Insurance Business 8.02

insurancebusinessonline.com.au Issue 8.02

BROKERS Find out what Australia’s best brokers are doing to set themselves apart from the pack

INSURANCE BUSINESS AUSTRALIA AWARDS Did your firm make the cut as a finalist for this year’s event?

THE LATEST ON BLOCKCHAIN It’s been hyped as a gamechanger for insurance – so why aren’t more companies using it?

NEXT-LEVEL SERVICE How one specialist insurer is rethinking the claims experience

ISSUE 8.02

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CONTENTS

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UPFRONT 02 Editorial

How interconnectivity is intensifying the exposures of every business

FEATURES

BROKERS SPECIAL REPORT

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DRIVING CLAIMS MANAGEMENT IN A NEW DIRECTION How specialist insurer NTI is bringing a new level of customer service to the claims process

RISK TAKER

Zurich group chief risk officer Alison Martin discusses how the insurer is responding to the world’s biggest risks

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06 Head to head

Have the insurance industry scales tipped toward technology?

08 News analysis

Why hasn’t blockchain taken over insurance yet?

10 Intelligence

12 Insurer update

Legacy systems don’t have to be a barrier to technological progress

FEATURES

32

FINALISTS REVEALED PEOPLE

A look at the most common claims for companies worldwide

A new product provides comprehensive cover for tech companies

ELITE BROKERS 2019

Insurance Business names 15 of the most successful brokers in Australia’s insurance industry

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04 Statistics

Discover who’s in the running for a trophy at this year’s Insurance Business Australia Awards

14 Underwriting agencies update

Is complex policy wording keeping SMEs from buying cyber insurance?

19 Opinion

Climate change is opening up new litigation risks for certain industries

PEOPLE 46 Career path

John Torcasio has built his career on a foundation of customer service

48 Other life

Going the distance with broker and cyclist Luke De Laurence

44 FEATURES

REACHING THE ELITE LEVEL

This year’s number-one Elite Broker, Michael Stewart, reveals the simple strategy behind his rise to the top

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UPFRONT

EDITORIAL

Getting back to basics

N

o matter which side of the political fence you find yourself on, there’s little doubt that geopolitical relations have rarely been more strained than they are now. Taken in concert with the extreme weather that has hit all corners of the globe over the last year – from hailstorms in Queensland and Sydney to wildfires and hurricanes in the US to windstorms in Canada – and the everexpanding threat of cyber attacks, it’s clear that companies need to be more vigilant about risk management than ever before.

“In today’s interconnected world, no company is really insulated from what’s going on in other parts of the world,” Barry Franklin, head of risk for Zurich North America, told Insurance Business in February. “You may think you are, but your suppliers probably have some connections or some dependencies on supply chains in other parts of the world. Because of the fact that we’re so interconnected, no company can just go on and assume that these things that happen in other parts of the world won’t affect them.”

“In today’s interconnected world, no company is really insulated from what’s going on in other parts of the world” Getting that message across to clients, of course, is not easy, but it’s a reality brokers must emphasise. Heightened cyber and technological threats, for example, were identified as a major blind spot in the World Economic Forum’s recent Global Risks Report; many businesses don’t yet comprehend the vulnerability of networked societies. Giles Crowley, head of commercial at Zurich Australia, told IB that as climate risks in particular become more important for businesses, the broker’s role will continue to develop.

“Brokers have a significant responsibility in terms of educating and helping their clients scan for all forms of risk, climate risk included,” Crowley said. “Talking to clients about their strategies to mitigate climate risk, and bringing global insights and research to the table, is hugely valuable.”

Whether it’s extreme weather, cyber risks, political issues or anything else that could disrupt operations in today’s interconnected world, brokers need to stress the importance of risk management and mitigation. There is no silver-bullet solution to this litany of problems – but training and education are the building blocks that will help your clients avoid unnecessary exposure and understand the value of the service you provide.

The team at Insurance Business

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EDITORIAL Managing Editor Paul Lucas Journalists Nicola Middlemiss, Alicja Grzadkowska, Bethan Moorcraft, Ksenia Stepanova News Writers Lyle Adriano, Krizzel Canlas, Terry Gangcuangco, Mina Martin, Gabriel Olano Staff Writers Tom Goodwin, Libby MacDonald, Joe Rosengarten, Ryan Smith, Heather Turner Copy Editor Clare Alexander

CONTRIBUTORS Neil Beresford

ART & PRODUCTION Designer Martin Cosme Production Manager Alicia Chin Traffic Coordinator Freya Demegilio

SALES & MARKETING General Manager Peter Smith Commercial Development Manager Sophie Knight Marketing Manager Danica Mendoza

CORPORATE Chief Executive Officer Mike Shipley Chief Operating Officer George Walmsley Managing Director Justin Kennedy Chief Information Officer Colin Chan Human Resources Manager Julia Bookallil

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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@kmimedia.ca T +1 416 644 874O Insurance Business NZ peter.smith@keymedia.com.au T +61 2 8437 47OO Insurance Business UK luther.rahman@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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UPFRONT

HEAD TO HEAD

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UPFRONT

STATISTICS

At a loss

CANADA

Humans and technical errors are behind the lion’s share of corporate insurance losses More money than ever is on the line in corporate insurance claims – but more than three-quarters of these claims can be traced to a relatively small cohort of causes, most of which are attributable to human or technical factors. Non-natural hazard events are behind 87% of all claims by value and 95% of all claims by number, according to a recent study by Allianz Global Corporate & Specialty. Despite the increasing prevalence

€58.1bn

Total value of claims worldwide during the five-year period analysed by AGCS

€32m

The average amount paid out every day globally for corporate claims

USA

of natural disasters, storms were responsible for just 7% of corporate claims by value.

In addition, corporate claims payments can vary enormously. While significant corporate losses of more than €100m account for less than 1% of claims, such incidents are responsible for a third of the total value of losses. Ninety per cent of claims came in at €50,000 or less, but were responsible for only 4% of claims by value.

95%

Percentage of claims attributable to non-natural hazard events

TOP CAUSES OF LOSS AROUND THE WORLD Fire /explosion – the top cause of corporate loss by value worldwide – topped the list as the most common source of corporate claims for several of the world’s leading economies, including the US, Canada, China and Germany. The second and third leading causes of corporate loss – aviation collision/crash incidents and faulty workmanship – came in first in many other major economies, including Australia, Singapore, South Africa and Brazil.

€3.1m

Size of the average business interruption property insurance claim

Source: Global Claims Review: The Top Causes of Corporate Insurance Losses; Allianz Global Corporate and Speciality, 2018

LOSS BY VALUE

BY THE NUMBERS

Seventy-six percent of corporate claims are prompted by just 10 causes; by far the biggest source of loss is fire/explosion.

Smaller losses (those below €50,000) account for the bulk of all corporate claims, but make up a small percentage by value. A third of the total value of all claims is attributable to losses above €100m; however, such claims are rare.

Number of losses Value of losses

CORPORATE LOSS BY VALUE, 2013-2018

90%

Aviation collision/crash 14%

80%

Faulty workmanship/maintenance 8%

70% 60%

Storm 7% Defective products 6% Damaged goods 5%

50% 40% 30%

Machinery breakdown 5%

20%

Water damage 3%

10%

Ship sinking/collision 2%

0%

Professional indemnity 2% Source: Global Claims Review: The Top Causes of Corporate Insurance Losses; Allianz Global Corporate and Speciality, 2018

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100%

Fire/explosion 24%

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Up to €50,000 to €100,000 to €500,000 €50,000 €100,000 €500,000 to €1m

€1m to €5m

€5m to €50m

€50m to €100m

€100m+

Source: Global Claims Review: The Top Causes of Corporate Insurance Losses; Allianz Global Corporate and Speciality, 2018

Fire/explosion

GERMANY

Faulty workmanship/maintenance

UK

Professional indemnity (e.g. negligence/bad advice)

CHINA

Defective products Storm

FRANCE

Aviation collision/crash

ITALY

HONG KONG

SPAIN

SINGAPORE

BRAZIL

AUSTRALIA

BRAZIL

Source: Global Claims Review: The Top Causes of Corporate Insurance Losses; Allianz Global Corporate and Speciality, 2018 Source: 2018 Political Risk Survey, Oxford Analytica/Willis Towers Watson

TOP CAUSES OF CLAIMS NATIONALLY

RISKIEST BUSINESSES

Almost a third of all claims by value in Australia are attributable to aviation accidents. Due to an increase in litigation, D&O-related claims have exhibited a sharp uptick in recent years, now accounting for 8% of total claims by value.

The aviation industry is responsible for almost one-quarter of the value of all corporate claims worldwide. Property and energy are in joint second place, accounting for 17% each.

BY VALUE OF CLAIMS

BY NUMBER OF CLAIMS

Aviation collision/crash 32%

Damaged goods 16%

Defective products 9%

Professional indemnity 15%

Storm 7% 9% Hailstorm

Aviation collision/crash 11%

Professional indemnity 8%

Defective products 7%

Directors & officers 8%

Storm 6% Source: Global Claims Review: The Top Causes of Corporate Insurance Losses; Allianz Global Corporate and Speciality, 2018

Aviation 22% Property 17% Energy 17% Marine 15% Engineering 14% Liability 5% Financial lines 4% Mid-corporate 4% Entertainment 1% Other 1%

Source: Global Claims Review: The Top Causes of Corporate Insurance Losses; Allianz Global Corporate and Speciality, 2018

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UPFRONT

HEAD TO HEAD

Has insurance become too reliant on technology?

The industry seems to have finally warmed to tech – but has it truly reached a tipping point yet?

Chief claims and operations officer, general insurance, Australia and New Zealand Zurich

Hilary Bates

Susan Donaldson

Head of claims Berkshire Hathaway Specialty Insurance

Katherine Gobbi

“If anything, there’s probably been an underinvestment in technology across the insurance industry, and the race is now on to develop the innovations that will deliver a competitive advantage in the future. Whether you’re offering insurance, delivering pizzas or publishing newspapers, everywhere you look, traditional companies are being disrupted by new, digitally enabled business models.

The potential for technological innovation within our industry is huge, and I believe we are on the cusp of delivering some amazing innovations – particularly in leveraging data to help prevent claims arising in the first place.

It’s an incredibly exciting time to be in the insurance industry.”

“Customers and getting good customer results are the focus of our industry. These two things are the core of what we do and will always be the main aim.

We should always look to technology to improve our offering, be it our risk transfer solutions, our understanding of risk, the way we deliver our products or our claims experiences. Technology is a great enabler of channels of communication and process, and we can utilise feedback from our customers to improve.”

“Technology enables and enhances our businesses. It creates operational efficiencies, improves customer experience and helps reduce risk. The question is, do we rely on technology as the silver bullet to solve all strategic and performance challenges?

