joannou
N/A
BAIS
Infrastructure and customer support manage
Jennifer Richards
N/A
Aon
Chief executive, Australia
Katherine Simmonds
Gallagher
Fusion
Managing partner
Nicholas Moore
N/A
Financial Regulator Assessment Authority
Chair
Sirma Boshnakova
N/A
Allianz
Management board member
Tia Poole
Howden Specialty
SALT Marine Risks Australia
Marine manager
Wolfgang Deichl
N/A
Allianz
Chief financial officer, Australia
Aon Australia appoints new chief executive
Aon has named Jennifer Richards as its new chief executive for Australia. Richards has been with the broking giant for a decade, most recently serving as specialties managing director. Prior to joining Aon in Sydney in 2011, she worked for AIG and law firm Sidley Austin in New York. Richards succeeds James Baum, who has led the company’s Australian business since 2018. Baum took up a new Londonbased position as Aon’s UK head of commercial risk on 1 October.
Willis Towers Watson names CEO successor
Willis Towers Watson stalwart Carl Hess has become the company’s new president and will replace John Haley as chief executive on the first day of 2022. Prior to his appointment as president and incoming CEO, Hess served as WTW’s head of investment, risk and reinsurance. “I am excited to fulfil our purpose for the benefit of our clients and all of our stakeholders: to create clarity and confidence today for a more sustainable tomorrow,” said Hess, who has been with the brokerage since 1989. “Thanks to John’s leadership, Willis Towers Watson is well positioned to compete vigorously across our businesses around the world.”
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UPFRONT
INSURER UPDATE NEWS BRIEFS Second BI test case brings good news for insurers
Australia’s second COVID-19 business interruption test case, which looked at whether business interruption policies could be triggered by COVID-19 restrictions, has concluded with a ruling largely in favour of insurers. Justice Jayne Jagot concluded that in nine out of the 10 claims brought before the court, “the insuring clauses do not apply in the circumstances of each case,” meaning that the insurer, Swiss Re, is not liable to indemnify the insured for business interruption. Jagot added that “although the actions of the authorities applied to the premises/situation, it is not possible to conclude that the orders were made as a result of any circumstance at the premises/situation or within the specified radius.”
IAG to discontinue IAL brand and shift to CGU
IAG is consolidating its personal lines proposition in the broker space under the CGU brand and is discontinuing home, motor and landlord insurance brand IAL, which distributed its products directly through Steadfast Group. “We believe consolidating our product offering for the broker personal lines market under the CGU brand is an important step in simplifying our business and ensuring we can provide the best possible products and experiences for our valued brokers and partners,” said IAG managing director and chief executive Nick Hawkins.
Bupa to return $120m in cash to Australian customers
Health insurer Bupa is returning $120m in cash to its Australian customers on
the back of savings due to lower claims activity during the COVID-19 crisis. “We’ve always said we wouldn’t seek to benefit from the COVID pandemic,” said Emily Amos, managing director of Bupa Australia’s health insurance business. “As we haven’t seen claims return to levels that we originally anticipated, we wanted our customers to share in these savings.”
ICA addresses SME insurance availability and affordability
The Insurance Council of Australia has introduced measures aimed at improving the affordability and availability of commercial insurance products for SMEs, following recommendations contained in the recent final report of the independent strategic review into the role of the private commercial insurance market. The ICA’s measures include the creation of a business advisory council, which will be chaired by former NIBA chief executive Dallas Booth, as well as an examination of the simplification of commercial policy definitions and documentation.
ING and nib seal health insurance distribution partnership
Australians will now be able to purchase ING health insurance underwritten by nib health funds as part of a new white-label distribution partnership between nib and ING Bank Australia. “With more than 2m customers, there is great potential for us to connect with ING’s existing customer base and offer affordable health insurance,” said Ed Close, chief executive of Australian Residents Health Insurance at nib. “It’s a great example of how two businesses can work together to better connect and empower Australians to finance and access healthcare.”
Hollard opens up about CBA deal Hollard boss Richard Enthoven lifts the lid on his company’s purchase of the bank’s general insurance unit In June, CBA agreed to sell its general insurance business to the Hollard Group for an upfront payment of $625m, plus deferred payments and further investment over the next decade and a half. The sale of CommInsure General Insurance was both the biggest and the final major deal by one of Australia’s Big Four banks to divest its general insurance business. Richard Enthoven, Hollard’s founder and managing director of Hollard Holdings Australia, says he’s most excited by one particular term of the deal – the agreement with CBA to establish an exclusive 15-year strategic alliance for the distribution of home and motor vehicle insurance products to the bank’s retail customers. CommInsure General Insurance currently has more than 800,000 policyholders, according to the CBA media release announcing the sale. “We’re going to work very closely with CBA to provide a really compelling home insurance offering that is deeply integrated into their mortgage offering,” Enthoven says. “Given how significant that offering is, we think the prospect for significant take-up in the insurance product is high. That’s our thesis, and we’re going to be working very closely with the retail bank at CBA to make that happen.” So far, Enthoven says he’s pleased with
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the acquisition process. “We’re very happy, and of the banks’ general insurance businesses, CBA’s was the largest and the best by a country mile, so we feel like we’ve bought the best asset in the category.” The deal is subject to regulatory approvals and is scheduled to be finalised on 1 July, 2022. One current task is working out a separation and integration workstream between the two companies.
“It was a one-off opportunity to partner with CBA, which we felt was just too good to pass up” “It involves unplumbing Commonwealth Insurance Limited from the CBA infrastructure and replumbing it into the Hollard infrastructure … the policy system at CIL fed into the CBA general ledger, and going forward, it needs to feed into the Hollard general ledger,” Enthoven explains. He describes Hollard’s purchase of CBA and Allianz Australia’s completion of its general insurance acquisition from Westpac as “the only two acquisitions of any kind of material scale for quite some time. So, these things don’t come up very often.” He points out that until the CBA acquisition, Hollard’s growth had always been organic – but the company couldn’t overlook this opportunity. “We just felt this was a great company,” he says. “It was a one-off opportunity to partner with CBA, which we felt was just too good to pass up.”
Q&A
Nicholas Scofield Chief corporate affairs officer ALLIANZ AUSTRALIA
Years in the industry 18+ Fast fact Prior to joining the insurance industry, Scofield served as a senior adviser to the prime minister of Australia
The regulatory reform outlook What do you think will be the biggest impact of the new product design and distribution obligations (PDDO)? The impact of the PDDO will be more at the margin than having any significant or fundamental impact on the sale or purchase of insurance. Most customers know what basic insurance products they want to buy and the key features of those products. Experience has shown, however, that a small proportion of customers purchase – or, worse, are ‘sold’ – products that do not suit their individual needs and circumstances. The PDDO should largely prevent this from occurring by placing the onus on insurers and distributors to align a product offered with the needs of the customer and, if they do not align, not sell it to them.
How about the deferred sales model for add-on insurance? The proposal for a DSM originated in response to many of the same issues – and, in particular, the sale of so-called add-on insurance products – that the PDDO is designed to address. For mainstream personal insurance products, such as home and motor, customers are generally familiar with the products, brands and distribution channel choices available to them. There was always a question of whether there was a need for a DSM for such products. Fortunately, Treasury recognised these issues and the logical and persuasive arguments advanced in favour of providing exemptions for the most commonly purchased and well-understood personal insurance products.
What’s your overall outlook on the reforms? After some years of hard work and considerable expenditure, insurers are at the stage where most of the reforms have now commenced and we are tidying up regulatory loose ends, such as ASIC guidance and relief, and embedding the reforms. There have been many reforms drafted, legislated and implemented in a relatively short time period, some of which have overlapping objectives and even conflicting impacts. Moreover, the whole supply chain – product governance and design, sales, distribution, and claims and complaints handling – has been impacted. Like any large-scale and complex reform exercise, there will be teething problems, and some of the issues on which insurers are currently engaging government are about addressing matters that would otherwise have unintended adverse impacts on our customers. It will take time for all the reforms and new ways of operating to settle and integrate with each other. While some regulatory ‘repair and maintenance’ may be required over the next couple of years as implementation and embedment proceeds, the new regime needs to be given time to bear fruit. The last thing the insurance industry needs is premature declarations that particular reforms, or the reforms in general, have failed because quick and large movements in various metrics have not been observed.
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UPFRONT
UNDERWRITING AGENCIES UPDATE
No limit on underwriting agencies’ growth Brokers are increasingly looking to underwriting agencies first – and it appears that will only continue
According to Legge, that increase has been “gigantic”; GWP has nearly tripled over the past five years. He says UAC members have significantly taken up the slack, and a lot of brokers now prefer to deal with underwriting agencies over traditional insurers. “I think the opportunities are only limited by your imagination,” Legge says. “We have the ability to go forward to actually take advantage of what is happening in the technical world and also the capabilities of
“It’s mind-blowing because it is expanding so furiously, so fast”
To describe Underwriting Agencies Council general manager William Legge as highly optimistic about the prospects that await underwriting agencies in Australia is perhaps an understatement. “It was about three, maybe four years ago when the insurance companies started to really look at their portfolio of risks to see where they were and the accumulation of risks in certain areas,” Legge explains. “That’s when they started cleaning their portfolios to
NEWS BRIEFS
align it more to what they wanted to happen while also controlling it. That’s when the underwriting agency world started to come into its own because insurance brokers had to get their clients’ business placed somewhere. “Brokers turned increasingly towards the underwriting agency world, and that has multiplied furiously. It’s shown by the enormous increase in gross written premium that I know is being written by our members, let alone the entire underwriting agency world.”
Underwriting agency sector poised to expand
A recent white paper from insurtech firm Xceedance confirmed that Australia’s underwriting agency sector is set to enjoy rapid growth. “As general insurers’ underwriting guidelines tighten, there are more opportunities for flexible agencies that can use their expertise to write specialty risks,” said Xceedance’s Stephen Browne. “As some large carriers reduce their risk footprints, many seasoned insurance professionals are focusing on core specialisations and moving into underwriting agencies.”
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communication. It’s mind-blowing because it is expanding so furiously, so fast. And there is no limit to what can be done. It really is about taking the opportunity, identifying what suits your comfort zone in business and then also going forward with the technical abilities.” He adds that the key to success will be to “not waste people” in doing things that can be better handled by technology. “You can have artificial intelligence or intelligent technology take care of the mundane stuff, as well as a lot of the interactive stuff, which can be answered by AI,” he says. “Then leave your experts to do what they’re supposed to be doing, which is looking at the risks that need consideration. And that’s really where our members are succeeding.”
Blue Zebra Insurance flies into drone market
Blue Zebra Insurance (BZI) has teamed up with Precision Autonomy to offer better access to commercial drone insurance. Brokers will be able to connect to Precision Autonomy’s specialist tool for quoting and binding drone insurance via a direct link from BZI’s Zebra Lounge portal. “We are always on the lookout for ways to expand the options for our intermediaries available via our platform, and this new partnership with Precision Autonomy is another exciting step for us and our broker partners,” said BZI’s Colin Fagen.
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UPFRONT
UNDERWRITING AGENCIES UPDATE Q&A
Kimberley Jonsson CEO
Challenges and opportunities in strata insurance How has the pandemic impacted the world of strata insurance?
CHU
Years in the industry 16 Fast fact Joining strata specialist CHU in 2005 was Jonsson’s first full-time employment after school
The pandemic lockdowns have meant serious challenges in getting owners back on their feet when they have to make a claim. The lockdowns have been problematic, limiting access to identify and rectify building defects, which are a major issue in Australia, particularly for new builds. Lockdowns have also delayed normal claims repairs, often limiting activities to necessary make-safe work and deferring non-safety repairs. The lockdowns mean strata suppliers, such as repairers, valuers, and defect and safety inspectors, have limited access. The consequence is possible delays in carrying out repairs to damaged strata properties, which may be the owner’s home or investment. COVID-19 has seen the rental market under siege with financial hardship, meaning more vacant strata apartments. However, even with possible reductions in rental income streams for investors and some owner-occupiers impacted by rising unemployment, as strata owners, they are still required to have residential strata insurance, as it’s compulsory. Strata owners may be struggling to continue adequate cover for their property. This is an opportunity for brokers to help by providing advice on how they can reduce their premium costs while being properly covered for disasters and misfortunes.
