Roll of Honour 2008
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Life Insurance Company of the Year
MLC
MLC impressed judges with its aim to protect the lifestyles of Australians and its strong focus on providing consumers with plain English information explaining the need for insurance in simple, non-threatening ways.
Judges were also impressed with MLC’s responsiveness to end-user and intermediary needs. In addition to MLC’s flagship offers, MLC Personal Protection Portfolio and MLC Life Cover Super, MLC also offer a number of simplified offers via other channels to meet the less complex needs of customers.
MLC provides solutions for mortgage and loan debt protection for customers who bank with NAB and also provide a very straightforward direct life cover offer, MLC Simple LifeCover, to clients not seeking advice.
During 2007, MLC launched a new adviser network; the Risk Specialist Network. This provides 200+ advisers with a range of technical support that helps them to meet their, and their clients’, insurance needs.
MLC constantly look for ways to improve clients’ cover and when they find one, providing it won’t increase premiums, MLC implement it for all new and existing clients through its Upgrade Philosophy.
Approximately 300,000 clients now benefit from upgrades and the organisation has implemented over 200 upgrades in the last 20 years. This upgrade philosophy means that, unlike other insurers, pricing reductions are passed to existing customers as well as new ones.
Judges were also impressed with MLC’s aim to raise awareness of Australia’s underinsurance problem. MLC offers support via a number of campaigns targeting different client segments such as its Intergenerational Advice campaign which aims to meet the insurance needs of young people and families by targeting the parents of the young consumers.
The campaign material is designed to raise the pre-retiree parents’ awareness of the need to protect their own retirement plans against the risk of something happening to their dependants.
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General Insurance Company of the Year
Suncorp
Suncorp has been awarded the General Insurance Company of the Year award, recognising its vision to be to be the most admired financial services company in Australia and New Zealand.
Judges were particularly impressed with the lead Suncorp took in flood and emergency services. In 2007, Suncorp received 12,851 claims relating to the Blacktown hailstorms and Mackay Storms, worth almost $124M. Suncorp’s proven Event Response model, developed and tested by Cyclone Larry and the Hunter region events, was rolled out to Suncorp insurance customers in Mackay.
After the Mackay Storms, Suncorp responded in three broad ways; rapid, large-scale ‘on the ground’ response, leadership in industry response (advised government agencies and had an active role in working parties) and behind the scenes – providing food, shelter, solace and financial assistance to the residents of Mackay.
Judges were also impressed with the way Suncorp positioned themselves as an industry leader. The merger with Promina was one of Australia’s largest financial services transactions, creating a top-25 ASX company, and Australia’s second largest general insurer. This merger contributed to the long-term stability of the domestic insurance industry.
In 2007, great progress was made on integrating the Group’s businesses. The new business model, combining the best of both organisations, is now in place. Rigorous analysis, involving more than 400 people, has enabled it to upgrade annualised synergies by $100 million to $325 million, supported by a $161 million investment in business technology to build future capability.
Suncorp’s management team has proven their ability to execute a complex integration while maintaining business momentum. Throughout the integration, employees have maintained the customer focus that was a trademark of both legacy organisations.
The integration of Promina and Suncorp in 2007 reinforces the long term strategy to create shareholder value and deliver benefits to stakeholders. The integration creates a general insurance business with enhanced scale advantages, an expanded product range, and an extensive distribution network across Australia and NZ, boasting; 16,000 staff, 7 million customers and 450 offices, branches and agencies.
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Innovation of the Year
Stream Group
Judges were extremely impressed with buildassist established by Stream Group and its ability to manage building claims, particularly in the sub $10,000 bracket, and the uptake of the program by Australia’s top insurers and loss adjusters.
They were particularly impressed that buildassist was created in direct response to insurer’s needs.
Of recent years, the focus of the insurance industry has been on claims management costs and service providers fees, which did not address the cost associated with the building repair process. This has seen insurers engaging builders directly without adequate control of building costs.