As an example, in disability claims, our customers rely on insurance in some cases for survival. If technology is our major or only strategic investment in claims, it alone will fail to meet the customers’ expectations and needs. However, a highly skilled case manager who is enabled by technology and properly skilled and empowered to help customers is an absolute necessity for delivering our customer promise.”

Chief executive EMLife

AN UNEVEN APPROACH A survey of insurance CEOs conducted by KPMG in 2017 revealed that 69% plan to invest in digital infrastructure by 2020; of those, 59% said their primary objective is to transform their business and operating models. High-profile disruptor Lemonade is leading the curve with its claims bot, AI Jim, which can decide on and pay out a claim in less than three seconds, cutting out the traditional paperwork. But other insurers’ back-office processes remain enmeshed in legacy systems, which “have not kept pace with innovation,” according to Anders la Cour, co-founder and CEO of Banking Circle. “Today, outdated payment architecture has a stranglehold on the insurance industry, holding it back from providing policyholders with the most efficient service.”

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UPFRONT

NEWS ANALYSIS

What’s next for blockchain?

While parts of the insurance industry are experimenting with the technology, the hype around blockchain and the necessity of collaboration has slowed widespread adoption

OF ALL THE technologies that have the potential to transform the insurance industry, blockchain might be one of the most hyped – but that hasn’t necessarily translated into widespread adoption by insurance companies.

“The hype around blockchain is that it will solve everything under the sun … and I think that impedes some adoption because people are going into blockchain with high expectations,” says Bijesh Jacob, senior vice president of technology and standards for ACORD Solutions Group.

Compared to a technology like artificial intelligence, which has already had a noticeable impact on the insurance industry

a distributed ledger to which several stakeholders have secure access, blockchain is underpinned by a reliance on other organisations. It’s a tool that enables collaboration between parties and will play a crucial part in managing business relationships – but its very nature means a single company can’t be the first and only mover on this technology.

Contrast that with AI, where “you don’t really need any other market participants to be part of your investment in that space – you get benefit just by investing yourself and doing things within your four walls,” says David Bassi, executive director at EY. “Blockchain does require those connection

“I think people are watching some of the more public [use cases] that are out there … to see how [they] take off ” David Bassi, EY (Accenture reported in 2018 that 80% of insurance leaders believe they’ll have AI integrated into their operations in the next two years), the implementation of blockchain has not happened as smoothly or swiftly.

Part of the problem is the fact that, as a technology that allows data to be stored in

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points between multiple players.”

He highlights its use in the shipping industry to track the locations and routes of ships for multiple parties, including shippers and insurers. However, that lengthens the adoption curve because other players have to connect in order to make blockchain valuable.-

Insurance organisations are making progress in blockchain adoption by exploring use cases for the technology. ACORD, for instance, has been involved in multiple blockchain initiatives over the past few years and recently formed a group to review and propose common standards for the adoption of blockchain capabilities within the insurance industry.

EY is also walking the walk, recently announcing that it will be the primary service provider in blockchain-related cyber­ security and risk management guidance for The Institutes’ RiskBlock Alliance, the first blockchain consortium for the risk management and insurance industry. This collaboration will help RiskBlock Alliance identify the risks unique to its blockchain and practice controls, as well as provide blockchain-specific cyber­security assessments and testing.

Successful use cases are starting to pile up.

In addition to the shipping industry, Bassi has noticed that blockchain is particular

BLOCKCHAIN BY THE NUMBERS

627

Number of patents filed since 2014 that contain either blockchain or distributed ledger technology in their abstracts

38

Number of blockchain-related applications that contain the word ‘insurance’ in their descriptions

46%

useful in the proof-of-insurance concept, such as when a contractor is hired for a project and needs to be able to prove quickly and easily that they have workers’ compensation coverage in place.

“The other place we’re seeing a lot of interest is around subrogation – so instances

and paper flow out of the system.”

As use cases continue to show off blockchain’s benefits, Bassi predicts that the technology will become much more popular in the insurance industry in the next five years.

“I think people are watching some of the more public [use cases] that are out there,

“You’ll have lessons learned, which will then help drive a change in direction and an uptick in adoption” Bijesh Jacob, ACORD Solutions Group where one insurer is paying and then they have to collect from another insurer who’s ultimately responsible when liability is settled,” Bassi says. “The ability to share information between those parties at the time it’s gathered [and] as settlements are being made takes a lot of the time and effort

particularly the Insurwave piece, to see how that takes off,” Bassi says, referring to a blockchain platform that supports marine hull insurance. “As people see that, you end up in situations where other big participants in the insurance value chain could push adoption, and I think that’ll happen.”

Percentage of insurers that expect to integrate blockchain within the next two years

84%

Proportion of insurers that say blockchain-based ledgers and smart contracts are reinventing how they engage with new partners Sources: Willis Towers Watson, Accenture

The fact that companies are ramping up their experiments in this space and are learning how to apply the technology is a good sign. Even if some use cases are only internal exercises, they give companies a blockchain foundation to build from in the future.

“What’s going to happen is that you’ll have lessons learned,” Jacob says, “which will then help drive a change in direction and an uptick in adoption.”

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UPFRONT

INTELLIGENCE CORPORATE ACQUIRER

TARGET

PRODUCTS COMMENTS

AUB Group

BrokerWeb Risk Services

AUB’s agreement to take 100% ownership in BrokerWeb is the firm’s largest acquisition to date

Sound Insurance

ALH Insurance

ALH director Anne Hartee will relocate to the Gold Coast to open Sound Insurance’s first office in the area

Steadfast

Origin Insurance Brokers

Steadfast acquired a 26% stake in the Indigenous-owned brokerage in late January

TAL Daichi Life Australia

Suncorp Life Insurance

The $640m deal will see all of Suncorp’s Australian life insurance products added to TAL’s current product offerings

New cybersecurity tool enters the market

An Australian cybersecurity software developer has launched a new tool to give organisations instant visibility of their cyber risk.

Huntsman Security’s Security Scorecard is a standalone product that measures eight security controls to determine how secure an organisation is from a cyber attack; together, these controls help to prevent initial attacks, limit the extent of incidents, recover data and restore systems. The controls can reduce the risk of cyber attacks by more than 85%, according to the Australian Signals Directorate.

Zurich boosts capacity in M&A insurance

AUB completes largest acquisition yet

AUB Group has announced another major acquisition, purchasing the remaining 50% of New-Zealand-based BrokerWeb Risk Services. AUB has now secured 100% ownership of the brokerage, which is one of the largest in New Zealand, writing NZ$150m in gross written premium.

The acquisition follows AUB’s $116m capital raise in November, which also helped facilitate the firm’s increased share in Adroit Insurance & Risk. Prior to its acquisition of BrokerWeb, AUB Group had completed 39 transactions, worth a combined total of $199m, over a five-and-a-half-year period.

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Zurich Australia has forged an underwriting agency partnership that will boost its capacity in the merger and acquisition insurance space. The insurer’s deal with Fusion M&A, a subsidiary of POP Insurance Holdings focused on supporting cross-border M&A transactions throughout the Asia-Pacific region, will allow Fusion M&A to write warranty and indemnity insurance on Zurich’s behalf. “Our partnership with Fusion M&A is another tangible demonstration of how we are deploying our capacity to support brokers in financial lines,” said Sean Walker, chief underwriting officer for Zurich Australia and New Zealand.

PEOPLE MS Amlin rolls out new product for tech sector

Global reinsurer MS Amlin has launched a new offering specifically tailored for the technology sector.

The modular Technology Combined product provides coverage against a range of perils, including cyber and technology errors, material damage, business interruption, terrorism, and computer breakdown, among many others. “The Technology Combined product is designed to reduce any gaps in cover our clients may have and gives them the ability to flex their insurance solution depending on their most prevalent risks,” said MS Amlin underwriting head Richard Coxon.

Beazley enhances environmental liability

Beazley has announced enhancements to ECLIPSE, its environmental liability insurance policy.

The policy now includes blanket liability protection for non-owned locations and warehouses and distribution chains. Also now standard is coverage for the costs of business interruption and crisis response, including fees for public-relations support, medical and funeral expenses, and psychological counselling. “As well as risk transfer, we want our clients to be able to access the resources they need to deal with a potential crisis,” said Beazley’s Jayne Cunningham.

360 Commercial Motor adds roadside assistance

360 Commercial Motor has partnered with 365 Roadside Assistance to provide customers with 24/7 roadside assistance when their vehicle breaks down. Services include minor repairs and tyre assistance, jumpstart and battery replacement, accident coordination and towing, emergency fuel, and lock-outs. The assistance is generally available for vehicles under 3.5 tonnes, and less than 15 years old, for just $55 per vehicle. The quote for 365 Roadside Assistance can be provided upon request along with the quote for commercial motor insurance, with no additional steps or information required.

NAME

LEAVING

JOINING

NEW POSITION

Jason Allison

IPAR Rehabilitation

Gallagher Bassett

National business development manager

Andrew Borden

360 Underwriting

Insurance Advisernet

General manager for Southern region

Ward Dedman

N/A

EBM

CEO

Mike Emmett

CoverMore

AUB

CEO

Mark Hunt

StarStone Insurance

Zurich

Head of deal and broker management

John King

Berkley Insurance

Quantum Underwriting Agencies

Director

Peter McLachlan

QBE

EBM

General manager of strategy and operations

David Porteous

N/A

The Barn Underwriting Agency

Managing director

Lynne Sutherland

Suncorp

Allianz Partners

Chief sales officer

Underwriter returns to Zurich for senior appointment Experienced underwriter Mark Hunt has rejoined Zurich after a 10-month stint as a casualty underwriter at StarStone Insurance. In his new role as Zurich’s head of deal and broker management, Hunt will work with the insurer’s regional managers to strengthen its trading capability in all markets across Australia and New Zealand.

“I am delighted to welcome Mark ‘home’ at a time when we are seeking to bring greater focus to our engagement with our broker partners and supercharge our deal management capability,” said chief distribution and deal management officer Giles Crowley.

Former Brooklyn director opens independent firm

A senior insurance executive who took a year-long career break in 2018 has officially unveiled a new independent business venture. David Porteous, who stepped down as the director of Brooklyn at the start of 2018, recently opened the doors to The Barn Underwriting Agency. Toby Salmon, previously the property manager at Brooklyn, has joined The Barn as director of property.

“The Barn represents the next generation of specialty commercial insurance underwriters in Australia,” Porteous said. “A fresh start. No smoke and mirrors.”

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UPFRONT

INSURER UPDATE

Legacy systems no excuse for insurers A senior tech figure explains why the transition to the latest technology doesn’t have to be painful

there are methods and technologies out there than can help you actually deal with that,” he says. “There’s a lot of opportunity now to start and abstract those legacy issues from the end user – it just requires careful design and ... some architectural consideration.”

