Recap: Vic YP Breakfast Seminar, NIBA Lunch Gala, and the NIBA / UAC Expo 2023

Last week, on Friday 19 May, the Victorian broking community came together at the Crown Melbourne to network and celebrate their achievements, including the announcement of the Vic/Tas winners of the Vero-sponsored 2023 Vic/Tas Young Broker of the Year and the QBE-sponsored 2023 Vic/Tas Broker of the Year 2023 award.  

Vic YP Committee’s Breakfast Seminar

The day started with a breakfast seminar which featured an engaging panel discussion facilitated by the members of the Young Professionals Committee. 

With the Australian economy and households tackling rising cost of living, the expert panel of speakers explored the impact of underinsurance and inflation in insurance placement and claims. The panel covered how insurance brokers can assist their clients with managing risks through surveys at the property, presenting to underwriters, how the risk is reviewed in underwriting, and managing underinsurance during the claims process. 

Key lessons on assisting clients when it comes to the impact of inflation and underinsurance 

1. The impact of inflation on underinsurance 

The consensus is an asset is underinsured when it is insured only for 90% or less of its true value. The Insurance Council of Australia (ICA) suggests that as of 2021, 83% of all property in Australia is underinsured.  

When you take inflation into account, being underinsured poses challenges at claim time, slowing down claim settlements.  

2. Is auto-indexation a valid solution for underinsurance? 

Auto-indexation is challenging because it sets false expectations and a false sense of security for people. On the other hand, the counter-argument is that something is better than nothing. The underlying issue here is that people might not understand what the replacement of the property is to start with. If the base is wrong, indexing at any percent will not get you closer to the right result.  

3. Advice for young brokers to successfully negotiate the best outcomes for their clients in the current environment when looking at a renewal or claim 

For renewals, start out as early as possible in understanding your client’s business and establish a clear baseline. Engaging as early as you can is the best thing to do for renewals. With claims, if you can rely on resources such as a claims team, it’s wise to use them. Two heads can sometimes be better than one, especially in a technical area such as claims. Set expectations early. Don’t wait. Having open transparency and clear lines of communication is important. 

4. Given high inflation, what management techniques and safeguards are insurers using to prevent claims costs from blowing out and what can brokers do to assist with this? 

A lot of good work has been done over the last few years to shore up the supply lines. This is done in an effort to shorten the overarching life of claims and decrease the cost blowout. You can only shore up supply lines and control things as best as you can, but you need to accept that there will be things out of your control. From a broking perspective, you can in some cases help your clients in speeding up the process and cut down wait times. It’s about having that conversation with your client and convincing them about the outcome that’s best for them. As a broker, you can try to make your clients see the benefit in shortening the claim life, which in turn reduces claim costs.  

Special thanks to our panellists: 

Cillian Browne, Senior Loss Adjuster at McLarens 

Marty Sadlier, Director, MCG Quantity Surveyors 

Jeff Williams, Broker Claims Manager, Gallagher 

Peter Hopkinson, Senior Property Underwriter, QBE 

Congratulations to the Young Professionals Committee for putting on such an engaging panel session, especially Oliver Ward and Jasmin Gabrielli who facilitated the discussion on the day. 

NIBA / UAC Vic Underwriting Expo

After the breakfast seminar, attendees headed to the NIBA / UAC Vic Underwriting Expo.

It was an extremely positive turnout, with 116 Exhibitors and a total of over 500 registered brokers who attended the Expo. 

NIBA Vic Gala Lunch

The much-anticipated NIBA Vic Gala Lunch took place in the Crown Aviary on the rooftop of Crown Melbourne.  

The event opened with speeches from NIBA Vice-President Nick Cook and NIBA CEO Philip Kewin. 

Vic/Tas Award Winners Announced

Winners of the QBE-sponsored 2023 Vic/Tas Broker of the Year Award and the Vero-sponsored 2023 Young Broker of the Year Award were announced at the Gala Lunch.  

Olivia Hancock, from Marsh, claimed the Vero-sponsored 2023 Vic/Tas Young Broker of the Year Award. 

The Vic/Tas Young Broker of the Year award recognises broking’s rising stars under the age of 35. 

Zoran Romanovski, State Distribution Manager Vic/Tas, Vero, said: “Olivia’s passion for the industry really shone through the selection process. She is a true advocate for her clients and an inspiration for her peers through her work on the Victorian Young Professionals Committee.  

“Olivia represents the very best of the broking profession, and Vero is delighted to provide ongoing support to all brokers like her across the country.” 

Nick Hodges, from Marsh, claimed the QBE-sponsored 2023 Vic/Tas Broker of the Year Award. 

The Vic/Tas Broker of the Year Award goes to an individual broker who is deemed an inspirational role model for the broking community, who has demonstrated excellence in broking practice and client advocacy. 

The winner of the 2023 Vic/Tas Broker of the Year Award also receives the Graham ‘Bear’ Stevens Trophy. This trophy is in recognition of Graham Stevens’ significant contribution and dedication to NIBA and the broader broking profession. 

Elliot Hill, Managing Director – Business, QBE Australia Pacific said: “On behalf of QBE, I’d like to congratulate Nick on winning this year’s Vic/Tas Broker of the Year award. Nick has shown strong commitment in providing reliable, trusted advice to his customers and community, and we commend him for his professionalism.” 

NIBA CEO Philip Kewin congratulated the winners of the Vic/Tas awards, adding: “We wish Nick and Olivia the best of luck in the national awards, and we congratulate all the finalists who demonstrated a commitment to professionalism and ongoing improvement.  

“We have outstanding talent in the broking profession and these awards are a fantastic opportunity to highlight the accomplishments of these outstanding individuals,” Kewin added. 

The national QBE-sponsored 2023 Broker of the Year award and 2023 Vero-sponsored Young Broker of the Year award will be chosen from five region winners and announced in October.