The buildassist process was developed by Stream in response to insurers requests for an alternative to the historical processes, giving greater transparency, and not inhibiting progress of the claim, but rather expediting the process.
Judges were impressed with the flexibility of buildassist. It uses the industry’s best IT platform to manage the clearly identifiable elements of the claim. The IT platform has been developed using open standards and technologies including PHP, mySQL and Java allowing Stream to prove its reliability, functionality and ability to be adapted to meet client requirements and regulatory change. As insurers use the builder’s models to various extents, buildassist has been designed to be totally flexible. Each step in the process is clearly identified, and clients can choose the end-to-end service, or opt for certain elements which suits their needs.
buildassist is the first true ‘end to end’ solution for building claims.It is the first IT platform available to the insurance industry with a true ability to manage the claim both vertically and horizontally.
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Law Firm / Practitioner of the Year
Minter Ellison
Minter Ellison has demonstrated yet again that it is a leader in insurance and corporate risk practices in Australasia, being awarded the Law Firm/Practitioner of the Year award.
Minter Ellison’s ‘front-end’ and ‘back-end’ expertise provides a breadth of industry understanding – demonstrated through its publications and seminars. Their lawyers hold important positions within the industry and peak body groups that are involved in policy and regulatory development. Minter Ellison strive to understand clients’ needs and objectives and innovatively tailor its services to assist them achieve successful business outcomes.
Judges were impressed with Minter’s deep industry understanding and appreciation of issues and challenges facing organisations and the ability to adapt to changing client needs.
Minter Ellison has developed strong professional links with peak industry bodies. Combined with its expertise, these associations help Minter’s effectively advise clients on the impact of changes to legislation and industry regulations.
Minter’s business development team regularly ‘healthcheck’ with clients to understand their business, drivers, objectives and satisfaction to ensure they continue to exceed their expectations.
For example over the past year, Minter’s relationship with Workcover SA has grown with some impressive results, including a reduction in average duration of disputes from 410 to 180 days, including matters proceeding to trial. Management of this contract is expected to deliver legal cost savings to WorkCover in the order of $30m over five years.
Judges were also impressed with Minter’s focus on professional standards. Minter’s help both staff and clients grow personally and professionally through provision of insurance and finance focused education and by maintaining high ethical and social responsibility standards.
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Service Provider to the Insurance Industry
Finity Consulting Pty Ltd
Actuarial and insurance consulting company Finity Consulting has been named Service Provider to the Insurance Industry for the third year running.
Judges were again impressed with Finity’s in depth knowledge and understanding of the market through research. In 2007 Finity invested around 4,400 hours across a range of research projects.
One of Finity’s major pieces of research, undertaken in collaboration with Deutsche Bank, culminating in the inaugural publication of “Pendulum” an annual review of the state of General Insurance in Australia.
Finity have also continued its research on climate change and updated research on the effects of tort reform on long tail claims costs and insurer profitability, presenting papers at the ANZIIF Liability Conference and Reinsurance Rendezvous in 2007.
Judges noted that Finity were very aligned with their customers. Finity assisted clients develop smart pricing systems beyond technical modelling of claims costs to include demand modelling, price elasticity, price optimisation and customer value creation.
Finity tailor their advice to the specific circumstances of each client. For example External Peer Review (EPR) is seen by many insurers as a compliance burden. However, Finity have received positive feedback from clients where they provide EPR as Finity focus on the important issues and most uncertain aspect of the reserving. This enables Fitiy to add value (where possible) to the existing reserving process and meet professional standards while minimising the EPR.
Finity currently serves in excess of 130 clients in the general insurance space throughout Australia, New Zealand and Papua New Guinea. Finity’s actuaries hold Appointed Actuary roles for 31 APRA regulated insurers.