He points to a range of avenues that can help, including digital decisioning platforms and robotic process automation.

“These come in to enable businesses to start leaving these things as they are, [while]

“There’s a lot of opportunity now to start and abstract those legacy issues from the end user”

It’s no secret that legacy systems can cause a host of issues for insurers, brokers and end users. “It’s been an age-old dilemma where the insurers typically have quite a large volume of legacy to deal with within an organisation, and I think a lot of that is justified,” says Luis Nejo, customer experience advocate and founder of Digital Experience Labs. “There are a few players in the space today where they’re typically very tightly bound to the insurance

NEWS BRIEFS

policies and then once they’re in there, there’s generally a heavy reluctance to want to move them along. You inevitably end up with large insurers that have big pockets of policy administration that they just don’t want to touch.”

However, while overhauling legacy systems can seem daunting to even the most wellequipped organisations, Nejo says there are now effective ways to do so.

“Over time, a lot of things have changed –

Insurers among leaders in gender equality

Seven insurance providers are among the Australian organisations showing an ongoing commitment to improving gender equality. Suncorp, Allianz Australia, ANZ, MLC Life Insurance, NAB, TAL and Westpac were among the 141 firms listed in the Employer of Choice for Gender Equality list. “These leading employers know the importance of achieving gender equality ... and are implementing leading-practice measures to do so,” said Libby Lyons, director of the Workplace Gender Equality Agency, which compiles the annual report.

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learning how to actually cope with them and doing that in an agile fashion,” he says. “I know that’s a bit of an ironic statement to make because it’s the least agile system that exists, but all of a sudden it becomes quite versatile.”

While many organisations will undoubtedly continue to blame legacy systems for their shortcomings, Nejo says it only takes one committed stakeholder to make a change.

“It just requires somebody within the organisation to recognise what’s actually out there,” he says. “The opportunity now exists to do a lot of prototyping that is actually quite harmless and can be done on the side – it’s also unbelievably inexpensive, it’s unbelievably low-risk, and it’s very accessible.”

QBE rebounds with $1bn profit for 2018

QBE published its 2018 full year results in February, announcing a net profit after tax of around $545m – a significant improvement on the $1.74bn loss it recorded in 2017. Its cash profit after tax rebounded to nearly $1bn, compared to a loss of $366m in the prior year. The insurer also reported a combined operating ratio of 95.7%, down from 103.9% in 2017.

QBE group CEO Pat Regan pointed to an improved attritional claims experience and a lower level of catastrophe claims as key drivers behind the turnaround.

Q&A

Andre Martin Head of innovative risk solutions, APAC SWISS RE CORPORATE SOLUTIONS

Years in the industry 18 Fast fact Martin has been instrumental in the origination and structuring of parametric risk solutions in the energy and weather space

Optimising parametric insurance What is parametric insurance?

Fundamentally, parametric or index-based solutions are a type of protection that covers the probability of a predefined event happening rather than indemnifying an actual loss sustained. It is an agreement to make a payment upon the occurrence of a triggering event and, as such, is detached from an underlying physical asset or piece of infrastructure.

What are some of its benefits and downfalls?

The key benefits of parametric insurance include transparency and simplicity, quick claims payment and access to liquidity after an event, the possibility to protect pure financial loss without damage to physical assets, and the ability to protect hard-to-insure asset classes.

One of the concerns often cited is basis risk, which, simply put, is the difference between an insured’s actual financial loss and the insurance recovery. While basis risk usually gets associated with parametric insurance, it actually exists within all insurance structures. In traditional indemnity insurance, basis risk takes the form of deductibles, sub-limits or policy exclusions. In parametric solutions, basis risk is a function of correlation between the chosen index and the actual financial impact caused by the event.

Basis risk is an inherent element of parametric or index-based solutions. It is the art of structuring to reduce and minimise this mismatch and ensure that the payout corresponds as closely as possible to the loss

Munich Re partners with CyberCube on accumulation risk

Munich Re has partnered with insurtech firm CyberCube, leveraging its analytics platform to control the impact of a severe cyber event affects thousands of organisations simultaneously. CyberCube’s platform is designed to help reinsurers strengthen their accumulation risk management and exposure management.

“We have made significant investments in our own cyber risk expertise, and we seek to complement this with insights from the cyber ecosystem,” said Munich Re chief underwriter Stefan Golling.

sustained, which is usually achieved by refining the index and optimising the payout structure.

Do you think consumers have a strong enough understanding of parametric insurance?

Parametric insurance is definitely becoming more mainstream, but there are still a number of misunderstandings and myths floating around. For example, oftentimes we get asked for a parametric solution to replace elements or carve-outs of traditional indemnity to reduce costs. In fact, parametric or indexbased solutions are not designed to replace, but to complement traditional insurance programs.

Where do you think the parametric insurance space is headed over the next 12 months?

We are very optimistic about the potential of parametric insurance, which is becoming increasingly accepted and bought by governments and corporates. For governments, we would expect that nat cat will still dominate the applications. In the corporate world, the continuing shift from physical to intangible assets will certainly accelerate the adoption of index-based solutions to fill gaps left by traditional insurance, which still relies heavily on physical damage as trigger. As such, requests for non-damage business interruption [NDBI] solutions are definitely on the rise across industries, ranging from supply chain disruption due to low river levels to regulatory shutdown of operations.

Sydney’s December hailstorm dents IAG profit

The profits of Australia’s largest general insurer took a hit toward the end of 2018, due largely to the record-breaking Sydney hailstorm that wreaked havoc in late December. IAG’s half-year net profit fell 9.3% to $500m in the six months ending December 31, while insurance profit dropped 33% to $496m. IAG chief executive Peter Harmer said the insurer’s $607m provision for cataclysmic events and perils would likely increase in coming years, due to increases in property values, the population, and the frequency and severity of weather events.

APRA chair urges insurers to “do the right thing”

In the wake of the royal commission report, APRA deputy chair John Lonsdale is calling on insurers to go beyond merely complying with the law and “do the right thing”. At an Insurance Council of Australia conference, Lonsdale slammed insurers for failing to fix the rampant practice of selling add-on insurance, despite well-known problems with the products.

He also urged insurers to show “greater leadership” in addressing such concerns rather than being “dragged” by regulators and the royal commission.

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UPFRONT

UNDERWRITING AGENCIES UPDATE NEWS BRIEFS SALT Marine Risks expands its footprint in Western Australia

Specialist underwriter SALT Marine Risks opened a new Perth office in February, naming Marie Nugent as its marine manager for Western Australia.

Nugent has a decade of experience in the Perth marine market, both as a broker and senior underwriter. “I have every confidence that with Marie joining the SALT team, we have a respected local go-to contact who will be able to broaden our involvement and significantly expand our relationships in the Perth marine market,” said Andrew Black, SALT’s head of marine for Australia.

New professional indemnity product enters Australian market

Citing the growing number of professions under the allied health umbrella, Solution Underwriting Agency has launched a new product that brings tailored professional indemnity and public liability coverage to this market.

The Solution ONE Allied&Medical policy targets a wide range of allied health practitioners, from acupuncturists and physiotherapists to hairdressers and beauticians. Backed by Chubb Australia, the policy features cover for libel and slander, dishonesty, loss of documents, PR expenses, and bodily injury, including mental anguish and shock.

Insurance vet joins Quantum Underwriting Agencies

A WA-based specialist underwriter has announced a significant addition to its team. Insurance veteran John King has joined Quantum Underwriting Agencies as a director and shareholder and will be based in the company’s Melbourne

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office. King will focus on developing all aspects of the underwriter’s product offering. He brings more than 35 years of insurance experience to his new role, most recently as Victoria and Tasmania branch manager for Berkley Insurance Australia. Prior to that, he spent a decade managing Southern region business for DUAL Australia.

StarStone appoints Agile as Australasia partner

Global specialty insurer StarStone has appointed Agile, an insurtech-driven underwriting agency, as its representative agent in Australia and New Zealand. Agile, which has been a strategic partner since StarStone launched its Australian underwriting capability in 2016, will now represent the insurer across the full range of specialty classes provided by Syndicate 1301.

Robin Barham, StarStone Australia’s managing director and founder and CEO of Agile, will continue to take charge of developing new business activity at Agile under a new facility managed by the agency.

360 Underwriting Solutions bolsters executive team

Sydney-based 360 Underwriting Solutions has welcomed Margaret Rooks to its executive leadership team.

Rooks joins the firm as head of legal, compliance and company secretariat, and she brings a wealth of experience from a variety of roles at major industry players, including Aon Benfield, Aon Risk Services Australia, Suncorp Group and AIG Europe. Rooks’ appointment comes as the agency is working to finalise the transition of a number of operational services that had been provided by SURA during 360 Underwriting’s first year of operation.

Convoluted policies a drag on cyber Complicated wordings, exclusions and warranties are all hampering SMEs’ takeup of cyber insurance Two senior figures in the cyber insurance space have expressed concerns around the complexity within many cyber policies, saying it’s a significant barrier for both brokers and clients. Gerry Power, national head of sales for Emergence Insurance, said his firm chose to specialise in cyber after hearing repeated complaints from the market.

“When you look at why Emergence was created and how it developed its offering, it was based on research from the broker market to find out what was available to them and if it was working for their clients,” Power says. “The message was clear that, in their view, sometimes cyber policies are more complicated than they need to be with convoluted wordings or cover provided in one section then taken away in another – they wanted something that even their clients could read and understand but that wasn’t available in the market.”

Power isn’t the only prominent figure who has criticisms about the quality of cyber policies on offer to Australian SMEs. Philippa Davis, an international cyber underwriter for CFC Underwriting, has also observed a worrying trend within the space.

“Feedback we’ve had from our broker partners suggests there are a lot of warranties in policies at the moment where the

client has to have the best IT system or must have a call-back system in place when transferring funds,” Davis says. “Going into 2019, we would like to think that those warranties and exclusionary language would become less common, along with overly complicated language in policy wordings.”

However, while both Power and Davis are pushing for simplified cyber policies, it’s not

“In [brokers’] view, sometimes cyber policies are more complicated than they need to be” always as simple as changing the wording or updating exemptions – increased education is equally important.

“We’re on a mission to educate brokers and make it easier for them to provide the cover that their clients need,” Power says. “We’re also looking at educating the end customer and opening their eyes to the fact that cyber is one of the biggest risks facing their business.”

Davis agrees that the education component is crucial. “A lot of the work we do here is about using our claims data to help educate and make sure our broker partners are really comfortable with the policy and the coverage we’re offering, as well as the service we provide,” she says. “Cyber is confusing, and it’s constantly evolving – we completely get that, so we spend a lot of our time on the education piece because knowledge is power.”