How would you describe your relationship with brokers, particularly amid the hard market?
ProRisk partners with upcover on SME insurance
ProRisk has joined forces with startup upcover to launch direct-toconsumer SME insurance. The new offering will leverage upcover’s embedded insurance technology, which uses a streamlined question set to deliver quick business insurance quotes. “We see the potential for substantial expansion in this form of distribution and customer experience,” said ProRisk’s Hamish McDonald Nye, describing upcover as “an exciting and innovative business on the cutting edge of digitally enabled distribution”.
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Our relationship with brokers remains strong, which is evidenced by our Net Promoter Score results in March this year. In this difficult market, it is our chance to do our best in helping brokers. We work closely with our established relationships to place new or maintain existing cover. We have seen insurers reducing their risk appetite and even exiting certain markets. Getting multiple quotes, let alone one quote, can be difficult in a hard market where the risk appetites have changed. This is a tough time for brokers and their clients. But with the challenges come opportunities for CHU and its offshoot, Flex Insurance. We have a consistent and sustainable approach to underwriting, looking at ways to work with brokers to provide solutions rather than decline to quote or renew. This approach to underwriting is important to providing cover throughout different market cycles, and brokers appreciate our consistent support.
What are your views on underwriting agencies being a go-to market? Brokers benefit from the focus and expertise of a specialist underwriting agency. They can have confidence in obtaining tailored insurance solutions to cater for a niche or unique market’s needs. The growing strata market is a great example of where the insurance must fulfil specific state and territory strata legislative requirements. It’s beneficial to have a team of stratafocused underwriters and claims consultants working with you in a hard market or on complex risks.
Solution, Chubb roll out product for NDIS providers
Solution Underwriting and Chubb Insurance Australia have introduced a new insurance product for National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) providers. The new product addresses the needs of NDIS providers in three core areas: disability service providers, support coordinators and plan managers. However, it does not provide coverage for those undertaking nursing care, wound care, medication management or palliative care services, or those providing overnight stays or accommodation services.
Agile enters the construction market
Agile Underwriting Services has added construction insurance to its product range, partnering with the Munich Re Syndicate at Lloyd’s to offer construction all risk (CAR) and erection all risk (EAR) material damage policies. CAR provides comprehensive cover for construction, building and civil engineering projects, while EAR covers the installation and erection of complex machinery and plant. Agile has tapped Simon Garske, who has experience as both an engineer and an underwriter, to lead the new department.
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UPFRONT
OPINION
GOT AN OPINION THAT COUNTS? Email ibo@keymedia.com.au
Thriving in a difficult market It’s a tough gig being a broker in this hardening market – but having the right support can make all the difference, writes Tony Walker IN THE 11 years since PSC Network Insurance Partners was established, we have seen the role of the insurance broker become more challenging. Brokers have to navigate regulatory changes, hardening markets, remarketing and insurer appetite changes – many would agree that brokers have never worked this hard! Remarketing every renewal has become the norm. Premiums are increasing for good-quality, claim-free risks, and brokers are having to approach all markets to ensure they are providing the best cover at the most competitive rate. Adding to this challenge is the reduced appetite and capacity of many major insurers, along with the requirement to provide more detailed information. Filling this gap in capacity are the underwriting agencies, which continue to grow their position in the market through improved responsiveness, access to decision-makers and a hunger to write business that we are just not seeing from many of the major insurers. COVID-19 has also increased the pressure on brokers being able to access underwriters and present risks face-to-face. And regulatory changes such as TMD, PDDO and advice models have added complexity for both insurers and brokers. The ability of clients to afford insurance has become more of a challenge, too. Clients have limited options to reduce costs, and the worrying trend we are seeing is clients requesting to reduce cover – for example, to insure the assets but not the loss of income. Brokers are now tasked with convincing
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clients not to reduce covers every day, and this challenge is not going anywhere. COVID will continue to impact small businesses in the months and even years to come, and it’s our role as insurance advisers to do all we can to ensure these clients are adequately covered. Despite all the challenges brokers face in the current landscape, we are still seeing a significant rise in the importance of authorised representatives in the industry. More
the standard renewal cycle. Educate your customers on the challenges in the industry. Support them with risk management strategies and continually remind them how you can add value to their business. Start the process early. Work strategically with insurers, be prepared, and have all the risk information available to present formally to markets. Use the leverage of your licence holder to get positive outcomes for clients. Remember, good brokers stand out in a hard market.
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Create efficiencies. Invest back into your business with resources and process efficiencies so you can focus on servicing your clients. Follow best-practice guidelines to ensure compliant processes – no one wants to have ASIC at their door.
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Create a clear but simple business plan. This plan should focus on the four pillars to success: specialisation, lead generation, networking and marketing.
4
“Work strategically with insurers, be prepared, and have all the risk information available to present formally to markets. Remember, good brokers stand out in a hard market” and more brokers are opting to become an AR, where they receive a reward for the effort they put in and the service they provide their clients. For brokers, navigating this type of market alone would be quite a feat. Being part of a supportive AR network like PSC Network allows ARs to build an asset with independence and control, but with the support of a quality licence holder. Whether you are an AR or an employed broker, there are some key things you can do to get ahead in this tough market.
1
Focus on your customer. Understand their business and add value outside of
Never stop learning. Allocate time to it each week – continuous improvement is the key.
5
If you are already an AR or are looking to take the leap to become one, partnering with a collaborative and supportive licence holder dedicated to assisting you in growing your business and navigating this challenging environment can make all the difference.
Tony Walker is the CEO of PSC Network Insurance Partners, one of Australia’s leading AR and equity partner networks, which offers a range of support services designed to grow AR businesses.
www.insurancebusinessonline.com.au
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IBAA21
FRIDAY, 12 NOVEMBER • ONLINE
JOIN THE VIRTUAL CELEBRATION The entire Insurance Business community and all members of the insurance industry are invited to the virtual Insurance Business Awards Australia on Friday, 12 November at 5pm AEDT. Join the celebration by registering now for free. Here’s what you can expect on the day:
Enjoy the exclusive stream of winner announcements from anywhere
Show your support for industry excellence and the 160-plus outstanding awardees
Engage with any guest, reconnect with your peers and make new connections with our live chat and a peer-matching function
Come decked out in your best black tie with your beverage of choice, or simply come as you are!
Get a chance to win a $200 Westfield voucher by sharing a #IBAwardsAU photo of you celebrating in style on the day
Register now for free at
www.ibawards.com.au
Award Sponsors
Official Media
Organiser
A U S T R A L I A
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PEOPLE
THE BIG INTERVIEW
RISK AND REWARD After 43 years in insurance and insurance law, Clayton Utz’s Fred Hawke talks about the industry he loves with professorial wisdom and a firebrand’s conviction
INDUSTRY VETERAN Fred Hawke, a consultant for law firm Clayton Utz and faculty member of the Australian College of Insurance Studies (ACIS), says a fascination with risk has always driven his interest in the insurance industry. “I’m nobody’s mathematician, and I’m basically incompetent in statistics and probability,” Hawke says. “But I’ve always been intrigued by how integrated risks are and how things fit together, and insurance, pre-eminently, is about the definition and analysis of the quantification of risk. That’s what got me interested.” Hawke was born in Lithgow and grew up in Adelaide, where he completed a law degree before moving to Melbourne in his late 20s. His first industry job was as a motor claims officer at AGC Insurances, owned by Westpac. At that time, Hawke says, insurance professionals often had an inferiority complex because of their lack of educational credentials compared to lawyers, accountants and engineers. He remembers industry functions as a chance for colleagues to overcompensate. “Every second person – and they were usually men over the age of 60 – would have some piece of ironmongery, a medallion of some sort on a silver ribbon, hanging around his neck, which signified that he was the immediate past president of some such organization of loss adjusters or something,” he recalls. “They were forever obsessing
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about their regalia.” Around that time, Hawke stumbled on a case of fraud when he inadvertently assessed the same vehicle twice. He noticed there was a nearly $2,000 difference between the two assessors’ reports. “We found that that particular external assessor was consistently making the repair costs higher and always with the same smash repairers,” he says. “We got the manager of the business in, and he never admitted they
history of the Eastern Roman Empire in a few Power Point slides.”
Back to law In 1981, Hawke joined American International Underwriters, which eventually became AIG, as workers’ compensation claims superintendent for South Australia. “The branch manager took me out to lunch and said, ‘In our company, Fred, you’ll learn two things. If you do your job effectively, get
“What’s fundamentally shifted is that there is an expectation that insurance is a profession, not just a job, and that tertiary qualifications are required, of the same sort that other professions expect and take for granted” were colluding with the smash repairers, but it was pretty obvious what was going on.” While there wasn’t enough information to send a brief to the police, that particular firm didn’t get much more work from AGC. Hawke acknowledges that low-level fraud has always been endemic to the insurance industry, both by policyholders and, in some cases, employees. “You’re talking about a vast subject,” he says. “It’s like asking me to explain the
the results that are expected of you and deliver the goods, we don’t care how hard you work. We don’t care if you’ve got your work done by 1:00, [and you] go to lunch and spend the afternoon in the pub or on the golf course. Conversely, if you don’t deliver the goods and don’t get the job done, we don’t care how hard you work.’” By the end of the 1990s, Hawke was still with AIG but had moved into a legal role as Australasian general counsel. In 1999, he
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PROFILE Name: Fred Hawke Title: Insurance law consultant Company: Clayton Utz Based in: Melbourne Years in the industry: 43 Fast fact: Hawke has been voted one of Australia’s Best Lawyers in Insurance for 12 consecutive years
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PEOPLE
THE BIG INTERVIEW
joined Clayton Utz, working out of the firm’s Melbourne office. Hawke says he had “two enormous advantages” over young lawyers coming straight into the firm from a law degree. In addition to the academic reputation he had built as an insurance lawyer through conference presentations and as editor of the Insurance Law Journal, “I had a deep internal knowledge from personal experience through the practical workings of insurance and insurance policies, both in terms of the way the contracts worked and the
most significant changes to insurance in recent decades, he has a different perspective. “The internet is just a medium; computers are just tools,” Hawke says. “The human mind hasn’t changed the way it works, and human motivations haven’t changed, and the mathematical principles on which insurance operates haven’t changed.” He points out that the law of large numbers discovered by Jakob Bernoulli in the late 17th century and Abraham de Moivre’s central limit theory are still valid. “[De Moivre] prob-
“The internet is just a medium; computers are just tools. The human mind hasn’t changed the way it works, and human motivations haven’t changed, and the mathematical principles on which insurance operates haven’t changed” way the industry worked, from having done it myself for a long time,” he says. After four years, Hawke became a partner at the firm. In 2019, he retired and now serves as an insurance law consultant for Clayton Utz. “So I’ve practised law for the last 22 years,” he says, “but the law I practise is insurance law, informed by my knowledge and experience as an insurance claims officer, supervisor, superintendent, manager and general counsel.”
The rise of professionalism During his time in insurance, Hawke picked up an interest in the history of mathematics and other subjects, all of which are astutely employed in support of his views on the industry. While insiders might regard cyber threats, technology and the internet as the
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ably worked that out on the back of napkins in Lloyd’s coffee shop – again, back in the 17th century.” Rather, Hawke says the biggest change in the insurance industry during his career has been the emphasis on professionalism. “What’s fundamentally shifted is that there is an expectation that insurance is a profession, not just a job, and that tertiary qualifications are required, of the same sort that other professions expect and take for granted,” he says. Today, many young people starting in insurance come from university, not straight from school or an apprenticeship, and Hawke is glad for the change. “There’s certainly no substitute for experience,” he says, “but experience is far more effective if it’s informed by a principled understanding of how the business works.”