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Risk Team of the Year
Guild Risk Services
A division of the largest insurer of Australian allied healthcare professionals, Guild Risk Services (GRS) works with professions such as pharmacists, dentists, chiropractors, physiotherapists, childcare centres, aged care facilities veterinarians and the community sector.
Judges were impressed with Guild’s strong focus on its customers. Regular focus groups are undertaken with core markets to ascertain their concerns and put in place strategies that will secure long term relationships. Solutions develop from underwriting experience, analysis of emerging risk trends together with consideration of the price sensitivity of members. This open communication with core clients is evidenced by the fact that Guild has continuing and long-standing relationships with all major Association clients.
Judges were also impressed with Guild’s leadership within the industry. Guild’s partnership with Associations allows it to develop tailored advice, risk tools and solutions for their members. Each year GRS delivers risk management presentations throughout Australia, submits articles to profession-specific publications and chairs risk management committees in partnership with our major client groups.
Raising awareness and promoting positive risk behaviours early in the professional lives of those entering into Guild’s core professional markets is a priority.
GRS presentations to students help prepare them to become fully qualified healthcare professionals. By instilling risk management awareness from the beginning of their careers, they are given the best chance of successfully building and protecting their professional reputation. Guild also provides complimentary Professional Indemnity insurance for students in a number of professions to cover their work experience. Guild sees this as part of its commitment to the next generation of healthcare professionals and Guild clients.
GRS is passionate about risk management and feel that their role is to educate, communicate and raise awareness of Risk Management within the Group and externally to clients. An example is regular incident reviews written by GRS for staff at regional offices. These reviews increase staff knowledge of the risks that clients face. Each review outlines a current claim and documents how the risks associated could have been mitigated.
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Broker of the Year
Marsh
2007 for Marsh in Australia and New Zealand was a year punctuated by the success of a stream of projects designed to deliver new, innovative solutions for clients, bottom-line growth for the company and a better place for colleagues to work.
Marsh retained and grew its industry-leading penetration into Australia and New Zealand’s top-listed companies, but its leadership was defined much more by its willingness to pursue new markets for growth and institute the changes necessary to maintain a vibrant business in a competitive environment.
Judges were particularly impressed with Marsh’s key initiatives in 2007 including the evolution of its weather-based offering to the energy sector, the centralisation of platforms to deliver better claims services and workers’ compensation placement, a new financial crimes practice and the development of new systems for forecasting, customer satisfaction research and expanded business referrals.
The judges were extremely impressed with Marsh’s weather-based insurance product for energy retailers. Marsh analysed the financial volatility which energy retailers are exposed to when they hedge the risk of electricity price spikes – brought about by weather extremes – into the capital markets. Sophisticated modelling derived a solution for transferring an acceptable part of that risk into the insurance market, thereby reducing the client’s financial exposure to the capital markets. Reducing volatility in this way is becoming increasingly useful for energy retailers, which find themselves in a climate characterised by more frequent and more severe weather extremes.
The success of this product was evidenced by its active use by several retailers in 2007 and, in one case, the policy responded after it was triggered by pre-determined measures of risk.
Outstanding customer service resulting in numerous referrals also impressed the judges such as Fitness Australia, through its counterpart in New Zealand, referred Marsh to the Asian Academy of Sports & Fitness Professionals covering countries throughout Asia. Marsh specialists in Australia successfully helped their counterparts in Asia launch this new scheme in Hong Kong.
The expansion of the company’s practice which targets SMEs can also be largely attributed to client referrals. Marsh estimates that approximately 50% of new business in this area derived from client referrals.
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Reinsurance Company of the Year
Munich Reinsurance Group in Australasia
Munich Re has been awarded the 2008 Reinsurance Company of the Year award recognising the company’s dedication to providing reinsurance solutions and service to the Australasian Life and Non-Life insurance markets for over 50 years.