Q&A

Rhys Mills Managing director SOLUTION UNDERWRITING AGENCY

Years in the industry 14 Fast fact Solution specialises in professional indemnity, public liability and management liability insurance for a wide range of occupations

Underwriting franchisor accounts What are some of the key challenges when underwriting a franchisor account?

The key challenges and considerations are the nature of the franchising businesses, the number of franchisees they have and the services the franchisor provides to their franchisees, both ongoing and assisting in establishing the franchise.

Do you have any advice for brokers seeking to assist their franchisor clients?

[Brokers should] ensure that the master franchisor has a solid and well-drafted terms of business document that they utilise uniformly with their franchisees. One of the unique components to underwriting a franchisor account is looking at the franchisor’s terms of service agreement, which they provide to their potential franchisees. The terms of service agreement usually highlights what professional services the franchisor is offering to its franchisees. The language needs to be clear and avoid any promises to yield certain amount of income. Most terms of service agreements are written to provide a fair and equitable playing field for both franchisor and franchisee.

Are there any common sectors in which franchisors face a particularly high level of risk?

No common sectors necessarily – however, it’s important that the franchisors don’t misrepresent the earning potential or value of their franchises. A franchisor is a person or company that grants the licence to a third party for the conducting of a business. The franchisor owns the overall rights and trademarks of the company and allows its franchisees to use these rights and trademarks to do business. Examples of industries in which franchise models operate in Australia are retail, beauty services, food services, automotive services and personal services.

Are there any emerging risks for franchisors that brokers should be aware of?

Class actions brought by groups of franchisees against a franchisor – whilst they aren’t an emerging risk, they are a distinct possibility. The two common areas where litigation occurs are either when one party to the franchise agreement believes the other is not doing whatever they agreed to do under the terms of the agreement, or when either party believes the other is conducting itself in some unanticipated manner that is injurious to its business.

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PEOPLE

THE BIG INTERVIEW

RISK TAKER Managing risk in her own career prepared Alison Martin to confront the world’s biggest perils as Zurich’s group chief risk officer

BEFORE SHE took the reins as Zurich’s group chief risk officer in September 2017, Alison Martin’s CV didn’t contain any risk management roles. Following her law studies, she fell in love with insurance while working in insurance audit and consulting at PwC. From there she moved to Swiss Re, where she explored almost every corner of the business, quickly learning about underwriting, pricing, costing, reserving, RND and claims, before ascending to the role of chief financial officer. So when she took on the role of chief risk officer at Zurich, she was confident that the lessons she’d learned from her previous roles and the risks she’d taken had adequately prepared her for the job.

“To me, I have taken risk on the first line all the time,” she says. “What I have done throughout my career is take risk. That means you manage risk – you have to have risk awareness, you have to understand the kinds of risks that exist, what could be your downside as well as your upside, and you need to think about what your mitigating actions are. So now, on the second line, I can use all the knowledge I’ve had of taking risk to help the risk team here at Zurich think about how we can help the first-line team do appropriate risk-taking as efficiently and

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effectively as possible.”

Drawn to Zurich by the opportunity to try something new, Martin also passionately believed in the vision that group CEO Mario Greco was setting out for the company.

“I really believe in the transformation of the insurance industry and how Mario speaks about that – and, more importantly, the actions he has put in place to have Zurich

enjoy having as part of their lives – and the company is taking action to make this happen.

Growing global risks As group chief risk officer, Martin has also been instrumental in the World Economic Forum’s most recent Global Risk Report, which Zurich helped to produce in partnership with Marsh & McLennan. The report’s

“I have taken risk on the first line all the time ... So now, on the second line, I can use all the knowledge I’ve had of taking risk to ... help the first-line team do appropriate risk-taking as efficiently and effectively as possible” very well positioned in that transformation,” she says.

She explains that Zurich doesn’t want customers to simply pay a premium and never think about their insurance again.

The company wants to move to a model where instead of being an annoying burden, insurance is a value-add service that customers

findings on climate change, cybersecurity and geopolitical tension made headlines around the world as the World Economic Forum called for action from governments and business.

“It should be seen as a great wake-up call to government, to companies, to society at large as to what the risks are that we face in

PROFILE Name: Alison Martin Title: Group chief risk officer Company: Zurich Insurance Group Based in: London Years in the industry: 24 Career highlight: Juggling a career while being the mother of two girls

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PEOPLE

THE BIG INTERVIEW

society generally, and to business specifically,” Martin says.

Not surprisingly, extreme weather events were the most likely risk highlighted by the report. For insurers, many of whom are seeing increases in these events and therefore a surge in claims in the aftermath, the report presents a number of thought-provoking issues – some of which they can tackle by leading by example.

Zurich has taken steps in the environmental space, for example, by choosing to not insure coal plants or invest in companies that

Cyber is one of those accumulation risks. It’s a constantly evolving and emerging risk, and we see an unfortunate lack of awareness.”

Championing diversity One of Martin’s other passions is raising awareness around diversity, the lack of which continues to haunt the industry.

“The insurance industry is probably no poster child for diversity, but Zurich I think is a good poster child,” she says. “We’re not perfect, but if you look at the changes that Mario has made over the last couple of years

“I take the role model part of the position very seriously. I think it’s very important that, if you have that ability to influence others coming through their career, you take that opportunity” derive more than 50% of their revenue from coal. And Martin is very firm on her position on climate change.

“Particularly worrying for me is that [the number-two risk] now is the failure of climate change mitigation and adaptation – i.e. the failure of policy to do anything about the risk – and extreme weather events is number one,” she says. “As an insurer, those two things are a little worrying.”

The other major area insurers must keep an eye on, Martin says, is cyber risk. Although it seems very different than environmental risk at first glance, Martin believes the two are actually very similar in a lot of ways.

“What makes cyber and environmental risk similar is the fact neither of them have boundaries, neither of them have borders,” she says.

“And that makes them very tricky to deal with.

ZURICH’S FINDINGS FROM THE 2019 GLOBAL RISKS REPORT

alone, he has radically shifted the executive committee’s composition, so we have much better gender diversity.”

These changes, she says, can help to shift the culture in an organisation and send strong signals of support. Martin is also part of Zurich’s women’s innovation network, and she works hard to ensure she helps other women in the firm.

“I take the role model part of the position very seriously,” she says. “I think it’s very important that, if you have that ability to influence others coming through their career, you take that opportunity. I think that sends a really strong signal to the whole organisation, but more importantly to the industry at large, that you can be successful – and, in fact, you are more likely to be very successful – if you have diversity.”

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of the top 10 global risks are environmental in nature

2

of the top 10 risks are related to cybersecurity

65%

of respondents said they expect further erosion of global policy coordination on climate change in 2019

85%

expect political confrontations between major powers to increase this year

82%

expect theft of data and money via cyber attacks to intensify in 2019 Source: World Economic Forum Global Risks Report 2019

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UPFRONT

OPINION

GOT AN OPINION THAT COUNTS? Email ibo@keymedia.com.au

The other side of climate change Commercial sectors need to consider their exposure in light of product liability legislation prompted by climate change, writes Neil Beresford AS THE impacts of climate change are increasingly felt in communities around the globe, the impact of climate change litigation will increasingly be felt in the courts. The past several years have seen a surge in climate change litigation, and these lawsuits are providing a wider body of case law and attribution science that will enable courts to draw on decisions from around the world to influence their thinking.

All possible contributors to climate change are targeted, but there is an emerging focus on products that are harmful to the environment.

Such product liability claims are an increased risk for petrochemical and energy companies, as well as manufacturers of materials such as plastics. With a growing body of impending litigation on the docket, claiming damages for the effects of manufactured products, I anticipate that environmental product liability litigation will increase worldwide in the coming year.

Among the recent cases are the lawsuits brought in the US against the manufacturers of the fuel additive MTBE. Those cases have given rise to some interesting problems of causation – the liability of individual manufacturers is being ascertained by reference to the amount of harmful product each has produced. A manufacturer with a 10% market share now faces the prospect of 10% liability for the total harm.

A similar approach has been advocated in numerous lawsuits against the petrochemical

and energy industries. In a case in Germany, a Peruvian farmer is seeking to hold a German energy company liable for 0.47% of his losses arising from the melting of a local glacier on

icals in military exercises over several decades; PFOA and PFOS chemicals then accumulated in the water table, affecting municipal water supplies. Because the US military enjoys immunity from suit, numerous lawsuits have been filed against the corporations that manufactured the product, using attribution theory as the basis of the claim.

Where will the trend of environmental product liability litigation lead? One possibility is toward the manufacturers of plastics. The environmental accumulation of plastics such as microbeads, cups, straws and bags now attracts daily media interest. I believe that plastics manufacturers are at significant risk of future litigation based upon attribution theories developed elsewhere.

As the volume of climate change litigation grows, I expect that it will ultimately affect a wide range of commercial sectors, from energy companies and heavy manufacturers to investment funds and insurers. From a risk management perspective, companies that might be

“It is inevitable that climate change will have a profound impact on businesses around the globe. Environmental product liability litigation is a trend that shows no sign of abating” the basis of the company’s alleged contribution to global greenhouse gas emissions.

A number of public bodies have also filed lawsuits in the US, seeking to recover the costs of climate-related damage and future resilience.

Last November, the Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen’s Associations filed a complaint against fossil fuel companies due to algae blooms, which are caused by warming oceans.

Crabbers in California and Oregon allege that they have suffered significant economic losses as a result of the algae blooms and are seeking to hold fossil fuel companies accountable.

The litigation in the US centred around PFOA and PFOS contaminants gives rise to a slightly different problem. In that case, the primary polluter was the US military, which used a firefighting foam containing the chem-

exposed to the risk of climate change litigation should consider their insurance arrangements and work with their insurers to understand whether they have adequate cover in place.

As the largest existential threat faced by the planet, climate change will inevitably have a profound impact on businesses around the globe. Environmental product liability litigation is a trend that shows no sign of abating. I’ll be watching with interest to see how the current legal landscape evolves, and I’d urge all companies with potential exposure to do the same.

Neil Beresford, a partner at Clyde & Co. in London, is an expert in complex and cross-border product liability claims. He acts as coverage, defence and monitoring counsel and is a market leader in environmental liability claims.

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SPECIAL REPORT

ELITE BROKERS 2019

BROKERS Insurance Business highlights 15 brokers who represent the top tier of Australia’s insurance industry

SINCE 2013, the Elite Brokers list has been among the most popular features in Insurance Business, attracting applications from across the country and showcasing some of Australia’s most successful insurance professionals.