FRED HAWKE’S CAREER HIGHLIGHTS
1981 Joins American International Underwriters (later AIG), eventually becoming the company’s Australasian general counsel
1995 Receives the Australian Insurance Institute E.E. Vines Memorial Prize
1998 Wins the Australian Insurance Law Association Prize
1999 Moves to Clayton Utz
2012 Is named Melbourne Insurance Lawyer of the Year (an accolade he received again in 2018 and 2019)
2019 Officially retires from Clayton Utz and becomes an insurance law consultant
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There’s a reason ATC Insurance Solutions has been an Award Winning Insurance Agency 4 years in a row.
CYBER
CONSTRUCTION
At ATC we know it’s about more than just insurance. It’s about knowing that when things change in unpredictable times, you’re covered by someone you can trust, that can help you with a wide range of solutions. Whether it be in Construction, Cyber, Sports, Leisure and Events or Plant and Machinery, you can expect award winning service, experience and support from the team at ATC Insurance Solutions.
PLANT & MACHINERY
We would like to say thank you to our supporting brokers for our Silver Award in Construction and look forward to continuing to work with you all.
SPORTS, LEISURE & EVENTS
www.atcis.com.au 03 9258 1777 info@atcis.com.au www.insurancebusinessonline.com.au
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FEATURES
BROKERS ON UNDERWRITING AGENCIES
BROKERS ON UNDERWRITING AGENCIES 2021 Brokers identify the Australian underwriting agencies that have stepped up to help them navigate a difficult market
FOR SEVEN years running, Insurance Business has given brokers the chance to identify Australia’s outstanding underwriting agencies. Once again, brokers have ranked the underwriting agencies they work with across 11 different insurance offerings, from construction and property to cyber and professional indemnity. Brokers also identified the best products from underwriting agencies and offered suggestions on what agencies can do to get more business from brokers. It’s been another testing year for both brokers and underwriting agencies. COVID-
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19’s grip held firm on the global economy, and the insurance industry experienced the ongoing impact of a hardening market with rising premiums. Underwriting agencies have endured shrinking capacity and a rising tide of complex risks – cyberattacks continue to be one of the most serious challenges, with premiums rising by as much as 60%. And just when it looked like natural catastrophes were taking a break, a string of disasters struck the country. There were floods in NSW and Victoria, cyclones from Queensland to Western Australia, and storms in Perth.
Despite the difficulties in the market, the 2021 Brokers on Underwriting Agencies survey saw consistent performers from previous years continue to shine. AHI and DUAL are now among the exclusive group of agencies that have won seven consecutive gold medals in certain categories. And as in previous years, brokers ranked coverage as the criteria that’s most important to them when choosing an underwriting agency to partner with. Read on to find out which underwriting agencies earned top marks from brokers for 2021.
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Brought to you by
METHODOLOGY To uncover the best underwriting agencies in the Australian insurance market, Insurance Business reached out to brokers via social media and our online newsletter. More than 350 brokers participated in the survey, ranking their top three underwriting agencies across 11 major types of insurance. Brokers also named the top insurance products offered by underwriting agencies and weighed in on whether turnaround times, product ranges and pricing had improved or worsened over the past year. To better understand their priorities when selecting an underwriting agency, IB also asked brokers to rank the importance of seven different aspects of underwriting agencies’ service: coverage, overall service level, turnaround times for new business and claims, broker support, premium stability, and commission structures. Based on brokers’ feedback, IB calculated the top three winners for each type of insurance and awarded gold, silver and bronze medals to those underwriting agencies. The four insurance products that received the most votes from brokers were awarded the Brokers’ Pick medal.
CONGRATULATIONS FROM UAC The Underwriting Agencies Council is proud to sponsor the 2021 Brokers on Underwriting Agencies survey. UAC congratulates all its member agencies that have been rated highly by the broking fraternity. Despite difficult times, agencies have shone through to help brokers with diverse risk placements. The strong, close relationship between agencies and their supporting brokers is the key to success in the agency sector. Agencies offer specialist product knowledge and outstanding service targeted towards brokers’ clients’ specific needs. By accessing the agency market, brokers can source tailored solutions that meet their clients’ risk profiles. The wide array of agencies that have been awarded in this survey attests to agencies’ skills across a diverse range of products. Broker rankings and feedback from the survey help underwriting agencies hone their offerings to brokers, increase their professionalism and expand their product ranges to fill specific niches. Although the pandemic has restricted faceto-face contact between brokers and agencies, UAC’s website (uac.org.au) continues to give brokers a variety of avenues to reach out to agencies with hard-to-place risks and source alternative security. Congratulations to every award-winning agency for your exceptional service to the broking community.
William Legge General Manager, UAC
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FEATURES
BROKERS ON UNDERWRITING AGENCIES
T
ACCIDENT & HEALTH
“Easy to quote and bind, [with] excellent service both in underwriting and claims” DUAL AUSTRALIA
AFA AHI INSURANCE Accident & health is a field dominated by direct business, so to attract broker attention, underwriting agencies have to deliver the goods. All three winners in the category garnered rave reviews from brokers for their level of customer service. “In a time when underwriters and their agents are becoming increasingly more difficult
to deal with, AFA are a breath of fresh air,” said one broker. The medal winners in this category have remained remarkably consistent over the years. AHI added another gold to its now seven-year winning streak, earning praise from brokers for its fast turnaround times. AFA claimed silver,
also for the seventh year running, attracting numerous positive comments. “Just an excellent insurer,” said one broker, while another described AFA as “easy to quote and bind, [with] excellent service both in underwriting and claims”. The bronze medal, meanwhile, went to DUAL for the third year in a row.
WHAT ARE BROKERS LOOKING FOR IN AN UNDERWRITING AGENCY? 2021
2020
2019 4.60 4.60 4.63
Coverage Overall service levels
4.50 4.47 4.48
Claims turnaround times
4.46 4.42 4.53 4.40 4.34
Broker support
4.55 4.37 4.42 4.46
New business turnaround times
4.30 4.25 4.24
Premium stability 3.48 3.46 3.59
Commission structures 1 Not important
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2
3 Somewhat important
4
5 Very important
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Thank You for Supporting Us For the past 30 years AFA has been the brokers’ pick for Accident and Sickness Insurance. We are here to listen, problem solve and help you, and our highly skilled team of underwriters strive to make your business more profitable.
It is a deep commitment. To us it is personal. Specialising in accident & health insurance, we offer: • Products designed to be simple and easy to understand • Fast processes so our insurance is easy to place • Tools and guides that make it easy to educate your clients. • Fast, flexible and fair service, with a dedicated in-house claims team.
For more information: www.afainsurance.com | 1300 728 997
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FEATURES
BROKERS ON UNDERWRITING AGENCIES CONSTRUCTION
ATC INSURANCE SOLUTIONS
MECON INSURANCE
Construction is a highly complex industry to insure – but MECON Insurance appears to have found the winning formula, taking out the gold medal for construction for the sixth consecutive year. One broker’s comment underscores why MECON is perennially successful in this category: “MECON’s service, technical
“MECON’s claims people and loss assessors are all supportive, responsive, technically knowledgeable, and personally kind and respectful”
360 UNDERWRITING SOLUTIONS
questions, quoting support, general response, coverage options and pricing sharpness for my clients has remained at a high level of service all year. MECON’s claims people and loss assessors are all equally supportive, responsive, technically knowledgeable, and personally kind and respectful towards all clients.”
ATC Insurance Solutions retained second place in the construction category, making it three years of silver medals. The bronze medal went to 360 Underwriting, which, since the end of 2020, has been part of the same parent company as SURA, a four-time medallist in the construction category.
BROKERS ON PRODUCTS “Product range has improved with some; however, pricing remains a concern”
Improved significantly
“Product range has generally increased, whilst appetite on the whole has narrowed and pricing has increased, albeit due to market conditions”
2021
“A number of sectors (e.g. tourism) are becoming quite difficult to source cover for. Lack of capacity or reduction of reinsurer/security appetite seems to be the driving force”
2020
“Due to all of the natural disasters of the last couple of years and then COVID on top, everyone is exiting out of markets or charging through the roof to cover themselves” “It’s a hard market being made worse by poor communication around appetites and premiums” “Any tenants or occupations that don’t fit within the box, no one wants to quote”
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Have underwriting agencies’ product range and pricing improved or worsened over the past year? Improved
No difference
Worsened
Worsened significantly
2019
2017
2018
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Mecon.Award.Press.Ad.FA.pdf
1
20/10/21
10:10 am
Dear Brokers, thank you for voting us best in class for construction
five years in a row Sincerely, The MECON Insurance team
mecon.com.au @MECONinsurance
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FEATURES
BROKERS ON UNDERWRITING AGENCIES CYBER & INFORMATION DIRECTORS & TECHNOLOGY OFFICERS
DUAL AUSTRALIA
EMERGENCE INSURANCE GROUP
BROOKLYN UNDERWRITING
PRORISK DUAL AUSTRALIA
LONDON AUSTRALIA UNDERWRITING
At a time when cyber threats are continually evolving and premiums are going through the roof as the market adjusts to increasingly large losses, cyber insurers are under a great deal of pressure. Nonetheless, Emergence Insurance held onto the gold for the fourth year in a row and also earned a spot among the Brokers’ Picks for the sixth time. The responses from brokers suggest that Emergence’s sole focus on cyber is paying off. “Emergence proves that being a niche underwriting agency and focusing on one product class is the right formula,” one broker said. DUAL also demonstrated its staying power with this year’s silver medal for cyber, marking four years in the runner-up position. One broker called DUAL’s cyber offering “a dynamic product of extreme importance – a reliable product and competitive premium with a very high service level”. The bronze medal for cyber went to Brooklyn for the fifth year in a row.
D&O is another volatile category where premiums have been pushed upwards, in this case by class actions. DUAL made it seven consecutive years of gold medals for D&O in 2021, dominating the category with more than 10 times as many votes as other underwriting agencies. The company won a total of six medals across 11 categories in this year’s Brokers on Underwriting Agencies survey, which “shows DUAL’s ability to underwrite different risks,” one broker pointed out. ProRisk took out the silver medal, returning to the podium for D&O for the first time since 2017. “ProRisk’s broker portal is very easy to use,” raved one broker. “Fantastic coverage, good range of options to select from, premium is very reasonable, and the underwriters I have dealt with are always warm, friendly and helpful.” London Australia Underwriting earned the bronze – its first medal in D&O since claiming silver in 2018.
“Emergence proves that being a niche underwriting agency and focusing on one product class is the right formula”
“Fantastic coverage, good range of options to select from, premium is very reasonable, and the underwriters I have dealt with are always warm, friendly and helpful”
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BROKERS ON UNDERWRITING AGENCIES MANAGEMENT LIABILITY
BROOKLYN UNDERWRITING
PRORISK
“Extremely easy system, good wording, pleasant to deal with, efficient and professional with claims handling”
DUAL AUSTRALIA
The exposures that arise from running a business are plentiful, and that’s where management liability insurance comes in. Last year, DUAL dropped back to silver in this category after five years of consecutive golds, but this year, the company came back with a bang. DUAL received more votes from brokers
for its management liability product than any other underwriting agency in any category. “Extremely easy system, good wording, pleasant to deal with, efficient and professional with claims handling,” one broker said of DUAL. “Very good cover, excellent service, great staff,” said another.
Last year’s gold-medal winner, Brooklyn Underwriting, took out the silver this year, winning praise from brokers for having a “good product and a fair price”. The bronze for management liability went to ProRisk, which returned to the podium in this category for the first time since 2016.
NOT-FOR-PROFIT
DUAL AUSTRALIA
COMMUNITY UNDERWRITING AGENCY
The not-for-profit space can be a challenging one for any insurer because of the precision of terms and the broad range of coverage – so it’s hardly surprising that brokers tend to favour specialists in this space. Community Underwriting, which only insures not-forprofits, took out gold in this category for the
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ASR UNDERWRITING AGENCIES
“We provide cover for an abundance of the not-for-profit sector, and Community Underwriting has by far the most superior product available”
sixth consecutive year. Brokers appreciated the wide breadth of classes covered under Community Underwriting’s policy. “We provide cover for an abundance of the not-for-profit sector, and Community Underwriting has by far the most superior product available. In addition, all personnel
are an absolute delight to engage with,” said one broker. Another praised Community Underwriting’s “excellent industry knowledge”. Also making it six in a row in the not-forprofit category was DUAL, which took out silver. The bronze went to ASR, which has earned four bronze medals in this category since 2015.