Locally Munich Re positively contribute superior performance to stakeholders and assist in generating confidence of the capital markets through financial stability, ensuring staff develop the highest levels of competence to provide the best solutions for clients, adopting a proactive stance on identifying new and emerging risks, such as pandemics, climate change, diabetes. Munich Re also maintain a regional presence with Life and Non-Life operations in Sydney, Melbourne, Perth and Auckland, and adopt risk management practices that exceed minimum regulatory requirements.
Judges were impressed with Munich Re’s responsiveness to customer needs by researching and introducing new products that benefit the market such as the Munich Re Alliance Professional Indemnity product for large engineering and infrastructure projects which introduces a “no blame” principle entailing a mutual waiver of subrogation. Through close cooperation and collective responsibility financial risk can be reduced.
Munich Re provides industry leadership, identifying key issues that impact the market by providing leading underwriting capacity on locally placed risks, adopting a leadership role at international forums on such critical matters as Climate Change, Global Warming and Environmental Sustainability, assisting in knowledge transfer by hosting and supporting seminars with local and international experts. In 2007, Munich Re Australasia hosted market seminars on Climate Change, the Tunnelling Code of Practice and supported a seminar on emerging risks at the University of Sydney providing sponsorship, information materials and a speaker. Munich Re actively support community organisations and health research initiatives including the Starlight Foundation, Youth Off the Street, Child Cancer Research and Heart Research Institute.
Munich Re maintains a financial strength rating of “Very strong”(Standard & Poor’s) and “Superior”(A.M.Best) and is dedicated to corporate social responsibility and sustainability and will be carbon neutral at Head Office by 2010 and the International Organisation by 2012.
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Loss Adjuster of the Year
TJ Sinclair & Associates
This year’s Loss Adjuster of the Year award goes to an organisation headed up by the quintessential loss adjuster, TJ Sinclair.
TJ Sinclair & Associates is a successful country practice, located in Whyalla for the past 36 years with personnel with broad knowledge and appropriate resource materials to properly manage claims, including regional losses, mining, agriculture and aquaculture.
Trevor Sinclair has been in the insurance industry over 44 years, 40 as an adjuster.
Judges were impressed by his dedication to the industry, he has, at considerable cost personally and to the business, devoted an enormous amount of time with Board roles in Institutes and Associations, speaking to service clubs, specialist groups and students.
The compassion and care TJ Sinclair & Associates provides to claimants reflects favourably on the entire industry. Many insured’s who suffer major losses have little or no experience in the claims process, often compounded by remoteness. TJ Sinclair’s local knowledge of who can render urgent first assistance is vital, paving the way to prompt amicable claim finalisation. Such responsiveness is paramount in the organisation’s success.
In the early 1990’s many fires occurred which investigators attributed to electrical fault. The intriguing circumstances caused Trevor to investigate in detail, following inconclusive police results, particularly in a large emporium fire. After hours sieving through debris Trevor located the fault – an incorrectly manufactured fluorescent light starter. Subsequent investigations, representations were made and an Australian Standard was developed.
Currently Trevor is liaising with Country Fire Service officials following his discovery of evidence, common causes of haystack fire, involving compaction equipment.
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Premium Funder of the Year
Pacific Premium Funding
Pacific Premium Funding’s strong focus on customer service impressed the judging panel helping to secure the title Premium Funder of the Year.
Pacific’s relationship with intermediaries goes beyond just premium funding; it also helps them grow their business. Pacific’s Enhancing Business Performance program helps brokers increase their investment income by improving funding penetration and reducing debtor days outstanding. At no cost to brokers, Pacific provides them with analysis tools, reports and a proven approach to review their marketing practices, business processes and collections procedures.
Judges were also impressed that despite extremely tough market conditions in 2007 for the premium funding industry, Pacific continued to grow and lead the market in terms of research initiatives, broker responsiveness and technology excellence, delivering on stakeholder expectations and providing true value back to their intermediary network.