The brokers who made the cut for 2019 range from industry veterans with decades of experience under their belt to relative newcomers who have been in the field for just a few short years. Location also seems to have little bearing on success – this year’s Elite Brokers are based everywhere from regional towns and suburban hubs to bustling city centres. One thing, however, remains consistent across the board – all of the brokers on the list have demonstrated a natural talent in their chosen field and an unwavering passion for helping their clients.

As always, Insurance Business would like to congratulate the brokers included in this year’s list and thank all those who participated in the nomination process.

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METHODOLOGY The Insurance Business Elite Brokers ranking system is an objective means of ranking the best-performing insurance brokers in the country – not just those with the biggest portfolios or the largest clients.

To be eligible, each broker was required to supply their own details, along with details of a contact who could verify those figures. The criteria included: • • • • • • •

Number of policies written Total revenue Revenue per policy Number of clients New clients New client revenue Client retention

Each broker was ranked in each of these categories, and the sum of their rankings was calculated to determine the overall winner.

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KAY JACKSON Director SIMPLEX INSURANCE SOLUTIONS

The owner of Victoria-based Simplex Insurance Solutions, Kay Jackson returns to the Insurance Business Elite Brokers list for a fourth time after making the final cut in 2014, 2016 and 2017.

Since first joining the insurance industry in 1986, Jackson has solidified herself as a key member of the local business community in Ballarat, serving as a judge for the Commerce Ballarat Business Excellence Awards and acting as an official mentor for Commerce Ballarat. Jackson has also spoken at a string of major industry events, including the Asia Insurance Review Broker Conference.

Currently, Jackson services a wide range of clients, from small independent retail stores to large manufactures with international reach. Her areas of specialty include builders’ warranty, trades insurance, public liability and professional indemnity. Under her guidance, Simplex Insurance Solutions was named Small Broker of the Year by ANZIIF in 2018.

“My goal is to make sure each and every client has value for money in their insurance package,” she says, “and ensure the coverage is tailored to suit their needs.”

KATE FAIRLEY Senior account manager SIMPLEX INSURANCE SOLUTIONS

ELITE BROKERS 2019 RANK NAME

BROKERAGE

1

Michael Stewart Stewart Insurance Group

2

Avi Tatarka

3

Victor Dabrowski Securitex Insurance Services

4

Matthew Bates

Bell Partners Insurance

5

Ken Dixon

Dixon Insurance Services

6

Karen Hardy

Acme Insurance Brokers

7

Daniel Webber

Webber Insurance Services

8

Robert Cooper

CPR Insurance Services

9

Dale Hansen

Austbrokers Coast to Coast

10

Gavin Doherty

Marsh

11

Bonni Gordon

Global Risks

12

Lara Morgan

Allinsure

13

Dave Stott

Adroit Insurance

14

Kate Fairley

Simplex Insurance Solutions

15

Kay Jackson

Simplex Insurance Solutions

Scott Winton Insurance Brokers

14

This year marks the second appearance on the Elite Brokers list for Simplex Insurance senior account manager Kate Fairley, who made her debut in 2017. Currently managing the brokerage’s Kyneton branch, Fairley is thriving in her regional location, serving as the president of her local business and tourism association while also delivering the insurance component of the government-funded NEIS program.

Since entering the insurance industry 11 years ago, Fairley has worked tirelessly to boost consumer education and improve trust, launching Get Informed, a free resource that provides reliable, product-based information to the public. She has also spoken at a string of prominent industry events, including the NIBA Convention, the ANZIIF Regional Conference and the Connecting Rural Business Women Conference. Last year, Fairley won the Insurance Business Australia Award for Independent Broker of the Year (Less Than 20 Staff) and was recently confirmed as a finalist for the same award this year.

“I’m passionate about supporting and advising small businesses from the very beginning for insurance advice, not just a price,” she says.

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SPECIAL REPORT

ELITE BROKERS 2019

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LARA MORGAN Partner ALLINSURE

From the moment she joined Allinsure as a senior account executive in 2016, Lara Morgan has proved herself to be an exemplary addition to the team, quickly earning a promotion to partner. On top of managing the firm’s extensive strata and property development portfolio, as well as a range of construction, SME and professional risks, Morgan has also somehow found the time to assist in the management of MD Peter Chamberlain’s entire portfolio.

“Lara has worked tirelessly to increase our presence in the strata and construction sectors, establishing herself as an expert in our field for these industries,” says Allinsure business and compliance manager Kristina Maricic.

Canberra-based Morgan has also been identified as an instrumental figure when it comes to recruiting, training and mentoring junior staff, regularly assisting with the development of the next generation of insurance brokers.

In 2018, her achievements and commitment caught the attention of the wider Insurance Advisernet team, and Morgan was chosen to represent the company in Allianz’s Blue Eagle Program, taking away invaluable skills and lessons to apply within Allinsure.

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DAVE STOTT Senior account executive ADROIT INSURANCE

With almost 20 years as a broker – and another five as an underwriter – under his belt, Dave Stott has a wealth of insurance experience. His career spans several brokerages across Australia, including a stint opening Garden State’s first Queensland branch, where he built the business up from nothing to more than 800 clients.

“No acquisitions were made,” Stott says. “My role was to market, manage and develop this new branch.”

Since returning to Victoria and joining Adroit Insurance Group in 2013, Stott has been recognised several times for his impressive achievements, winning the prestigious Adroit Broker of the Year Award in 2015, 2017 and 2018.

“I love that this industry is different every day, dealing with different clients who have totally different industries, needs and views on insurance,” he says. “It is always challenging and forever changing. It keeps things fresh and my mind stimulated.”

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10

GAVIN DOHERTY Senior account executive MARSH

During the 15 years Gavin Doherty has spent in insurance, he has diligently thrown himself into not only personal and professional development, but also development of the industry as a whole.

A former Insurance Business Young Gun, Doherty has served as a committee member and president of NIBA’s WA Young Professionals committee. He also won the inaugural Marsh Shark Tank Award for Innovation, was a member of the first global Marsh Hackathon team and was chosen to receive the NIBA-CBU Professional Excellence scholarship, which gave him the opportunity to participate in NIBA College’s Certified Professional Insurance Broker development program.

“I enjoy understanding a diverse range of businesses and people, and for this reason, I am passionate about insurance broking,” Doherty says. “Insurance can be purchased just about anywhere, but what can’t be purchased is a partnership built on trust, respect, integrity and professionalism.”

11 BONNI GORDON Principal GLOBAL RISKS

Global Risks principal Bonni Gordon returns to the Elite Brokers list for a third time this year, after making appearances in both 2016 and 2018. It seems 2019 will be a big year for Gordon, as she’s also been confirmed as a finalist for two Insurance Business Australia Awards: Authorised Representative Broker of the Year and Independent Broker of the Year (Less Than 20 Staff).

Gordon has demonstrated a passion and clear talent for mentoring junior staff, having set several newcomers on the right path to climbing the career ladder. Many of her former mentees are now thriving as account managers.

“Our industry is a very exciting one to work within,” Gordon says. “However, in order for individuals to see this aspect of the industry, they need to work side-by-side with an experienced broker who is prepared to embrace them and include them in all aspects of the broking process, which must include meeting with underwriters and clients.”

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SPECIAL REPORT

ELITE BROKERS 2019

9

DALE HANSEN

DANIEL WEBBER

CEO

Director

AUSTBROKERS COAST TO COAST

Industry veteran Dale Hansen is returning to the Elite Brokers list for a fourth consecutive year, climbing one spot from the number 10 position he secured last year.

Hansen has been instrumental in the ongoing success of Austbrokers Coast to Coast. Under his leadership, the firm has claimed a string of high-profile industry accolades, including winning ANZIIF’s Small Brokerage of the Year Award in both 2016 and 2017 and being a finalist for the award in 2018. Austbrokers Coast to Coast was also named Brokerage of the Year (6–20 Staff) at the 2018 Insurance Business Australia Awards and is a finalist in the same category for 2019. Hansen has also thrived as an individual broker, winning NIBA’s Australian Broker of the Year Award in 2016, as well as the Stephen Ball Memorial Award.

Based in the Burleigh Heads region of Queensland, Hansen is invested in his local community, providing training on risk management issues for charitable organisations and the non-profit sector. He puts his success down to his commitment to spending significant one-on-one time with his clients so he can understand them and their business.

“I educate my clients in relation to the policies they purchase and how they will respond in the event of a claim,” he says. “It is important that my clients see me as a trusted professional, which hopefully gives them peace of mind that their assets are properly protected.”

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With nearly a decade of experience in the insurance space, Adelaide-based broker Daniel Webber has already made his mark on the industry. Named an Insurance Business Young Gun in 2017, Webber maintained that momentum in 2018, picking up the NIBA SA Young Broker of the Year Award.

This is Webber’s fifth consecutive appearance on the IB Elite Broker list, and he climbed an impressive 11 spots from his number 18 finish last year. In addition to furthering his own career, the Webber is investing heavily in his team and has helped guide his staff to success while also improving the business processes in his brokerage.

ROBERT COOPER Director CPR INSURANCE SERVICES

With four decades of experience in the industry, Brisbane-based Robert Cooper has secured his standing as a respected member of the profession and has won many accolades along the way. This year marks the fifth time Cooper has been included in the Insurance Business Elite Brokers list, climbing an impressive 12 spots from his position in 2018. Cooper’s firm also won Brokerage of the Year (1–5 Staff) at the inaugural Insurance Business Australia Awards, and he was named one of the 100 Faces of Small Business in Queensland.

However, Cooper isn’t just committed to his own impressive career. He’s also a keen advocate of helping young people into the industry, having participated in NIBA’s mentorship program and currently training a new staff member.

His advice to other brokers who want to mirror his longevity and success is simple: employ empathy throughout the entire process. “We need to learn to listen to our clients and use empathy and people skills in the whole broker process, not just on claims,” he says.

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WEBBER INSURANCE SERVICES

5

KEN DIXON Director DIXON INSURANCE SERVICES

Queensland broker Ken Dixon is making his sixth appearance on the Insurance Business Elite Broker list this year, maintaining the fifth-place position he secured in 2018. Since he entered the industry in 1990, Dixon has held increasingly senior positions, but a desire to be personally involved with customers led him to broking in 2003.

Since then, he’s been recognised for his talent and contributions on multiple occasions. He was named a finalist for Authorised Representative Broker of the Year at the Insurance Business Australia Awards in 2018 and 2019. His firm also made the shortlist this year for both Best Digital Strategy and Brokerage of the Year (1–5 Staff). “I love this industry, and I am passionate about its future and prosperity,” he says.

6

KAREN HARDY Director ACME INSURANCE BROKERS

Acme Insurance Brokers’ Karen Hardy returns to the Elite Brokers list yet again this year, having been a steadfast member since its inception in 2013. With more than 20 years of experience in the industry, Hardy, who is based in Far North Queensland, says one of the most important things any broker can do is become involved in their local community.