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2016 2017 2018 2019 2020
We are humbled that brokers have now voted us the best underwriting agency to provide solutions to their Not for Profit clients for six consecutive years. Your ongoing support helps us make a real difference to the way that insurance is provided to NFP’s and has enabled us to donate more than $6m back into the sector.
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BROKERS ON UNDERWRITING AGENCIES PRODUCT LIABILITY
D
PROFESSIONAL INDEMNITY
T
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t HIGH STREET UNDERWRITING AGENCY
BROOKLYN UNDERWRITING
MIRAMAR UNDERWRITING AGENCY
BROOKLYN UNDERWRITING
DUAL AUSTRALIA
HIGH STREET UNDERWRITING AGENCY
Product liability is another demanding category – not only do underwriting agencies need to be aware of clients’ specific needs and exposures in this space, but they also need to stay on top of a complex regulatory environment. After falling to second place in 2020, Brooklyn Underwriting reclaimed the gold medal 2021. “Premiums are competitive, turnaround times are excellent, service is great, and the online portal is handy – can’t fault them,” said one enthusiastic broker. Trading places with Brooklyn on the podium was High Street Underwriting Agency, which fell from gold to silver in 2021, but still won plenty of praise from brokers. “I find High Street very accommodating, and they really understand the risk placed,” one said, while another commended High Street for its “extremely attentive underwriters who communicate consistently and effectively”. The bronze went to Miramar Underwriting Agency, which has earned three bronzes and two silvers in product liability since 2015.
In recent years, more and more Australians have been choosing to invest in professional indemnity coverage to protect their professional reputations – and brokers have come to rely on certain underwriting agencies to deliver the goods in PI. DUAL took out the gold medal in this category for the seventh year in a row; brokers cited good pricing and impressive coverage as the reasons for their votes. “Very competitive premiums and covers,” said one broker, while another said of DUAL: “They’re always trying to expand cover and also try to be flexible on underwriting.” After rising to second place in 2020, Brooklyn Underwriting made it two for two with another silver medal for professional indemnity in 2021. The company’s customer service was highlighted by one broker: “It has always been great dealing with them, as they have been diligent and responsive.” High Street also repeated its 2020 performance, taking out the bronze – its fifth medal in professional indemnity since 2015.
“Premiums are competitive, turnaround times are excellent, service is great, and the online portal is handy – can’t fault them”
“They’re always trying to expand cover and also try to be flexible on underwriting”
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DUAL would like to say Thank you to our key trading partners who have continued to support us through 2021
We make brokers’ lives easier with innovative solutions for traditionally complex insurances SYDNE Y | MELBOURNE | PERTH | BRISBANE Tel: 1300 769 772 www.dualaustralia.com.au DUAL Australia Pty Limited Part of the DUAL International Group Registered in Australia under ABN No. 16 107 553 257
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BROKERS ON UNDERWRITING AGENCIES PROPERTY
BROOKLYN UNDERWRITING
AXIS UNDERWRITING
Property insurance is a massive category, which means brokers are often looking for underwriting agencies with commensurably large capacity. After falling to silver in this category last year, Axis is back on top in 2021 – its fifth gold since the inception of IB’s Brokers on Underwriting Agencies survey. Brokers praised Axis for its “coverage and competitive rates”
HIGH STREET UNDERWRITING AGENCY
“The cover is very good and fully equipped with what the client needs for SME. The affordable premium also makes it more attractive”
and “awesome service and understanding [of ] clients’ needs”. Brooklyn took home its first medal in the property this year, winning silver and attracting broker praise for its customer service. “They went out of their way to help with the placement of an EPS risk,” said one broker. High Street now has back-to-back bronze
medals for property; brokers praised the agency for meeting the needs of their SME clients. “Very good coverage for their property café and small restaurant package,” said one broker, while another noted that “the cover is very good and fully equipped with what the client needs for SME. The affordable premium also makes it more attractive.”
PUBLIC LIABILITY “High Street have been extremely helpful in placing some more diverse risks” HIGH STREET UNDERWRITING AGENCY
BROOKLYN UNDERWRITING
Public liability cover is especially important for businesses that interact with the public, and Brooklyn and High Street have both marked themselves out as experts in this sector, trading the gold and silver medals for the past three years. This year, brokers awarded the gold to Brooklyn for the second year in a row.
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ASR UNDERWRITING AGENCIES
The silver medal is High Street’s seventh total medal for public liability – it also has five golds and another silver to its name. High Street garnered a lot of positive feedback in this category, winning praise from brokers for its speedy turnaround times and excellent customer service. “A great underwriting team
with broad knowledge,” said one broker, while another noted that “High Street have been extremely helpful in placing some more diverse risks”. ASR took out the bronze for public liability this year, marking its first appearance in the category since 2016.
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Stable, Consistent, Reliable.
That’s what we strive for. Thank you for continuing to choose Axis.
Melbourne Sydney Brisbane Residential Strata
T: (03) 8660 7000 T: (02) 9216 7200 T: (07) 3007 3600 T: (03) 8660 7077
E: info@axisunderwriting.com.au E: infonsw@axisunderwriting.com.au E: infobris@axisunderwriting.com.au E: resi@axisunderwriting.com.au
Melbourne | Sydney | Brisbane | www.axisunderwriting.com.au
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BROKERS ON UNDERWRITING AGENCIES STRATA COVER “CHU actually make an effort to underwrite policies rather than having a ‘computer says no’ attitude” STRATA COMMUNITY INSURANCE
CHU UNDERWRITING AGENCIES
STRATA UNIT UNDERWRITERS
As with many other categories, the winners for strata cover have remained consistent throughout the duration of IB’s Brokers on Underwriting Agencies survey, reflecting the importance of specialist expertise in this segment. Strata Unit Underwriters took home the gold for the second year in a row; the words “flexibility” and “best service” popped up frequently
in brokers’ comments about the agency. One broker described Strata Unit Underwriters as “proactive and willing to work with me … upfront with [their] decision”, while another praised the agency for being “flexible in their approach”. The silver and bronze medallists flip-flopped from 2020: Strata Community Insurance took out the silver this year, while CHU earned
bronze – and plenty of praise from brokers. One broker noted that CHU is “the go-to market for commercial strata for Insurance Advisernet. Good product, consistent appetite, and claims service is excellent.” Another broker was pleased that “CHU actually make an effort to underwrite policies rather than having a ‘computer says no’ attitude”.
BROKERS ON TURNAROUND TIMES “Some have slipped due to lockdowns and working from home – generally better than the mainstream insurers, though”
Have turnaround times improved or worsened over the past year? Improved significantly
“The majority of underwriters are now so hard to get hold of that you have to work even further out and manage client expectations even more”
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No difference
Worsened
Worsened significantly
9% 4%
“Underwriters seem too swamped – even if a slip is sent early, it does not get looked at until the last minute” “I think some underwriters have used COVID as a smokescreen not to improve turnaround times”
Improved
22% 6% 6% 33%
2021
26%
24% 32%
2020
36%
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PEACE OF MIND & STABILITY FOR OVER 2 DECADES Insurance Business Magazine's Strata Cover Gold medal two years running
1300 668 066 | info@suu.com.au | www.suu.com.au
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BROKERS ON UNDERWRITING AGENCIES
BROKERS’ PICK In addition to voting for the top underwriting agencies across 11 product lines, brokers were also asked to name the best insurance product provided by an agency. Here are the Brokers’ Pick award recipients for 2021 Emergence Insurance Group Cyber In addition to a fourth gold medal in the cyber & information technology category, Emergence landed among the Brokers’ Picks for the sixth year. Brokers’ comments suggested that Emergence is a well-deserving victor on the basis of service, product and cost. “The product is comprehensive, easy to understand and to convey to clients, as well as extremely cost-effective,” said one broker. Another noted that Emergence is “constantly listening to the market and adapting their product accordingly. It is a tailored product, and the service levels and pricing are good. They react to claims quickly. They provide very good education sessions on the product, including claims examples.”
High Street Underwriting Agency Public Liability High Street narrowly lost out to gold-winning Brooklyn Underwriting in the public liability category, but when it comes to the product itself, High Street clinched the Brokers’ Pick. In addition to its willingness to provide cover for niche industries, brokers were also impressed by High Street’s service. “The team at HSUA are supportive and understanding and look to solutions, not problems,” one broker said. Another praised High Street’s “excellent personal service, friendly team, quick turnarounds, great response to hard-to-place risks and reasonable rates”.
AFA Insurance Personal Accident & Illness It might have been the runner-up in the accident & health category, but AFA’s Personal Accident & Illness product clearly has a high number of fans. “This is a wonderful product for individuals who are new in business and don’t have a financial record if they have a claim in the first couple years in business,” one broker said. Another added: “Their agreed value cover is brilliant, and none of the other insurers can compare with this policy benefit. Their service is always amazing – they respond immediately. Their system is simple and quick to use. Overall, fantastic.”
CHU Underwriting Agencies Residential Strata CHU’s residential strata plan has appeared among the Brokers’ Picks in every Brokers on Underwriting Agencies survey since 2015. Why? One broker praised CHU’s comprehensive cover and extra benefits: “Coverage is the most extensive in the market. PDS is well set out and easy for clients to understand.” Others were fans of CHU’s quick response and turnaround times, praising the company for its “response times, turnaround, exceptional claims handling and overall efficient service”.
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STRATA INSURANCE SPECIALIST
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FEATURES
SECTOR FOCUS: MOTOR CLAIMS
Fixing the motor claims process Outdated systems and processes are holding insurers back from offering a first-rate motor claims experience in line with consumers’ expectations, say Steve Chapman and Daniel Lukich of loss assessor AAMC. They tell IB what can be done to improve the process
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IT’S AN exciting time to be in insurance. Everything is evolving at speed – not least technology and consumer expectations. Customers are seeking from insurers the type of seamless, user-friendly experience they get from their day-to-day digital interactions. In motor claims, however, positive change is chugging along in a lower gear – and through no fault of claims handlers, who do “a mighty job in often trying circumstances,” according to Steve Chapman, managing director, and Daniel Lukich, sales and strategic relationships manager at Australian Accident Management Commercial (AAMC). The company has great depth of knowledge in the motor claims sector, having spent 19 years providing end-to-end accident management, specialist assessing and bespoke repair management solutions to top insurers across Australia. “We really appreciate the environment that claims handlers work in, especially with COVID, catastrophes that are unplanned for and technology that isn’t nimble,” Chapman says. “We are here to support that. We want to share our expertise so our clients can better understand the nuances around fixing the vehicles they insure.” That expertise is extensive. Along with highly experienced passenger and light vehicle assessors, AAMC has the specialist skills and capability to manage heavy motor, machinery, agricultural and plant, motorcycle, and caravan assessments. Its repair management stream looks after the whole life cycle of the repair, from first notification of loss all the way through to the repatriation of the vehicle. “Specialising in the automotive repair space came as a no-brainer to us with respect to the future, especially with the advent of EVs and the continued development of sophisticated ADAS systems and telematics,” Chapman says. However, for all stakeholders – insurers, customers and brokers – to better benefit
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from that expertise, Chapman and Lukich believe a shift is needed, especially for broker-initiated claims. Lukich explains that it’s not uncommon for more than 10 days to elapse from the date of loss to specialists like AAMC being appointed by the insurer to manage the repair. Instead, it would be relatively simple to identify the types of claims where AAMC is engaged and embed the specialist in the claims process much earlier on, which would vastly enhance the experience for all concerned. This is already common practice in other sectors, Lukich points out; in property insurance, for example, insurers empower brokers to appoint loss adjusters to manage the whole job from the outset. “From the first notification of loss, they are on-site, organising the trades, writing
claims are lodged and processed is still firmly stuck in the past.” A lot happens during that 10-day delay, Chapman adds: cost overrun, lack of control for both broker and customer, and an expansion of the life of the claim. “The insurer can’t begin to recover from the at-fault party because they are waiting for the costs to come in and the vehicle to be assessed,” he says. “It all adds up to a very inefficient, multi-touch process. When you require an experienced claims handler answering emails and phone calls multiple times through a claim, that’s a significant and unproductive cost the insurers carry. “Ask any consumer who has had a motor claim on a personal lines policy recently, and the ones who have had a really great experience are the ones where the insurer has a
“The motor insurance sector is moving ahead rapidly … but how claims are lodged and processed is still firmly stuck in the past” Daniel Lukich, AAMC a report, coordinating the whole thing; they are seen as the subject-matter expert,” Lukich says. “Yet in motor, insurers tend to wait until the customer has obtained and submitted an estimate before they review and allocate, at which point, we get pushback from customers when we call and say, ‘Hi, we’ve been appointed to assess your claim’, and they say, ‘That’s great, but I lodged this claim 10 days ago!’ “The motor insurance sector is moving ahead rapidly – from buying insurance and updating policies online, new vehicle manufacturing and repair technologies, and of course, today’s consumer’s expectations to be able to choose how they interact with their brokers and insurers. But how
strategic partnership approach with their repair and assessing suppliers to ensure all participants know the process and their role. If you fall outside of that, it’s purely luck of the draw. There is nothing sophisticated or structured around the customer experience for broker-initiated commercial claims at this point in time.”