Throughout 2007, Pacific secured over $350 million in additional annualised volume via acquisition and obtaining new, exclusive funding arrangements. The 2007 volume generated from these and organic growth initiatives enabled Pacific to deliver 4.8 per cent volume increase. This increase was despite a 9 per cent drop in commercial premiums and a loss of workers compensation business equating to a 12.6 per cent reduction in volume. This has seen Pacific grow to assume the number one market position in GWP terms.
Pacific secured the only industry acquisition of 2007, with the purchase of CGU’s premium funding portfolio, adding over $200 million of annualised volume.
Pacific has led the industry with innovative technology such as the first online quoting and loan management system for brokers, perpetual renewal, the first broker interface to remove the need for re-keying and the first interface to connect with all major broker systems.
In 2007, Pacific’s technology focus was on enhancing its solutions to improve efficiency for brokers and positively impact the customer experience. Pacific’s LEAN initiative used electronic document management and workflow automation to speed up the loan approval process, while still retaining risk and compliance standards.
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Services to the Community Award
Territory Insurance Office (TIO)
If ever an insurer could be considered an integral part of the community, TIO is it.
Owned by all Territorians and run purely for their benefit, TIO is the ultimate good corporate citizen, just one of the many reasons judges awarded TIO with the Services to the Community Award.
Thirty years ago TIO started as a general insurer with just a handful of employees and a couple of shopfronts in Darwin and Alice Springs. Over the years, the business has diversified to include financial services as well as the administration and delivery of NT government schemes for compulsory personal motor accidents compensation, HomeNorth home loans for low to middle income earners and the building certification fund. Today TIO is a billion dollar business, with 250 staff and operations spread throughout the Territory.
TIO is Australia’s only Government-owned commercial insurance and banking provider. Its Board members are responsible to the Minister for its performance. While TIO is “guaranteed” by the Government, the organisation operates on a commercial basis and is committed to complying with industry prudential standards and achieving key industry benchmarks.
Throughout TIO’s development, one overriding principle has remained the same - it exists to look after the needs of Territorians, to protect them and help maintain the lifestyle they enjoy.
TIO contributes to the social and economic wellbeing of the Northern Territory by investing resources in activities that benefit the community. Examples include participating voluntarily to support the community in the areas of sports, arts and culture, youth, health, recreation and education.
TIO provides the most comprehensive community sponsorship of any organisation in the NT, investing almost $4 million a year in a broad range of community activities and road safety programs.
In the past financial year TIO contributed $19.8 million to the local economy - an impressive figure comprising payments direct to local suppliers and TIO’s substantial sponsorship program.
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Insurance Leader of the Year
Andrew Penn, Group Chief Executive, AXA
AXA has a reputation as a company that sets clear and challenging targets, communicates them transparently and holds itself accountable for their delivery.
This reputation is itself a reflection of the leadership Andrew Penn shows on a daily basis and one of the many reasons he has been named Insurance Leader of the Year.
The most notable example is the successful transformation of AXA in the early 2000’s in his role as programme director for the K5 transformation programme, through to the successful delivery of the 4 year strategic AXA 6 programme which more than doubled the value of the Australian & New Zealand business while he was Chief Executive Officer.
As CEO of AXA International in the late 1990’s Andrew was instrumental in the establishment of it’s now successful operations throughout Asia which now have an illustrative enterprise value of $1.8 billion.
Andrew is respected and highly regarded for the level of integrity he has shown in all spheres of his life. From the leadership he has shown first as a Board member and then as Chairman of the Melbourne based charity for children with life threatening illnesses, Very Special Kids, through to the mentoring programmes he has participated in including with the Victorian Police.
He has also taken a strong public leadership position on a variety of matters from the role of advice, the services our industry offers, the need for insurance to protect your loved ones, the role of regulators and share offers to unsuspecting shareholders.
Andrew leads by example and believes success is driven by the engagement of the whole organisation and a company is only as good as its people.
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