“Put down your electronic devices and embrace your community,” she advises.

“You may be the best broker in the world, but if you don’t mix with the locals, you will never earn their respect or trust. Join a club, sponsor an event or contribute your time to a worthy cause. Every act of goodwill is repaid tenfold, in my experience.”

Hardy received the Valerie Baker Memorial Award in 2017, earning the opportunity to visit Lloyd’s of London to participate in the Autumn Worldwide Program on innovation and emerging risk.

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SPECIAL REPORT

ELITE BROKERS 2019 MATTHEW BATES Managing director BELL PARTNERS INSURANCE

4

With just five years of experience as a broker, Matthew Bates has already achieved impressive results by applying the wealth of experience he gained across other industries. His former roles include senior leadership positions within retail giants, consulting firms and media companies, where he consistently encouraged excellent customer service, regularly giving conference presentations on the theme.

Unsurprisingly, it was the opportunity to excel at customer service that first attracted Bates to the insurance industry. The Sydneybased MD says he was drawn to the sector by the potential to form long-lasting relationships with clients and the opportunity to make a real difference in the lives of customers. Bates has demonstrated a clear skill in this area, pulling off an impressive professional hat-trick to win the Bell Partners Customer Service Award three times. He is also a finalist for Authorised Representative Broker of the Year at the 2019 Insurance Business Australia Awards.

3

VICTOR DABROWSKI

2

Director SECURITEX INSURANCE SERVICES

With close to 25 years of experience in the industry, Securitex director Victor Dabrowski has built an unshakeable reputation as a trusted and talented professional. A fixture on the Elite Brokers list every year since 2014, and also the winner of the Resilium Insurance Broking Silver Award, it seems the Adelaide-based broker has found the recipe for longevity and success – and it largely comes down to relationships.

Dabrowski says his relationships with clients are characterised by personal attention to detail, uncompromised quality of service and around-the-clock availability. “Give great advice, options, a very high level of service and meet clients face-to-face to discuss their requirements,” he advises other brokers. Dabrowksi is also keen to share his invaluable insight with newcomers by mentoring new ARs.

AVI TATARKA CEO SCOTT WINTON INSURANCE BROKERS

1

MICHAEL STEWART Managing director STEWART INSURANCE GROUP

Michael Stewart first got his start in insurance more than 25 years ago, when he followed his father into the field. He hasn’t looked back since, and after a successful eight-year stint at an international brokerage, Melbourne-based Stewart made the leap to launch his own business, Stewart Insurance Group.

Focusing firmly on smaller-scale businesses and refusing to rule out homeowner’s and auto policies, Stewart has managed to carve a secure and lucrative niche for himself.

“I don’t think I do anything too differently from anyone else,” he says, “but I’ve drawn a line in the sand and said ‘this is the business I want’ – and I’ve stuck to it.”

It’s not the first time Stewart’s approach has won him acclaim – he’s been named as a finalist for Authorised Representative Broker of the Year at the 2019 Insurance Business Australia Awards, and he won Empire Insurance’s Authorised Representative of the Year Award in 2018. His advice to other brokers looking to reach the next level is simple: “Stand your ground, sell quality product, and eventually you will rise to the top.”

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Avi Tatarka might only have stepped into the top spot at Scott Winton a little over a year ago, but the Melbourne-based exec has long been a driving force behind the firm’s success, having worked in a senior role within the company since 2008.

Tatarka is certainly steering the firm in the right direction – this year, the company is a finalist for Best Customer Service from an Individual Office and Brokerage of the Year (20+ Staff) at the Insurance Business Australia Awards.

Tatarka has also been named as a finalist for Independent Broker of the Year (20+ Staff). A former Insurance Business Young Gun, Tatarka is also a regular on the Elite Brokers list, with three previous appearances.

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AON Risk Solutions Winner 2018 Australian Brokerage of the Year

Friday 3 May 2019 | The Star Sydney www.ibawards.com.au

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FEATURES

SECTOR FOCUS: CLAIMS

Driving claims management in a new direction Insurance Business sat down with NTI’s Janelle Greene to find out how the specialist insurer is rethinking the way claims are handled

IT’S FAIR to say that insurance claims aren’t always handled as well as they could be. Many companies within the field seem to view themselves as collection agencies, while treating the actual claims process as something of an afterthought. Yet claims are an integral part of the insurance business and of crucial importance to maintaining long-term customer goodwill.

Fortunately, more insurers are starting to realise the importance of a good claims process. NTI has been a leader in this field for more than two decades and places considerable emphasis on best practice in claims.

“NTI is a specialist insurer, so the number-one thing we do is evolve and innovate to deliver better service value propositions to our clients,” says Janelle Greene, general manager of operations and strategic delivery at NTI Group.

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In practical terms, this means having a dedicated team of claims consultants who are trained in first-response scenarios, including for dangerous goods. These consultants proactively manage the claim from start to finish and are available 24/7 via NTI’s 1800 NTI NOW hotline.

“That’s unusual in the insurance industry, but we see it as essential,” Greene says. “Our staff specialise in the unique challenges of transport and logistics, such as road rules,

shipping regulations and other issues that customers face on a day-to-day basis.”

NTI also has an internal recovery expert working alongside the claims teams, along with an entire internal division dedicated to parts purchasing, settlements, emergency response and repair management. “We can start working on recovery from the day the claim is lodged,” Greene says.

It’s an attitude that pervades the entire organisation’s hiring policies. “We need staff who are experts in their fields,” Greene says.

“So we aim to hire employees who have either previously worked in transport and logistics or have qualifications in adjacent fields. Having those capabilities in-house is an essential part of the way we operate.”

On top of that expertise, technology has played a significant role in bettering the client experience. Moving forward, Greene says NTI’s goal isn’t to replace human expertise, but to complement it with technology to enhance the claims processes.

“The big advantage of technology is in delivering a more seamless customer experience,” she says. “It allows more personalisation, better connectivity and the ability to track the claim’s progress the way the claimant wants to.”

Risk management and prevention Of course, claims management is also closely tied to risk reduction and claims prevention. In line with its proactive approach, NTI actively pursues investment in risk management to stop the issues that might result in

ABOUT NTI With more than 40 years of experience in the insurance industry, NTI is the company you can count on to protect your transport assets. Our combination of tailored products, experienced people, accredited repair and recovery networks, and industry advocacy have seen us ranked as Australia’s number-one truck insurer. Yet insurance is just a piece of paper – a promise. It’s not until you really need us that you understand our point of difference. For more information, visit nti.com.au.

“We have to care about road, vehicle and supply chain safety. NTI works closely with industry peak bodies and associations to ensure that everything possible is being done to help clients appropriately” Janelle Greene, NTI Group claims before they happen.

“We have to care about road, vehicle and supply chain safety,” Greene says. “NTI works closely with industry peak bodies and associations to ensure that everything possible is

being done to help clients appropriately.”

As part of this process, NTI has founded the National Truck Accident Research Centre [NTARC], an independent research facility.

The NTARC publishes biannual accident

research papers and forges relationships with various transport industry bodies to improve road safety. Subsequently, through trend and data analysis, NTI can work with its clients to establish effective risk management programs across a variety of issues, including vehicle maintenance, driver fatigue and other safety monitoring.

Legislation and new technology are both playing important roles in creating a safer environment for clients. “Technology is really changing the industry,” Greene says. “Over the next few years, I think we’re going to see technology playing a big part in the overall claims and risk management experience, particularly when it comes to preventing issues from arising in the first place.”

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SPECIAL PROMOTIONAL FEATURE

CLAIMS

Strong relationships with partners and manufacturers are crucial for NTI to make sure it’s ahead of the curve on these issues and ready for future tech challenges. One such initiative is NTI’s recent introduction of the Chain of Responsibility Health Check.

The Chain of Responsibility [CoR], part of the Heavy Vehicle National Law, requires all parties within the supply chain to assume shared responsibility for safety on the road.

On 1 October 2018, changes to CoR laws were introduced in all states except WA and NT. In response, NTI developed the CoR Health Check, a collection of resources and a self-assessment tool that allows businesses to check their CoR compliance. Including online assessments, templates and checklists, the CoR Heath Check gives operators both a benchmark of their current performance and practical steps they can take to improve their safety management.

The CoR Health Check is NTI’s first resource of this type, but Greene says there are more planned for the future. “We want to be able to assist specific sectors of the transport

HOW NTI PROCESSES CLAIMS NTI will agree on a solution that is right for you

Recovery and cleanup coordination Accident Assist 24/7 call centre 1800 NTI NOW

Assigned NTI customer claims consultant Premium Repairer Timeliness and quality guarantee

Repair Promise Repair guarantee Legal and technical services Fast processing of payments

All payments are authorised within 24 hours

Janelle Greene, NTI Group

Where do brokers fit in?

NTI has witnessed a broad variety of brokerclient relationships in the claims space. The

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NTI-branded tow trucks

Accident scene

“The big advantage of technology is in delivering a more seamless customer experience. It allows more personalisation, better connectivity and the ability to track the claim’s progress the way the claimant wants to” and logistics industry, and we’ve got plans in the pipeline to better meet their needs.”

Driver services • Trauma • Repatriation • Advice

NTI registers claims within four business hours of notification

nature of insurance – particularly within a specialised industry – means that change is constant. Procedural reviews need to occur regularly as a result of shifting legislation.

“We’re a specialist insurer, so we’re happy to manage the claim directly for the

Assigned NTI repair manager Assigned NTI parts coordinator

Contact from a repair manager within 24 hours of appointment

client,” Greene says. “But brokers can play a valuable role, too – they have history with the client and understand their particular needs. They can provide wider context and act as a partner.”

This partnership is of considerable value, Greene notes. Indeed, it’s possible that in the wake of the royal commission, brokers will become even more involved in the claims process in the future. The most important thing, she stresses, is that the customer feels that they are part of the process.

“Brokers have been looking at it very closely in the last few months,” Greene says.

“Their individual policies are going to vary, of course, but NTI is always going to work closely with its broker partners to deliver the best customer outcomes.”

3 May • The Star Sydney

Insurance Business reveals all the finalists across 30 categories for the second annual Insurance Business Australia Awards It's hard to believe it’s been a whole year since the first Insurance Business Australia Awards were a smash-hit success. Twelve months ago, more than 600 members of the industry elite gathered to celebrate the achievements of the very best in the business. It was an unforgettable evening that highlighted what Insurance Business has known all along: that the nation’s insurance sector is full of talented, hard-working and driven individuals who never fail to pull out the stops for their clients.

This year, thousands of first-rate nominations were whittled down to a roster of 178 incredible finalists over an array of prestigious categories.