From analogue to digital A linear, one-touchpoint-at-a-time process can be eliminated by introducing relatively inexpensive digital capability, Lukich says. In the UK, for instance, if you break a window in your home, digital claim lodgement technology allows you to notify your insurer, and their preferred glazier is immediately noti-
END-TO-END REPAIR MANAGEMENT AAMC has launched an end-to-end repair management service that takes out cost and complexity for brokers and insurers. This can be critical for small to medium-sized underwriters that, with their relatively small market share, are unable to meaningfully influence significant repair and claims cost containment outcomes. AAMC’s repair management service incorporates its nationwide loss assessing capability and provides all of the key service elements required to deliver a cohesive, customer-centric repair solution for light motor, specialist and heavy commercial vehicles. 24/7 first notification of loss (FNOL) Digital interface for FNOL and customer communications Client portals, call centre and proactive digital repair progress updates Not-at-fault TP intervention National network of partnered repairers – including paintless dent technicians, rapid repair centres, and mechanical and suspension specialists – for passenger vehicles, light and heavy commercial vehicles, and prestige and specialist vehicles Total loss management Rental car provision and administration Post-repair inspections and quality audits Customer satisfaction surveys Detailed management information and reporting
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SECTOR FOCUS: MOTOR CLAIMS
fied and dispatched to help you, keeping you updated through your digital device. So why not adopt this multifaceted approach for motor claims? At lodgement, via a broker, they could get the ball rolling on the claim and the repair at the same time, achieving timeliness for customers. “A broker’s customer needs that vehicle back on road, especially if it’s a business vehicle,” Chapman says. “Having the ability to immediately match an appropriate repairer with a vehicle’s technical and damage requirements, you not only save time but also have better control of what is going to be a quality outcome. That is where we see the opportunity with respect to the broker world.” Lukich says it’s not about angling for more work from insurers, but formalising something that already happens and embedding rules in the process to remove uncertainty. “We have discussed this with insurer clients who see the logic of saying, ‘Let’s identify the type of claim that we are happy to go to AAMC.’ If it’s a Toyota Corolla with minor damage from a supermarket car park, that won’t come to us. But if it’s a truck that’s rolled over in a regional location, 98% of the time, we will be appointed by the insurer. So rather than go through all those decision points, why not have an auto-triage capability that allows the broker to appoint us directly from first notification of loss? “This could easily be via rules within an insurer’s online lodgement capability so that we have early visibility of the claim. It’s as simple as that. It’s identifying the nature of the claim that we specialise in, removing that question mark over who and when it’s going to be done. The broker could be delegated authority to create that capability.” Because AAMC is digitally agnostic, it can operate within the insurer’s claims ecosystem. However, if it’s a small or niche insurer that doesn’t have the digital capacity, AAMC can provide it with a customer interface as part of its package as the
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KEEPING UP WITH COMPLIANCE Over the past two years, AAMC has been investing significant time and effort to develop and implement frameworks, policies and procedures in line with regulatory requirements to meet its obligations as a specialist provider, as well as those of its insurer clients. AAMC has adopted the benchmark Three Lines of Defence model to ensure adherence and continuous improvement across the entire organisation.
“Having the ability to immediately match an appropriate repairer with a vehicle’s technical and repair requirements, you not only save time but also have better control of what is going to be a quality outcome” Steve Chapman, AAMC service provider. “We are nimble and open to innovation and looking at the changing needs of the environment,” Chapman says. “Investing in digital technology means we can aid the efficiency, transparency and ultimate cost control of the claim.”
Improving the broker experience Aside from this automated delegation of repair management to a specialist where necessary, Chapman says there is more AAMC can do to support the broker – and ultimately the client. The company is planning a series of webinars on subjects like modern heavy haulage damage repair, the cost of having a commercial vehicle off road, what’s involved in repairing modern trailers for prime movers, and more topics related to the growing complexity of today’s vehicles and the increasing sophistication of the assessor’s role. “I see brokers and insurers getting a
lot out of that,” Chapman says. “We have invested heavily in our technical resources. We facilitate ongoing training and development to keep our teams up to a certain standard; we are always auditing and testing their knowledge. I believe it’s also important for our customers and stakeholders to have insights into what is becoming a very complex process. As we educate ourselves more and more on this sector, we need to impart that knowledge to our insurer clients – and the broker is a big part of that.” “Ask a broker to state the difference between their business and their competition, and they will easily identify all their expertise, value-adds and benefits,” Lukich adds – and it’s the same with motor body repairers, not all of whom are created equal in terms of skill set. “If we can educate brokers around the nuances of fixing the vehicles they insure, and if they know what happens next when they partner with us, ultimately it will be a better outcome for the customer.”
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SECTOR FOCUS: TRANSPORT
Stronger together From driver shortages and COVID-19 disruptions to more perilous driving conditions, there’s no shortage of challenges facing the transport industry. NTI’s Nick Dendrinos and Staci Clark tell IB how the insurer is partnering with brokers and customers to build a safer, more sustainable road ahead 44
TALK TO Nick Dendrinos, head of motor at NTI, about safety technology in the transport industry, and the conversation quickly shifts from talk of telematics and cutting-edge solutions to something far more human. He tells of a 28-year-old working for a large transport company, who went from driving single trailer trucks on short trips to being at the wheel of a B-double on a long-haul route – not an easy change to adapt to. “One day he had a little micro sleep, and the Seeing Machines technology, which detects driver fatigue, shook his seat and woke him up,” Dendrinos says. “He told his mum about it that night, and she rang the operator of this big company and said, ‘Thank you for saving my son’s life.’” For Dendrinos and Staci Clark, NTI’s head of sustainability, a transport insurer’s role is
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increasingly to support companies to do just that – keep drivers safe and be the best they can in every sense. It goes way beyond insurance; it’s about shared value. “Our customers are looking for someone who understands their industry in detail and is supporting them,” Clark says. “We utilize our expertise to help them not just with insurance.” Since the COVID-19 pandemic began, that supporting role has been especially important. “Being able to adapt your insurance offering, being there for the customer, being easy to deal with – that has been critical,” Dendrinos says. “Especially at the start, it was important to respond quickly and offer things like laid-up cover so customers could get a reduced level of coverage if necessary.” Also critical was having the technology to enable easy access to products and services. “Initially, a lot of customers were unsure of what was happening with their businesses,” Dendrinos says. “They wanted to see where they could save money, so that was key.” COVID-19 also opened the public’s eyes to the critical role of the transport industry
the increased need for driver safety monitoring systems, telematics, advanced driver assistance systems and the like. While saving lives is the top priority, safety tech is also crucial for profitability, Dendrinos says. “It isn’t just the bent fenders or the scrapes; it’s the complete end-to-end downtime impact of the accident – that has a huge impact,” he says. “You have reputational issues, too. Big consigners like Woolworths or Ikea are looking for transport operators, as part of the chain of responsibility, to have the best, most safety-capable trucks to protect drivers and ensure the safe transportation of goods.”
Making safety everyone’s business Increasingly, insurers are not only advocating for safety technology but rewarding their customers’ investment. NTI is offering relief on driver restrictions and reduced excesses – including for inexperienced drivers – for companies that invest in fatigue management safety devices. This supporting role is part of the great shift taking place in insurance, from being merely a transaction that protects the insured’s
“These are 24/7 businesses, so we have to be 24/7 in response to helping them be great” Staci Clark, NTI in keeping the economy’s engine revving – ensuring Australians are fed, clothed and furnished with essential goods. “There has been huge growth in transport and logistics during COVID because of the increased demand for consumables and wholesale goods and the massive increase in online shopping,” Dendrinos says. “But it is still one of the most dangerous industries to work in. Our purpose is for a safer and more sustainable industry.” Again, the pandemic has given this purpose greater urgency. A 30% increase in vehicles on Australian roads, combined with an influx of new truck drivers – many displaced from other areas of the economy – has highlighted
assets to creating shared value between the insurer, intermediary and end customer, Clark says. NTI has deepened this partnership of late with two initiatives. First, for its Business of Safety campaign, NTI received funding from the Heavy Vehicle Safety Initiative to develop tools and resources to help everyone in the industry – from drivers to managers – across three topics: leadership, fatigue and technology. “A large portion of the industry uses fatigue monitoring systems, even prior to COVID, because they care about their people,” Clark says. “But safety systems can pose a challenge when understanding the ‘so whats’ of the data. You can have a high level of business
SAFETY IN NUMBERS In 2020, 54.5% of all largeloss crashes were caused by inappropriate speed and driver error; 15.4% were attributed to inattention/distraction Seeing Machines driver monitoring systems picked up 8m distraction events in the last 12 months Drivers who don’t wear seatbelts are 8 times more likely to die in a crash Drivers are 18% more likely to be involved in a multi-vehicle crash if they need to brake suddenly and don’t have an operational antilock braking system Drivers are 35% less likely to crash if they have electronic stability control and trailer stability control systems in place Source: Truck Driver Safety Checklist, NTI
maturity where you understand all the data – and there’s a lot of it – coming in, or you have made the investment but don’t know what to do next. We have supported customers through specialist data reporting to simplify the analytics so they could understand where they needed to focus their efforts.” The Business of Safety campaign is now housed within NTI’s more recent initiative, the Better Business Hub – a home for resources and support to help businesses see demonstrable value straight away. The hub provides content that can be consumed anytime, anywhere, on any device. “It’s 24/7 access to the materials and tools that make it easier to run your business,” Clark says. “These are 24/7 businesses, so we have to be 24/7 in response to helping them be great. The hub is designed to help address non-insurance components of the business, such as cutting red tape, profitable business and managing teams. These are some of the front-line issues transport needs to deal with daily.”
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SECTOR FOCUS: TRANSPORT Ensuring best practice is especially important at a time of acute driver shortage, the recent influx notwithstanding. “Drivers are looking for the best employers – a place with a great culture and where you are respected and rewarded,” Clark says. “The investments the industry is making in their people and technology continue to drive an improved safety culture.” To accommodate different styles of learning, the content in the Better Business Hub is delivered in a range of formats. “Podcasts may resonate with drivers; downloadable e-books may resonate with fleet owners,” Clark says. “What I love is that it’s industry experts talking to industry. There are a lot of amazing industry leaders on the hub talking about their experience with technology selection and implemen-
tation, or how to develop great leaders, for example. We also share our internal expertise in both insurance and non-insurance products and services, such as Traction, our program designed to problem-solve safety culture and make a leader out of everyone to build stronger businesses with safer, happier people. We want the industry to engage and access specialist support that is targeted to their needs.”