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Want to be there as the deserving winners receive their awards? Join us at The Star Sydney on 3 May, where you’ll enjoy a gala ceremony hosted by standup comedian Jimeoin, drinks and dancing, topnotch acrobatic entertainment from circus arts group Aerialize, and live music from Linden Furnell and Gotham City Horns.

Celebrating the people who make insurance great is a real passion here at Insurance Business – a passion that will undoubtedly shine through on the most important date in the Australian insurance sector’s calendar. To book a table, please visit ibawards.com.au.

FINALISTS BEST COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT PROGRAM – INSURER • Allianz Australia

BEST COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT PROGRAM – BROKER

BEST SERVICE PROVIDER

• Chubb Insurance

• Action Insurance Brokers

• IAG

• Allinsure

• iCare

• CPR Insurance Services

• ClaimLogik

• Insurance Advisernet Foundation

• JB Hi-Fi Solutions for Insurance

• McLardy McShane Insurance and Financial Services

• LMI Group

• Zenith Insurance Services

• Sedgwick

• NTI • Vero • Zurich

• BizCover • Charles Taylor Adjusting • Gallagher Bassett

• MCS Group

Winner, 2018 Best Community Engagement Program – Broker: Adroit Insurance & Risk

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BEST DIGITAL STRATEGY – UNDERWRITING AGENCY • Blend Insurance Solutions

BEST DIGITAL STRATEGY – BROKERAGE • AUZi®

• AIG • CGU Insurance

• Blue Zebra Insurance

• Action Insurance Brokers

• Brooklyn Underwriting

• Dixon Insurance Services

• DUAL Australia • One Underwriting

• IMC Insurance Brokers

• Tego Insurance

• Insure 247 • SRG Group • Trade Risk

Winner, 2018 Most Effective Internet Presence – General Insurer: Vero

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BEST DIGITAL STRATEGY – GENERAL INSURER

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• Mapfre Insurance Services • NTI • QBE Insurance • Zurich

FINALISTS UNDERWRITING AGENCY CLAIMS TEAM OF THE YEAR

THE UNDERWRITING AGENCIES COUNCIL AWARD FOR

AUSTRALIAN UNDERWRITING AGENCY OF THE YEAR

GENERAL INSURER CLAIMS TEAM OF THE YEAR

• Accident & Health International Underwriting

• Brooklyn Underwriting

• Allianz Australia

• DUAL Australia

• DUAL Australia

• Chubb Insurance

• Emergence Insurance

• High Street Underwriting

• QBE Insurance

• High Street

• Vero

• Mecon

• Zurich

• Professional Risks Underwriting • Rural Affinity Insurance • St George Underwriting

• CGU Insurance

• St George Underwriting • Sportscover Australia

PROUDLY SPONSORED BY

Winner, 2018 Underwriting Agency Claims Team of the Year: National Transport Insurance

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THE BLAKE OLIVER CONSULTING AWARD FOR

AUSTRALIAN GENERAL INSURER OF THE YEAR • Allianz Australia • CGU Insurance • Chubb Insurance • QBE Insurance • Vero

THE UNDERWRITING AGENCIES COUNCIL AWARD FOR

UNDERWRITING AGENCY BDM OF THE YEAR • Matt Almond

• Shane Butcher

• Jessica Corfield

• Justin Boyes

• Nikki Dunnet

• Melissa Corrigan

• Josh McCracken

• Marilyn de Fracesco

• Amanda Mikeleit

• James Lee

• Nathan Sommer

• Adam McBryde

• Con Stoitsis

• Scott Osberg

High Street Underwriting Rural Affinity Insurance Rural Affinity Insurance

• Zurich

UAA

PROUDLY SPONSORED BY

GENERAL INSURER BDM OF THE YEAR

360 Commercial

Ryno Insurance Service Steadfast

Vero

QBE Insurance QBE Insurance

Allianz Australia Allianz Australia

Vero

CGU Insurance

• Carla Taylor Vero

• Thomas Williams PROUDLY SPONSORED BY

Winner, 2018 General Insurer BDM of the Year: Rebecca Gumm, CGU

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Allianz Australia

FINALISTS BROKER OF THE YEAR – AUTHORISED REPRESENTATIVE

BROKER OF THE YEAR – SPECIALIST

BROKER OF THE YEAR – INTERNATIONAL

• Matthew Bates

• Anthony Carollo

• Peter Campbell

• Lisa Carter

• John Cartwright

• Samuel Rogers

Bell Partners Insurance Clear Insurance

• Ken Dixon

Dixon Insurance

• David Goodall MRI Group

• Bonni Gordon Global Risks

• David Hodges

Corvus Insurance Advisers

• Stephen Sloan Insure 247

• Michael Stewart

Stewart Insurance Group

Winner, 2018 Broker of the Year (International): Russell Boucher, Gallagher

Carollo Horton

Cartwright Insurance Brokers

• Henry Clark

Gallagher Marsh

• Steve Sampedro Aon

Honan Insurance Group

• Christian Lingga CRM Brokers

• Steven Marsi The Builders Broker

• Darren Pavic

Bovill Risk + Insurance

• Enrique Sicurella CCM Insurance Group

• Angela Vella Gallagher

Winner, 2018 Broker of the Year – Specialist: Racheal Tumelty, Gallagher

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BROKER OF THE YEAR – INDEPENDENT (20+ STAFF)

• Peter Beard Honan Insurance Group

BROKER OF THE YEAR – INDEPENDENT (LESS THAN 20 STAFF) • Max Cuzzocra

Maxton Insurance Brokers

• Prudence Chang

• Kate Fairley

• Kim Gilbert

• Bonni Gordon

• Joe Khoury

• James Skiadas

• Lisa Paradiso

National Credit Insurance Zenith Insurance Services Action 18

SRG Group

• David Powell

Elliott Insurance Brokers

Simplex Insurance Solutions Global Risks

IMC Insurance Brokers

• Mike McShane McLardy McShane

• Avi Tatarka

• David White

Scott Winton Insurance Brokers Phoenix Brokers

Winner, 2018 Broker of the Year – Independent (20+ Staff): Maria Parry, Austcover

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Winner, 2018 Broker of the Year – Independent (Less Than 20 Staff): Kate Fairley, Simplex Insurance Solutions

FINALISTS THE AXA XL INSURANCE AWARD FOR

YOUNG GUN OF THE YEAR – INTERNATIONAL • Zoe Evans

• Jeremy Andison Intertrade Insurance Services

Gallagher

• Jonathon Ham

• Taela Bloemers

Gallagher

• Irish Peters Aon

• Sapphire Newton Aon

YOUNG GUN OF THE YEAR – INDEPENDENT (20+ STAFF)

• Sarah Hando

Rural Affinity Underwritng

• Sam Johnston

Brookvale Insurance Brokers SRG Group

• Joseph Cuzzocrea

Maxton Insurance Brokers

• Jess Dametto

Webber Insurance Services

Regional Insurance Brokers

• Nikita Willis

YOUNG GUN OF THE YEAR – INDEPENDENT (LESS THAN 20 STAFF)

• Daniel Groves Topsail Insurance

• Natalie Maras

Riverina Finance & Insurance Solutions

• Anthea Skiadas

IMC Insurance Brokers

• Adam Sloan Insure 247

PROUDLY SPONSORED BY

• Aimee Williams

Austbrokers Coast to Coast

Winner, 2018 Young Gun of the Year – Independent (Less Than 20 Staff): Jonathan Ross, Aviso WA

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AUTHORISED REPRESENTATIVE NETWORK OF THE YEAR

BEST CUSTOMER SERVICE FROM AN INDIVIDUAL OFFICE

• Community Broker Network

• 20:20 Insurance Brokers

• BAC Insurance Brokers

• Insurance Advisernet Australia

• Allinsure

• Bovill Risk + Insurance

• Marsh Advantage • PSC Connect

• BAC Insurance Brokers • Bell Partners Insurance • Scott Winton Insurance Brokers • Simplex Insurance Solutions • Trade Risk

Winner, 2018 Specialist Brokerage of the Year: BAC Insurance Brokers

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SPECIALIST BROKERAGE OF THE YEAR

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• CCM Insurance Group • Nepean Brokers & Associates • Risk Capital Advisers • The Builders Broker • Topsail Insurance

FINALISTS BROKERAGE OF THE YEAR (1–5 STAFF) • Aether Insurance & Risk • Bell Partners Insurance • CPR Insurance Services • Dixon Insurance Services • Global Risks • InterRe Insurance Brokers • MKS Insurance Services • Trade Risk

BROKERAGE OF THE YEAR (6–20 STAFF) • Allinsure • Austbrokers Coast to Coast • City Rural Insurance Brokers • IMC Insurance Brokers

THE QBE INSURANCE AWARD FOR

BROKERAGE OF THE YEAR (20+ STAFF)

• Adroit Insurance & Risk • CRM Brokers • McLardy McShane Insurance and Financial Services

• Insure 247

• National Credit Insurance

• Remingtons Insurance Brokers

• Scott Winton Insurance Brokers

• Simplex Insurance Solutions

• SRG Group

• Watkins Taylor Stone PROUDLY SPONSORED BY

Winner, 2018 Brokerage of the Year (20+ Staff): McLardy McShane

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INTERNATIONAL BROKERAGE OF THE YEAR

TO BE ANNOUNCED ON THE NIGHT …

• Gallagher

AUSTRALIAN BROKER OF THE YEAR

• Marsh

Recognising the best broker in the Australian insurance industry, this category is judged on client retention, customer service proposition, lead generation, contribution to the overall business, relevant financial results and contribution to the sector. Finalists in this category are drawn from the winners of Broker of the Year – International, Broker of the Year – Specialist, Broker of the Year – Independent (20+ Staff), Broker of the Year – Independent (Less Than 20 Staff) and Authorised Representative of the Year.

AUSTRALIAN BROKERAGE OF THE YEAR This award aims to celebrate the best brokerage business operating in the Australian insurance industry. Criteria includes client retention, customer service proposition, financial results, staff development and retention, and the business’s value proposition and strategy around stakeholder engagement. The finalists in this category will be drawn from the winners of International Brokerage of the Year, Brokerage of the Year (20+ Staff), Brokerage of the Year (6–20 Staff), Brokerage of the Year (1–5 Staff) and Specialist Brokerage of the Year.

THE AXA XL INSURANCE AWARD FOR

AUSTRALIAN YOUNG GUN OF THE YEAR This award recognises the best broker under age 35, based on demonstrated career progression and professional development, contribution to their organisation, relevant financial results, and overall customer service. The finalists in this category will be drawn from the winners of Young Gun of the Year – Independent (Less Than 20 Staff), Young Gun of the Year – Independent (20+ Staff) and Young Gun of the Year – International.