The broker as partner The Better Business Hub is proving to be a great resource for brokers, too, helping them have richer conversations with customers. This is especially welcome when it comes to transport companies that have gone from, say, five or 10 trucks to 20 due to COVIDrelated demand.
“Everything is a lot more focused, both on having the right product and helping people understand, identify, and mitigate their risk” Nick Dendrinos, NTI TWO BIG MYTHS ABOUT FATIGUE CRASHES
Myth
Driver experience makes you safer from fatigue accidents.
Fact
The average length of driver experience in the licensed category of the vehicle they were driving at the time of the crash is 14.5 years.
Myth
As drivers get older, they need less sleep.
Fact
The average age of drivers involved in fatigue crashes is 46.
Source: On the Road podcast, episode 44, NTI
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“Many of those businesses are struggling to deal with that growth, and the broker is often the person they talk to about a range of things, not just insurance,” Dendrinos says. “The Better Business Hub has given brokers a lot of good information to help them demonstrate more value to the customer.” The hub’s sharing of expertise sits comfortably within a changing insurance environment where brokers are increasingly drawn to specialisation. “I have seen a massive shift in this regard because there is more complexity in what the broker’s customer requires,” Dendrinos says. “This has driven the rise of underwriting agencies with specialist capability and companies like NTI who specialise in end-to-end transport across logistics, mobile plant and marine, etc. There’s a flight to quality and specialized expertise more than ever before.” But no matter how specialised you are, insurance is constantly evolving, and there is always more to learn, say Clark and Dendrinos. “Everything is a lot more focused, both on having the right product and helping people understand, identify, and mitigate their risk,” Dendrinos says. “Technology is another important element – having insurtech products that make it easier for the customer to transact with us and enhancing that with other non-insurance products and services. That is where you have to be.” While NTI has made great strides in these areas, it’s not resting on its laurels. “All insurers need to think a lot more innovatively around the traditional insurance product,” Dendrinos says. “We need to get more safety data and understand what it is doing, incorporate it into our rating algorithms. That’s something we are passionate about. “There are models overseas that do insurance by the kilometre, insurance as you drive, incentivising a different approach to encourage safety and bring truck drivers into the industry. Not many young people want to be behind the wheel of a long-haul truck these days. If they are, they need to be sure they are in the safest truck possible and that people are looking after their interests and safety.”
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#1 in claims management Our Premium Repairers get trucks back on the road 9 days faster.
#1 Wording in Market #1 Fleet on Sunrise
partner.nti.com.au Insurance products are provided by National Transport Insurance, a joint venture of the insurers Insurance Australia Limited trading as CGU Insurance ABN 11 000 016 722 AFSL 227681 and AAI Limited trading as Vero Insurance ABN 48 005 297 807 AFSL 230859 each holding a 50% share. National Transport Insurance is administered on behalf of the insurers by its manager NTI Limited ABN 84 000 746 109 AFSL 237246. Our Premium Repairers get trucks back on the road 9 days faster based on Independent Audit conducted in 2020.
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FEATURES
SECTOR FOCUS: MARINE INSURANCE
Innovation making waves It’s been a tough time for the shipping industry, but technology has helped it weather the storm. Matthew O’Sullivan of Zurich Australia and New Zealand talks about the role of data in keeping goods moving – and building a more sustainable trading environment GLOBAL CONTAINER shortages, extended lockdowns, a logjam of vessels waiting to enter ports – without a doubt, COVID-19 has thrown a massive spanner into the works of international trade. Yet while global shipping has been majorly impacted, the marine insurance industry has played a positive and influential role in getting it moving again. And there’s plenty of reason for optimism about the industry’s future, says Matthew O’Sullivan, head of motor and marine at Zurich Australia and New Zealand. This optimism centres around technology and innovation, which are evolving swiftly to address the issues that have been highlighted by the pandemic. “These are the driving forces behind the way we are conducting our business,” O’Sullivan says. “The future is here. In fact, it arrived a few years ago, and the pandemic has just made us as an industry sit up and take notice. Never before has trade and marine insurance been on the front page of the news … this is a great demonstration of the importance we play in the overall picture. It is a really exciting time to be part of the marine insurance industry.” Innovation in the shipping industry includes online placements, digital surveys and the use of macro data in the assessment of cargo risks – all of which enable insurers to offer more tailored and more innovative solu-
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tions to customers. “A number of companies in the market are now solely focused on providing data to the marine insurance market,” O’Sullivan explains, “and the resultant increase in efficiency in the underwriting and claims process is not only dramatically improving the end
customer’s experience, but is facilitating a far more efficient movement of trade.”
Responding in real time A 2020 supply chain survey by EY found that greater supply chain visibility, efficiency and resilience were top of mind for enterprises,
THE RISE IN GLOBAL MARITIME TRADE TOTAL TONS LOADED PER YEAR 12bn
10bn
8bn
6bn
4bn
2bn
0
2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 Source: Statista, 2021
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and O’Sullivan says this is where data – especially real-time data – and digitalisation are key. “The reliability of an enterprise’s supply chain is key, and businesses are prepared to pay more for this, as the lower-cost options that may have existed in the past have proved unreliable,” he says. “I am currently a member of the International Union of Marine Insurance [IUMI] Big Data and Digitalisation Forum, and at the recent annual conference, we focused on the way in which the insurance industry is driving the move to greater use of real-time data in the supply chain. We need to continue to drive this innovation through the industry.” Arguably the world’s most precious cargo right now is COVID-19 vaccines – primarily to save lives, but also to enable the opening of borders and easing of restrictions, and there-
“Global trade is the lifeblood of the world’s economy, and the use of data has led to a vast improvement in all aspects of shipping” Matthew O’Sullivan, Zurich Australia and New Zealand fore breathe new life into the global economy. The logistics involved in shipping vast quantities of the vaccine are daunting. Added to the risk of theft and cyberattacks is the need for the vaccines to be kept at very low temperatures. However, technology has been able to address the challenges of temperature consistency, storage, air shipments and more, O’Sullivan says. “The rollout of vaccines has highlighted the degree of sophistication that already
exists in the transportation of sensitive cargo,” he says. “Once again, data is key. For example, temperature sensors are now driving further efficiencies across the industry as logistics companies are able to monitor real-time data about their cargo.” Here, too, insurers have played an important supporting role. Last December, Lloyd’s of London unveiled a development financebacked program to insure the distribution of the vaccine in emerging economies. And
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SECTOR FOCUS: MARINE INSURANCE
SAILING INTO A SUSTAINABLE FUTURE
Between 2012 and 2018, the shipping industry’s total greenhouse gas emissions increased by 9.6%
Shipping industry emissions account for 2.89% of total global anthropogenic emissions
The International Maritime Organisation’s initial greenhouse gas strategy calls for a reduction in emissions of at least 50% by 2050 compared to 2008
“The rollout of vaccines has highlighted the degree of sophistication that already exists in the transportation of sensitive cargo” Matthew O’Sullivan, Zurich Australia and New Zealand logistics efforts in many countries around the globe”.
Data-driven sustainability The IMO is also aiming to reduce the carbon intensity of international shipping by at least 40% by 2030 relative to 2008 Source: Fourth Greenhouse Gas Study 2020, International Maritime Organisation
earlier this year, Aon collaborated with insurtech Parsyl to deliver a solution that combines sensor data and analytics with transparent cargo insurance coverage for COVID vaccines. This enabled insurers to cover loss of vaccines due to being transported or stored outside of agreed-on temperatures, allowing for effective risk management and claims support. Zurich, too, continues to play an integral role in the distribution of the vaccines, O’Sullivan says, “whether through our global relationship with pharmaceutical companies or supporting the local distribution and
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The pandemic hasn’t been the only major disruptor of marine transport. The increased incidence and gravity of extreme weather events means more frequent – and costly – routing changes, damage to port facilities and an overall rise in operating costs. Unsurprisingly, this has thrown the spotlight on the urgency of developing sustainable solutions in both the marine insurance and marine transport industries. Once again, it’s technology to the rescue. “Global trade is the lifeblood of the world’s economy, and the use of data has led to a vast improvement in all aspects of shipping,” O’Sullivan says. “Data allows shipping companies to operate their ships in a far more fuel-efficient manner through better loading and distribution of cargo on vessels, quickly adjust trade routes to avoid heavy seas or weather that affects fuel efficiencies, and develop and construct vessels that are
now more fuel-efficient than ever. “This has not only created improved conditions for the transit of goods, but equally resulted in a decreasing impact on the environment. In addition to this, the shipping industry is embracing new and more sustainable fuel sources, like hydrogen, and at the same time reducing the more climatedamaging fuel components like sulphur.” Forums such as the International Mari time Organisation (IMO) and IUMI are in constant consultation with the industry to ensure there is a collective effort to ensure a more sustainable trade of goods. “The theme of the recent IUMI Annual Conference was ‘Pathways to a Sustainable, Resilient and Innovative Future’,” O’Sullivan says. “We as an industry presented, discussed and debated ways we can contribute to improvements in sustainability across the whole maritime industry. I feel there is a really bright future for a more sustainable trade environment and am proud that the insurance industry will play its part in securing this.”
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Safe transit with the masters in marine. Zurich’s expert marine team has over 300 years of combined experience across marine liability, logistics and cargo insurance. For tailored marine insurance solutions no matter how complex, talk to the experts at Zurich.
Call your Zurich representative today.
Zurich Insurance. For businesses great and small. This information is general advice only and does not take into account your objectives, financial situations or needs. You should obtain and consider the relevant Product Disclosure Statement and Policy Wording (as applicable) from zurich.com.au before making a decision. A Target Market Determination is available at zurich.com.au/GI-TMDs. The issuer of general insurance products is Zurich Australian Insurance Limited (ZAIL), ABN 13 000 296 640, AFS Licence Number 232507 of 118 Mount Street, North Sydney NSW 2060. ZU23774 V2 10/21 - LEWG-017741-2021
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opportunities bids
acquisitions claims Before & after
challenges insights catastrophes big decisions learnings Welcome to QBE, where insurance isn’t just a one-off commercial transaction, it’s a dependable relationship that guides and protects us through life. It’s why businesses across Australia rely on our experience to cover what matters, before & after and every moment in between. Find out more at qbe.com/au/brokers
Insurance issued by QBE Insurance (Australia) Ltd. ABN 78 003 191 035, AFSL 239545. Subject to underwriting approval. Terms and conditions apply (including exclusions and limitations).
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Top
SPECIAL REPORT
INSURANCE EMPLOYERS
Insurance Business recognises the insurance firms that are driving change, inclusivity and wellbeing for the benefit of their employees
CONTENTS
PAGE
Feature article ..............................................
54
Methodology ................................................
55
Top Insurance Employers 2021 ..................
57
Profiles...........................................................
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SPECIAL REPORT BUSINESS STRATEGY
TOP INSURANCE EMPLOYERS
SUPPORT DURING TOUGH TIMES THE PAST 18 months have been a time like no other for employers across the globe. Work-life balance, health and wellbeing, and remote working have been catapulted to the top of the management agenda for insurance companies. Coupled with the changing expectations of a newer workforce, this has forced companies across the insurance and financial services spectrum to reconsider the qualities that constitute
“A key characteristic of the Action Insurance Brokers business is its positive and supportive culture. Team members describe being part of the ‘Action family’ with pride” Amanda Bush, Action Insurance Brokers
a great workplace. While some issues, like diversity and inclusion, training, and career progression, have been topics of discussion in the Australian insurance sector for a long time, other concerns, such as flexible working, out-of-work responsibilities, and physical and mental wellbeing, have attracted more attention during the pandemic. Employers have had to focus their efforts on how to maintain a happy and healthy workforce in a setting where work and home life can so easily blend. The inaugural Insurance Business Top Insurance Employers list celebrates the companies that have shown their commitment to their employees through their stellar values, benefits and culture.
THE TOP-RATED EMPLOYERS My co-workers and I have a good working relationship Action Insurance Brokers 4.84 Shielded Insurance Brokers 4.82 Arch Underwriting at Lloyd’s (Australia) 4.81
My organisation is dedicated to my professional development High Street Agency 4.91 LBAUnderwriting Ware (4.84) Shielded Insurance Brokers 4.89 Arch Underwriting at Lloyd’s (Australia) 4.76
My management/supervisor is helpful with my career development High Street Underwriting Atlantic Home MortgageAgency 4.82 Shielded Insurance (4.90) Brokers 4.78 Arch Underwriting at Lloyd’s (Australia) 4.76
I am satisfied with the culture of my workplace Arch Underwriting at Lloyd’s (Australia) 4.90 Sales Boomerang Steadfast Life 4.76 (4.90) Shielded Insurance Brokers 4.73
Communication between senior leaders and employees is good in my organisation GT Insurance 4.85 High Street Underwriting Agency 4.80 Action Insurance Brokers 4.74 1 Poor
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2
3 Average
4
5 Excellent
Rethinking the workplace According to IB’s survey, one of the main issues to arise from remote working during the pandemic has been work-life balance. As parents juggle homeschooling, increased domestic responsibilities and work, companies have been more conscious than ever of
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enabling their employees to maintain a clear distinction between their home and working lives. This has brought a slew of new benefits as organisations encourage their employees to take time out for the things that truly matter to them. Many of IB’s Top Insurance Employers offer a range of flexible work options to help their employees balance their work and personal commitments, including part-time hours, flexible start and finish times, remote work, job sharing, and a flexible return from parental leave. GT Insurance, for example, flexes the workday to suit its employees’ lifestyles. “Employees can start and finish work to fit in with dropping off and picking up children from school,” says Tony Dodd, CEO of GT Insurance. “Employees can also work reduced days to fit in with their personal life/circumstances.” Fellow Top Insurance Employer Bruce Insurance also offers flexible working hours for working parents, as well as flexible start
offer health and mental wellness benefits for their employees, including mental health training and wellness days. At GT Insurance, “managers and team leaders received training on how to look out for signs of distress or unhealthy working behaviours from staff,” Dodd says, and managers also held daily wellbeing-focused meetings for their teams. Top Insurance Employers with larger workforces developed resources during the pandemic to support the move to remote work and provide their employees with tools to deal with isolation. Some also offered wellbeing coaching, financial coaching, dietary support, legal advice, confidential counselling, flu shots, private health insurance, employee assistance programs, and even mental health training and accreditation for employees. The rise of remote work also forced employers to re-examine their communication strategies and digital tools. Many of the Top Insurance Employers responded to
METHODOLOGY To find and recognise the best employers in the insurance industry, Insurance Business invited organisations across Australia to participate by filling out an employer form outlining their various offerings and practices. Next, employees from nominated companies were asked to fill out an anonymous form evaluating their workplace on a scale from 1 (poor) to 5 (excellent) on various metrics, including benefits, compensation, culture, employee development, and commitment to diversity and inclusion. To be considered for the final list, each organisation had to reach a minimum number of employee responses based on overall size. Organisations that achieved an 80% or greater average satisfaction rating from employees were named a Top Insurance Employer for 2021.
“The focus of Bruce Insurance has always been quality service. To do this, we need to attract the right employees”
94%
Murray Bruce, Bruce Insurance
88%
and finish times for staff who have longer commutes. Other employers upped the ante on flexibility in light of the pandemic – QBE, for instance, added 10 days of COVID-19 special leave as an interim inclusion to its leave policy to support individuals who had exhausted their leave due to COVID-19related situations. Employee health and wellness was also a key theme throughout the survey, as the pandemic highlighted the important role employers play in supporting the mental and physical health of their employees. The majority of IB’s Top Insurance Employers
lockdowns by establishing hybrid working practices without comprise to service or collaboration. Through online platforms, many employers were able to maintain communication and engagement and coordinate virtual activities for their teams – and even, in the case of Action Insurance Brokers, a virtual lunchroom. While all of this year’s Top Insurance Employers have invested heavily in digital tools to communicate effectively with remote staff, many organisations noted that one-onone time with managers and opportunities to voice concerns are also important.
of employees are satisfied with the culture of their workplace
of employees are satisfied with their overall compensation
69% of employees are happy with their company’s healthcare benefits
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SPECIAL REPORT BUSINESS STRATEGY
TOP INSURANCE EMPLOYERS
TOP 10 THINGS EMPLOYEES ARE LOOKING FOR IN AN EMPLOYER
1
Bonus/incentive programs
6
Family-friendly benefits (parental leave, childcare benefits, etc.)
2
Flexible work options
7
Company support for community/charitable organisations
3
Employee recognition programs
8
Corporate/employee wellness programs
4
Employee teambuilding
9
Time off to support community service activities/volunteering
5
Performance reviews
10
Company involvement in ‘green’ or sustainable business programs
“With everyone’s dedication to fulfilling our company values, we have made GT an employer of choice” Tony Dodd, GT Insurance Culture and D&I In addition to the issues raised by the COVID-19 pandemic, diversity and inclusion strategies continue to be a core part of the Top Insurance Employers’ focus. Most of the 2021 winners highlighted strong male-tofemale ratios across both general and leadership roles, and all companies affirmed their dedication to hiring from all backgrounds and walks of life. Diversity initiatives such as standing committees, ally networks and employee resource groups were common across the Top Insurance Employers, and several also celebrated Pride Week, International Women’s Day and Harmony Day in their workplaces 56
with events and newsletters. Diversity and inclusion is just one element of creating a supportive culture – something all of this year’s Top Insurance Employers take to heart. “What started out as small family business in the 1980s has become a successful and thriving medium/large privately owned brokerage that looks on its staff as family,” says Murray Bruce, managing director at Bruce Insurance. “The focus of Bruce Insurance has always been quality service. To do this, we need to attract the right employees.” Amanda Bush, group operations manager at Action Insurance Brokers, says that “a key characteristic of the Action Insurance
Brokers business is its positive and supportive culture. Team members describe being part of the ‘Action family’ with pride.”
Developing and rewarding employees Over the past 12 months, the Top Insurance Employers have invested heavily in learning and development to help their employees acquire the skills they needed to survive and thrive during the pandemic. Among the comprehensive learning and development programs offered by this year’s winners are virtual leadership programs, underwriting and claims universities, early careers academies, mentoring circles and reverse mentoring, and self-directed training. Action Insurance Brokers provides its staff with funded formal study pathways, as well as on-the-job peer coaching and access to external training programs. At GT Insurance, all new employees who join the company are provided with a range of online training modules to learn about the regulatory framework of the business. Recognising and rewarding employees’ success is also paramount for Australia’s Top Insurance Employers, who have invested heavily in fostering a culture where employees feel valued and appreciated. Employees surveyed by IB reported receiving benefits such as national excellence awards, bonus leave, travel incentives and cash vouchers. At GT Insurance, employees are rewarded for delivering customer experiences that exceed expectations. “With everyone’s dedication to fulfilling our company values, we have made GT an employer of choice,” Dodd says. Without a doubt, the definition of what makes a good workplace has shifted dramatically over the past 18 months, and long-shelved issues of flexible working and employee wellness have taken centre stage. However, this year’s Top Insurance Employers prove that the Australian insurance sector has risen to the challenge and is committed to fostering a strong, diverse, rewarding and supportive environment going forward.
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Top
INSURANCE EMPLOYERS
10 TO 25 EMPLOYEES Bruce Insurance
101 TO 500 EMPLOYEES
GT Insurance
Phone: 08 9382 5600 Email: enquiry@bruce.com.au Website: bruce.com.au
Phone: 02 9966 8820 Website: gtins.com.au
Ian Jones Insurance Brokers
AIG Australia
Steadfast Life
BizCover DUAL Australia
26 TO 100 EMPLOYEES 500+ EMPLOYEES Action Insurance Brokers Phone: 02 8935 1500 Email: info@actioninsurance.com.au Website: actioninsurance.com.au
EML
Arch Underwriting at Lloyd's (Australia)
Phone: 02 8251 9000 Email: info@eml.com.au Website: eml.com.au
High Street Underwriting Agency
Gallagher Australia
Holman Webb Lawyers
Phone: 02 9242 2000 Email: communications@ajg.com.au Website: ajg.com.au
McLardy McShane Insurance Brokers Shielded Insurance Brokers
QBE Insurance (Australia)
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SPECIAL REPORT BUSINESS STRATEGY
TOP INSURANCE EMPLOYERS
From left: Jon Stack, principal and MD; Glen Swift, group broking manager; Amanda Bush, group operations manager
ACTION INSURANCE BROKERS BRUCE INSURANCE Phone: 08 9382 5600 Email: enquiry@bruce.com.au Website: bruce.com.au
B
ruce Insurance has been in business for more than 30 years, starting as a small family operation in the 1980s and growing to a staff of 22 within the past 10 years. Bruce has always been focused on providing quality service. To do this, the Perth-based brokerage has worked hard to attract the right employees and create a positive and supportive company culture, guided by the core values of professionalism, teamwork, integrity and respect. The past two years have been difficult for the insurance broking sector, but thanks to the unwavering support of Bruce’s employees for both the business and each other, the brokerage has continued to thrive and provide quality service to its customers. Bruce offers ongoing training and education to all staff and prefers to promote from within, reflecting the quality of staff the brokerage attracts. Bruce recently implemented an employee share program to encourage staff to take more active participation and ownership of their roles and, at the same time, benefit from the growing business. Bruce also recently moved into a new, modern, bespoke-designed office with amazing staff facilities to better cater for the needs and comfort of its staff. Benefits offered to Bruce staff include flexible working hours for working parents, flexible start and finish times for staff who have longer commutes, in-house monthly massages, and regular social engagements.
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Phone: 02 8935 1500 Email: info@actioninsurance.com.au Website: actioninsurance.com.au
W
ith a strong reputation for professionalism and quality built over 28 years, Action Insurance Brokers has a positive, highly collaborative and supportive culture where genuine care permeates all relationships. Action offers its staff competitive remuneration, as well as a broad range of benefits, including recognition and rewards to celebrate exceptional performance, a candidate introduction program, wellbeing programs, and a host of travel and other discounts. Action also offers its staff career development through funded formal study pathways, on-thejob peer coaching, cross training and third-party training. When faced with challenges of COVID-19, Action demonstrated its technological agility, seamlessly connecting all team members to work remotely. Action continued to onboard new team members through its fully virtual engagement, induction, and training programs and systems. The company also helped staff overcome the absence of in-person connection through daily wellbeing-focused meetings, a team newsletter, and virtual events such as games, trivia nights and a virtual lunchroom. Action’s safety response to COVID-19, meanwhile, earned the brokerage a 2020 SafeWork NSW Award. Action recently forged a new leadership team structure, bringing together 10 of its senior leaders to drive the business and provide opportunity for continued leadership development. This team is self-driven, with collective decision-making and input and feedback from team members.
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From left: Cameron McCullagh, executive chairman; Geniere Aplin, CEO, EML Solutions (Personal Injury and Underwritten); Don Ferguson, CEO, EML Management
EML Phone: 02 8251 9000 Email: info@eml.com.au Website: eml.com.au
F
or EML, Australia’s largest provider of personal injury claims management, its spot among the 2021 Top Insurance Employers is the culmination of efforts to make its workplace employee-friendly. “A great workplace culture consistently looks at what they are doing and seeks to make incremental improvements over time – so effectively we are fine-tuning little things all the time,” says Cameron McCullagh, EML’s executive chairman. “It’s a great honour to be announced as Top Insurance Employer. It’s a challenging but also such a rewarding industry.” During a year of ongoing pandemic and economic difficulties, McCullagh says EML has continued to successfully focus on helping employees develop personally and professionally. EML’s culture is based around the philosophy that serving others leads to happiness, McCullagh says, and its operations are structured like an upside-down pyramid. “Senior roles are at the bottom of the pyramid,” he explains. “They support the managers, who, with our shared services,
support our front line at the top.” If EML’s leaders provide a good level of service, he says, then the people in front-facing roles can do a really good job mirroring that in the service they provide to the workers and employers who are their customers. Recently, EML has been making some significant changes in an effort to improve the way this pyramid functions. “So much of business is about personal responsibility, so we’re shifting decisionmaking to the operations,” McCullagh says. “We’re changing our support services to make sure the decision-making is close to operations and our support people help operations make those decisions. Other significant changes came in May with the appointment of Geniere Aplin as chief executive officer of EML Solutions (Personal Injury and Underwritten), and in September when we welcomed Don Ferguson as chief executive officer of EML Management, supporting our managed/statutory fund clients in VIC and SA.” McCullagh says managers set the culture at EML and are trained on how to give honest
feedback and speak with people about how they’re performing. “EML is an organisation that’s very outcomes-focused,” he says. “We care about people, but we also challenge and grow them so that they can consistently perform at their best. What we do is profoundly important for the workers and entities we provide services to.” There are two achievements McCullagh is particularly proud of this year. “The first is the rebuild of capability in our NSW teams, supporting the Nominal Insurer. We’ve done this through extensive focus on developing our people, engagement programs and events, and stabilising caseloads to enable proactive case management and time to build on capability. As a result, we have successfully more than doubled the number of people in these teams with over two years’ experience.” The second accomplishment McCullagh takes pride in is the exceptional results achieved by EML teams around Australia. “Everyone wants a higher purpose,” he says, “and at EML, we know that we’re doing something good.”