PROUDLY SPONSORED BY

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awards sponsors AXA XL Insurance provides property, casualty, professional and specialty products to industrial, commercial and professional firms, insurance companies, and other enterprises throughout the world.

Iselle Gonzalez, senior communications and marketing manager E: iselle.gonzalez@xlcatlin.com P: 02 8270 1719 W: xlcatlin.com

The Underwriting Agencies Council is the peak representative body for Australian and New Zealand underwriting agencies. It provides professional development and educational events, expos to showcase members’ specialisations to brokers, marketing campaigns, and representation to government and industry.

UAC has more than 100 agency members and almost 50 business service members. Members’ annual GWP is around $3.5bn.

William Legge, general manager E: williamlegge@uac.org.au P: 02 8284 8406 W: uac.org.au

Blake Oliver Consulting is an insurance specialist consulting firm run by insurance professionals for the insurance sector. We have deep sector knowledge and a team of dedicated consultants pre-eminent in their field. We are committed to providing intelligent people solutions to our clients and exceptional care to candidates.

QBE Australia has offices across all states and territories, providing a broad range of insurance products to personal, business, corporate and institutional customers. From home and contents and motor to mining companies and wineries, we aim to meet our customers’ needs to deliver the highest level of service from quote to claim.

Daniel J. Marsh, managing director E: djmarsh@blakeoliver.com.au P: 0424 188 733 W: blakeoliver.com.au

Natalie Bolzon, marketing partner E: natalie.bolzon@qbe.com P: 02 9375 4862 W: qbe.com.au

BROUGHT TO YOU BY Key Media organises industry awards and professional development events in association with its leading magazine titles.

Sophie Knight E: sophie.knight@keymedia.com P: 02 8437 4700 W: keymedia.com

Publications Insurance Business Australia Insurance Business NZ Insurance Business Asia Insurance Business UK Insurance Business Canada Insurance Business America

Events Insurance Business Australia Awards Insurance Business Canada Awards Women in Insurance Awards NZ

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FEATURES

BROKER INSIGHT

Reaching the elite level Stewart Insurance Group’s Michael Stewart, this year’s number-one Elite Broker, talks to Nicola Middlemiss about overcoming challenges, spotting opportunities and hitting the streets to meet new clients

THE ELITE BROKERS list is always among Insurance Business’ most highly anticipated features. This year, industry veteran Michael Stewart was crowned the overall winner, climbing from the seventh-place spot he secured in 2018 to the highest position on the list.

Stewart is humble about his win, insisting he isn’t doing anything too differently from anyone else in the market – however, he did share some savvy advice for others looking to succeed.

“Stand your ground, sell quality product, and eventually you will rise to the top,” he says.

“You might miss out on some business by refusing to sell a cheap product, but you end up getting better business.”

While Stewart admits he’s seen clients walk away because he won’t match a cheaper quote, he says he’s happier having peace of mind that the policies won’t disappoint at claims time.

It’s an approach that seems to be working – Stewart says he spends far more time on the phone with potential customers than he does with disgruntled clients.

“I’m forever getting phone calls on a Monday morning from someone who was at a dinner party over the weekend and were told to ring me,” he says. “People like to talk about insurance

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at dinner parties, and they share their good stories – but they also share their bad stories, so if I’d sold them a cheap, crappy policy, they’d be telling their friends what an idiot I am.”

Of course, as with most independent brokers, Stewart’s journey to success hasn’t been all plain sailing – in fact, he faced adversity from the moment he set out on his own, more than a decade ago.

“I’d gone from a large brokerage and I had fairly restrictive restraint of trade, so I had a good year of old clients ringing me, desperate to deal with me, but they just weren’t allowed to,” Stewart says. “I had to basically say, ‘Listen, I would love to deal with you, but I can’t.’”

While some clients waited out the restraint of trade or found ways around it, Stewart says he had to work hard to build up a new base, rather than relying on an established book.

“I basically had 15 years of clientele and experience, but because it was such an aggressive restriction of trade, I dared not go near any of my old clients,” he says. “It was a very humbling experience walking down my local shopping strip, knocking on doors or buying a coffee because it’s a good way to get some business.”

While the experience was certainly a challenge, Stewart says it helped him see opportunities that other brokers often overlook or don’t think are worth their time.

“I know a lot of brokers who won’t touch car or home insurance, but I think you’ve got to pick your battles – if someone comes to me with a $100,000 Mercedes Benz, they’ve obviously got some wealth and, even if they don’t have their own business, they’ve probably got a centre of influence,” he says.

Whether that person turns out to be a CFO,

SOCIAL MEDIA STRESS While Stewart is in a strong position, he believes technology and social media platforms are sending the wrong message to an increasing number of consumers. “Online quotes used to be for just cars or houses, things like that, but now you’re getting into business insurance, and I think that’s a real issue,” he says. “There are online forums and community hubs on Facebook which are just spruiking the wrong idea. There’s this aggregation of people providing advice, but none of them are qualified to do so, and it’s leading consumers in the wrong direction.”

FAST FACTS: MICHAEL STEWART

BROKERAGE Stewart Insurance Group

JOB TITLE Director

LOCATION Melbourne

“You might miss out on some business by refusing to sell a cheap product, but you end up getting better business” has a string of investment properties or even just knows a friend with a successful business, Stewart says that one interaction can often lead to bigger things.

“If you take the time to help them out with the smaller stuff, once you’ve developed a rapport, you can ask to quote on their business or if they know anyone else who might be interested,” he says.

While embracing the smaller accounts can

lead to bigger opportunities, Stewart says he’s perfectly happy to have lots of business on the lower end of the spectrum, as it adds an element of security.

“I could lose a client now, I could lose two clients a day, and it wouldn’t be a blip on the radar because we have such a huge amount of small business,” he says. “At the end of the day, we’ll write cafés and property owners and small business until the cows come home – we love it.”

YEARS AS AN INDEPENDENT BROKER 11

AFFILIATIONS Member of the Steadfast Network and AR of Empire Insurance Services

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PEOPLE

CAREER PATH

ALL ABOUT THE CUSTOMER Whether he’s working in a large sector or a specialised niche, John Torcasio knows it all comes down to building relationships

The child of immigrants who ran a successful fruit shop, Torcasio attributes his strong work ethic to the necessity of working in the family business from the age of 4.

“My father came to Australia with $20 in his pocket and built up a successful business. Some of our customers worked in finance, and that gave me ideas about what I wanted to do.”

1989

GAINS EARLY EXPERIENCE

2003 THRIVES IN UNDERWRITING Torcasio found his métier at Lumley, where he progressed from underwriting assistant to underwriter in short order.

“I enjoyed it: the risk assessment, the financial aspects and the relationship component of the industry. Every risk is different, and the financial side of how the business operates is fascinating.”

2010 MOVES INTO MANAGEMENT Named property and liability operations manager for NSW, Torcasio oversaw a larger team of underwriters and underwriting assistants through two sales (one to Wesfarmers and one to IAG) while never losing sight of his primary goal of delivering superior customer service.

“I gained experience not just in management, but in being resilient to change and always doing the best you can regardless of the circumstances around you.”

2019

RETURNS TO AUSTRALIA A growing family prompted Torcasio to look for opportunities back home.

He returned to Australia less than a week before getting his feet under the desk at Sportscover as Sydney branch manager.

“The opportunity resonated with me – the opportunity to move back into a management role and be directly involved in the growth and customer service of the Sydney team. I enjoy being held accountable and being responsible for the growth and direction of a team.”

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2002 DISCOVERS INSURANCE When his ambitions in finance ran into trouble, Torcasio found himself with a job in insurance.

“I did an internship with a stockbroker; however, because of the downturn, they weren’t hiring. They said, ‘Come back in a year after you’ve gained some finance experience.’ I went to a recruiter and she said, ‘The only role I have available is an underwriting assistant position.’ I thought it was a way to gain finance experience.”

2005 SEIZES THE DAY Seeking to broaden his knowledge, Torcasio moved to the claims side of the business, only to find himself missing underwriting. When he heard about an opportunity to join Lumley’s commercial property and liability underwriting division, he didn’t hesitate.

“It’s one of the largest sectors, and I jumped at the chance to do something different, to expand my knowledge. I wanted to have a well-rounded understanding of the industry; I am always looking to expand my skill set.”

2015

VENTURES OVERSEAS Torcasio’s drive to gain international experience, combined with his wife’s American origins, culminated in a stint in the United States.

“It was a perfect opportunity to work overseas. I contacted American firms months ahead of time and had an interview lined up within 36 hours of landing.

I arrived at the airport at 1am Wednesday morning and had the interview on Thursday. It was good to work for a Fortune 500 company. My promotion after three years was validating.”

PEOPLE

OTHER LIFE

TELL US ABOUT YOUR OTHER LIFE Email ibo@keymedia.com.au

RIDING FOR A CAUSE There’s nowhere bicycle insurance expert Luke De Laurence would rather be than on two wheels LUKE DE LAURENCE was already a passionate cyclist when he became involved with Lifeflight thanks to a cycling friend who works as a paramedic for the aero-medical charity and also organises cycling-based fundraising challenges.

“Four years ago, he talked me into joining him on a Base to Base ride: 260km from their Gold Coast office to their Toowoomba hangar,” says De Laurence, a product manager at niche insurance provider Bikesure. “On that ride, I met people Lifeflight had saved, and since then, I’ve had many more share their stories – I’ve been involved with the charity ever since.”

Several of De Laurence’s non-cycling fundraising efforts – such as shaving his head – have raised a smile. But the Everest Challenge, in which he cycled 370km over an elevation equivalent to the height of Mt Everest in a single day, was a particular feat. “It’s a real bucket list achievement for any cyclist,” De Laurence says.

12

Hours it took De Laurence to complete the Everest challenge

8,852

Total metres De Laurence climbed (Everest is 8,848m)

$5,130

Amount De Laurence has raised so far for Lifeflight

In addition to his cycling feats, De Laurence’s fundraising challenges have included getting hit in the face with a pie and racing a poodle

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If only all environmental risks were as obvious.

Some environmental risks are easy to spot, let us protect you against the hidden ones.

Virtually every industry is subject to environmental risk and liability. As an industry leader for more than 15 years, AIG can provide you with the knowledge, solutions, and tools you need to manage those exposures. Like PIER (Pollution Incident and Environmental Response),® a nationwide, round-the-clock network of emergency response and environmental specialists that are ready to assist you at every step of a pollution event. To learn more, visit www.AIG.com.au

Insurance and services provided by member companies and network partners of American International Group, Inc. In Australia, insurance is issued by AIG Australia Limited ABN 93 004 727 753 AFSL 381686. Coverage may not be available in all jurisdictions and is subject to actual policy language. For additional information, please visit our website at www.AIG.com or AIG.com.au © AIG – All rights reserved.