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SPECIAL REPORT BUSINESS STRATEGY
TOP INSURANCE EMPLOYERS GT INSURANCE Phone: 02 9966 8820 Website: gtins.com.au
I
n operation for 25 years, with Allianz Australia providing underwriting security, GT Insurance is a transport insurer with specialised industry knowledge and a deep commitment to excellence in claims and recovery management. Customer-centricity is embedded deeply in the GT culture, and its market-facing teams are measured, motivated and rewarded for delivering exceptional customer experiences. GT staff are provided with ongoing learning and development, from one-on-one dedicated training for new employees to access to online training and development programs, the ELMO Employment Management System, Healthy Heads in Trucks & Sheds working groups, and Allianz Australia and NIBA mentoring programs. All staff also receive individual development plans specific to their roles. To motivate and reward staff, GT offers recognition for years of service, monthly employee spotlights, team-building events and recognition through industry publications. GT also supported staff during the COVID-19 crisis by sending care packages to its teams and focusing on employees’ wellbeing and engagement by training managers and team leaders to look for signs of distress or unhealthy working behaviours. GT’s recent achievements include the successful onboarding of new employees in a remote environment and the creation of a new diversity and inclusion committee.
GALLAGHER AUSTRALIA Phone: 02 9242 2000 Email: communications@ajg.com.au Website: ajg.com.au
G
Sarah Lyons, chief executive, Australia
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allagher is a leading global insurance broker with a family vibe. It offers an inclusive and diverse workplace where people’s voices are heard and where they are valued and encouraged to participate to improve the business. Gallagher offers a broad range of employee benefits and the opportunity to share in the company’s success through its generous incentive programs. Employees are also provided with quality professional development and career progression prospects, including access to training, employee development and professional courses via the company’s online learning platform. When COVID-19 hit, Gallagher supported employee wellbeing through practical gifts, extra leave and flexible working schedules. It also ran resilience training and wellbeing webinars and sent regular wellness emails to employees. Other key achievements include the launch of the company’s Reconciliation Action Plan and its cultural awareness training. Gallagher’s Australia chief executive, Sarah Lyons, also signed the Diversity Council of Australia’s #IStandForRespect public pledge with hundreds of other CEOs across Australia to ensure a safe work environment for all. For 10 consecutive years, Gallagher has been the only insurance broker in the world included in the Ethisphere Institute’s World’s Most Ethical Companies list. More recently, Gallagher Australia received accreditation by Mental Health First Aid Australia as a Gold Standard Mental Health Skilled Workplace. “When our people are happy, inspired, developing their expertise and properly supported, that is when they are able to deliver the best service for our clients,” Lyons says.
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THE CHANGING FACE OF SAFETY With driver fatigue and distraction major causes of fatal accidents on Australian roads, GT Insurance actively encourages the use of Facial Recognition Technology (FRT). FRT means inward facing cameras that are specifically designed to detect driver distraction and/or fatigue and provide real time in-cabin alerts. What are some of the potential benefits of FRT? •
• • • • •
HELPS drivers stay focused and alert ALERTS if the driver is showing signs of fatigue DETECTS if the driver becomes distracted IMPROVES driver habits ASSISTS in compliance with Chain of Responsibility legislation ENHANCES workplace safety practices and culture
Increased safety. Reduced costs. GT Insurance offers significant additional policy benefits and potential savings to transport Clients and motor vehicle fleet customers who install approved FRT systems in their vehicles. For eligible customers, these may include: •
• • • • •
REMOVAL of driver restrictions REDUCED basic excess AMENDED age or inexperienced driver excesses ENHANCED replacement vehicle hire INCREASED limit for non-owned trailer liability 3 YEAR vehicle replacement from original registration date
If you're interested in learning more about the potential benefits and savings of FRT, please contact us today or visit our website gtins.com.au Insurance products are issued by Global Transport & Automotive Insurance Solutions Pty Ltd trading as GT Insurance ABN 93 069 048 255 AFS Licence No 240714 as agent for the Insurer Allianz Australia Insurance Limited ABN 15 000 122 850 AFS Licence No 234708. Neither we nor the Insurer provide any advice on this insurance based on any consideration of your objectives, financial situation or needs. Policy terms, conditions, limits, exclusions and underwriting criteria apply. Before making a decision about it please refer to the relevant Product Disclosure Statement or Policy wording available from our website (www.gtins.com.au) or by calling us. A Target Market Determination for each product is available from our website (www.gtins.com.au). If you purchase this insurance, we will receive a commission that is a percentage of the premium. Ask us for more details before we provide you with any services.
www.insurancebusinessonline.com.au
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PEOPLE
BROKER INSIGHT
Training day Amanda Morris, managing director of ARMA Insurance Brokers Hunter Valley, is obsessed with education – and is a formidable instructor. She shares her training secrets with IB
THESE DAYS, Amanda Morris, head of ARMA Insurance Brokers Hunter Valley, spends most of her time training new brokers. “I’ve developed a course that will actually take a clean-skin person, and within three months, I can get them up to speed with building rapport, learning about insurance, how to talk to clients, about compliance,” she says. Morris brims with confidence, but she’s also sensitive to other people’s needs – traits that served her well in her first insurance job. At a young age, she stepped into a very pressured position: CFO for her father’s insurance brokerage. “He employed me to come in and look after the trust accounts, paying the brokers and paying the underwriters and things like that, at a head-office level,” she says, offering a mirthful laugh at the suggestion that it was probably a tough job. A few years later, in 2007, Morris decided to start her own brokerage. She had no management experience but was undeterred. For months, she knocked on doors of local businesses in Maitland and met with families at their dinner tables to understand their insurance needs. Two years ago, she launched the coaching side of her business after realizing there isn’t much educational material geared
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toward insurance brokers. “There are coaches out there who coach on business, but not really in the niche areas of brokering, like best practice, building rapport, and improving your delivery and client experience,” Morris says. Her first offering was Choose Talent, a general business course. “I’ve got an accountant, a motorbike shop, a graphic designer and a telecommunication company,” she says. “They were my first clients that I started coaching, and they’re still with me today.” It was her husband who suggested she offer a course specifically for insurance brokers. The result is Broker Base, which currently has 19 brokers in training; Morris is about to start another course with 10 more brokers. She has help from a success coach and two virtual assistants. “I’m really passionate about improving the level of professionalism that our industry
delivers and the way we conduct ourselves,” she says. Morris’ coaching philosophy revolves around working with clients to uncover their own personal values; from there, she helps them build their business’s values. “With any business, especially an insurance brokerage, it’s your mindset – you’ve got to get your mindset right, or the rest of it’s a waste of time,” she explains. Focusing on values, she adds, enables brokers to “know what we stand for so that when we’re delivering our insurance, our product, we’re delivering it based on our values.” Morris is an advanced trained consultant in DISC, a methodology used by businesses to improve team performance, communication and leadership development. She says it’s important for brokers to look closely at why they do something, the way they do it and how that impacts staff and clients. “The renewal process, for example, a
MORE THAN JUST INSURANCE For Amanda Morris, the insurance broker’s role as an advisor doesn’t end when a policy is sold – and she says the valuable support she’s able to offer is what gets her out of bed every day. “I love that we’re a trusted role within someone’s life, but not just for insurance,” Morris says. “We become a confidante for people. Clients ring me for, you know, ‘Amanda, my air conditioner died, do you know anyone that you trust?’”
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FAST FACTS: ARMA INSURANCE BROKERS HUNTER VALLEY AREAS OF SPECIALTY Construction and contract works Cyber Farms/hobby farms Home and contents Landlords Management liability Motor and fleet Plant and equipment Professional indemnity Public and products liability Travel
Location: Maitland, NSW
“I’m really passionate about improving the level of professionalism that our industry delivers and the way we conduct ourselves” broker might say, ‘Well, I’ve been doing this for years and years.’ I’m like, ‘Yeah, but how enjoyable is it for your clients to go through?’ And they say, ‘Well, I don’t know.’ ‘OK, can we ask?’ And then we’ll talk to the clients and the clients will go, ‘I find this part
really painful.’” The training is about taking that apart and putting it back together in a smarter way. “So client experience is so much better, and then retention rates are high,” Morris says. Her new course is likely to be a winner.
Year founded: 2007 Number of employees: 11 Number of clients: 4,000+ Awards: Named a Top Brokerage by IB in 2021 Rather than bosses, it’s aimed at the brokers who are their employees. “They step up and the business owner can then step out when they need to,” Morris explains, “because that’s what everyone wants in their business – for it to run without them.”
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PEOPLE
OTHER LIFE
TELL US ABOUT YOUR OTHER LIFE Email ibo@keymedia.com.au
Ha achieved her personal best time of three hours, 48 minutes at the London Marathon
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Number of marathons Ha has run since 2016
4h19m Ha’s time in her first marathon in New York
10km
Distance she ran daily in July 2021 as a personal challenge
GOING THE DISTANCE
For business development manager Trang Ha, marathon running has a lot in common with writing long-tail insurance policies TRANG HA, a business development manager at Agile Underwriting Services, was inspired to start running marathons after seeing an insurance industry colleague in her 50s complete the New York Marathon. “I love a challenge,” Ha says, “so if she could do it, I knew I could.” Ha signed up for the 2016 New York Marathon and trained hard for six months, completing the 42.2km in a respectable four hours and 19 minutes and turning 40
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two days later. She has since run the Gold Coast Marathon in 2017; Melbourne in 2018; London and Berlin in 2019; Antalya, Turkey, in 2020; plus a Sri Chimnoy Sydney trail marathon and two virtual marathons in 2021. Pandemic travel restrictions foiled her plans to complete the Tokyo and Chicago marathons in 2020, but Ha continues to train in anticipation of the borders reopening. When she’s pounding the pavements, Ha
uses the time to contemplate life and her professional goals – and she says running marathons is quite similar to writing longtail insurance policies. “You need to get it right from the start so you’ll get a good finish,” she says. “It’s not a sprint, but that’s what life is; you can’t take shortcuts.” Ha also believes running marathons teaches patience and perseverance – essential qualities for a BDM. “Put in the hard yards and you’ll get the results,” she says.
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NEXT-LEVEL CONSTRUCTION COVER. With a national specialist team of Construction & Engineering underwriters, market-leading products and capacity, plus experienced claims professionals, we have all the tools to help you build the right protection for your clients’ construction projects. And, with the power of our online platform, UBUILD, you’ll enjoy a streamlined quote and bind experience every time. Speak to your CGU Account Partner to find out more.
Always consider the Product Disclosure Statement available from the product issuer, Insurance Australia Limited trading as CGU Insurance.
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Behind you for what’s ahead At Allianz, we choose to help secure the future of our customers, partners and community, so they can have confidence in today, and tomorrow. From our new and evolving products, to our claims and customer experience, we’re behind you for what’s ahead. Allianz Australia Insurance Limited ABN 15 000 122 850 AFSL 234708
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