A passionate advocate for the profession and manager who leads with empathy and a sense of purpose, NIBA’s newest board director, Rebecca Wilson from Austbrokers ABS and is quietly making her mark in an industry known for traditional values....
Many SMEs tend to be complacent when it comes to terrorism. Our experts share why it’s important brokers make sure it is on their radar. Heavily armed officers at every airport, soldiers carrying weapons on beaches, bomb disposal experts...
The Warren Tickle Memorial Award for Young Professional Broker of the Year has been handed out to 27 young and inspiring brokers since its inception back in 1990. So, ahead of the revelation of this year’s winner, Insurance Adviser...
Those gourmet pork pies you recently tucked into? You could’ve contracted salmonella. That garlic bread you enjoyed with your pizza? Possibly littered with little plastic chunks. And the beer you washed it all down with? That tangy twist might’ve been chemical cleaning fluid....
Despite the challenges, agriculture continues to be a major part of the economy. The 2015-16 Agricultural Census by the Australian Bureau of Statistics places the gross value of Australian agricultural production at $56 billion from 85,681 farming businesses in the country. Belinda Scott,...
The Vero SME Index might show a decline in SME use of brokers, but Vero’s Head of Commercial Intermediaries Anthony Pagano is excited about the future of broking in Australia. Insurance Adviser: What makes you optimistic about the future...
No longer just an emerging risk, cyber risk is now a prominent threat. This year alone we’ve seen some of the biggest ransomware attacks in history, impacting hundreds of countries and thousands of businesses. Cyber-crime is predicted to exceed...
Every year floods, storms, bushfires and terrorist incidents claim lives, devastate businesses and destroy livelihoods. The recent pace of such events in 2016-2017 have brought home the need for contingency insurance for event promoters and organisers in Australia. The...
The construction industry in Australia is flourishing. But costs continue to be an issue, with builders using low cost, imported materials or subcontractors, that put their coverage into question if a claim occurs. Brokers are well-placed, if you are...
Insurance brokers often talk about client service and how they put the client at the centre of everything. It’s how they do it though that sets them apart. Willis Towers Watson Head of Broking Services Helene Madell tells Insurance...
Australia’s import market has grown an average of 3.8 per cent a year over the last five years. The opportunity is there for brokers, especially as coverage can be quite complex for importers and any loss would be considerable....
Vintage, classic, or prestige cars – what insurance is available and what roles can brokers play in this sector? The world of motoring enthusiasts who devote their time and money to collecting vintage, classic, prestige or race cars is...
Picture this, you’ve just finished your shift as a trauma nurse and are driving back home on Sydney’s Harbour Bridge with spectacular views on either side and suddenly, out of nowhere an object comes flying toward your window ricocheting...
NIBA has two new directors – Piranha Insurance Brokers’ Heather Peirano and Marsh Chief Client Officer Australia Mike Hutchinson. In one sense, they could not be any different – one is from regional North Queensland and the other one...
There’s this young truck driver on the road, nine hours into a 12-hour shift. His eyelids are heavy, drooping regularly over bloodshot eyes. His concentration is waning noticeably. And then his truck veers off the road – safely, of...
Tropical Cyclone Debbie was a complex severe weather event which started as a category four cyclone bringing with it destructive winds of up to 260 kilometres an hour and heavy rain. Crossing the Queensland coast near Airlie Beach on...
Marine insurance is a niche area that requires specialist knowledge, but it is also a growing segment where brokers continue to be relevant. The global marine insurance market is estimated to grow to US$39.75 billion, at a compound annual...
Marsh went through a year of transformation in 2016; and just when you thought things were settling down, it picked up Landmark early this year, adding 80 new authorised representatives to its fold in the regional centres. Insurance Adviser...
Insurance Adviser takes a look at the sharing economy and the opportunities, and challenges, it offers brokers in the public liability space. Headlines – The market for peer-to-peer services such as Uber and Airbnb is expected to reach $55...
With the Australian tourism industry on the cusp of major growth Insurance Adviser spoke to experts in the industry on how brokers can capitalise on the rush. Headlines – The tourism industry is booming, with international and domestic tourists...
Is customer data too valuable to share or too valuable to hoard? These questions elicit polar opposite answers depending on who you ask. HEADLINES: – Data is the biggest asset any company has
Dianne Phelan, group operations manager at BJS Insurance Group, joins the NIBA Board with nearly four decades of experience as an insurance broker and is still as passionate as ever about the industry. She now speaks to Insurance Adviser...
New data breach notification laws were recently passed by Federal Parliament and will have important implications for your brokerage and your client’s businesses. With the new mandatory data breach notification laws now a certainty in Australia, we will have...
Robotic manufacturing is nothing new, but it is becoming more and more prevalent. Importantly, the mix of them being controlled by online systems opens up a whole new can of worms for manufacturers and the brokers who advise them....
Are you thinking like a small business owner? If you aren’t, you should be. Small and medium businesses are great opporunities for insurance brokers to grow their client base and revenue streams by proving their value as trusted insurance...
Helping consumers understand the important points in a product disclosure statement is where brokers can really show their value. HEADLINES: – 80 per cent of consumers do not read a product disclosure statement before buying an insurance policy –...
ASIC’s Deputy Chair Peter Kell has a long history in consumer protection and as the financial services sector, including insurance, goes through a shake-up to improve customer outcomes, Insurance Adviser speaks to him about the regulatory challenges ahead and...
Workers compensation regimes are different across the various Australian states, and right now changes are on the way for the NSW scheme, but as Insurance Adviser finds out, there are still ways that brokers can show their value in...
The Australian tech start-up industry has the potential to contribute $109bn (or 4 per cent of GDP) and 540,000 jobs to the Australian economy by 2033, a research by PWC has found. This promising sector could provide brokers with...
The strata insurance sector is predicted to grow rapidly in the coming years. As house prices increase, the general property purchaser and investor population is being forced to turn to more affordable apartment style living. Headlines – Strata living...
Incoming NIBA President Tim Wedlock would be no stranger to those in broking. He’s been Vice President for a couple of years and on the association’s divisional committee for many more. Meanwhile, he’s also running a successful business in...
Business interruption, including supply chain disruption and vulnerability and cyber incidents, is the top risk for businesses world-wide, according to the 2017 Allianz Risk Barometer, and yet BI insurance continues to be a grudge purchase for many SMEs. Headlines...
Climate change. It’s an issue that tends to polarise. But new legal opinion has put the topic square on directors’ agendas, whether they are believers or deniers. HEADLINES – Directors who fail to consider climate change risks could be...
As the professional services sector has grown, professional indemnity (PI) insurance, once perhaps the remit of specialist brokers, has become a core product offering for many general insurance brokers. HEADLINES – Professional indemnity insurance is a market in its...
Steadfast MD and CEO Robert Kelly’s contributions to broking is widely acknowledged, judging by the awards and trophies that adorn the company’s reception area, and his creation of the cluster group has been hailed as an inspiration for the...
The NSW Government will remove the NSW Emergency Services Levy (ESL) from insurance premiums on any policy renewed or commencing on or after 1 July 2017. There is still some confusion in the market about the phase out. Recently,...
What does 2017 hold for insurance broking? Insurance Adviser spoke to key figures in the industry to provide you with some insight into trends that might play out in the year ahead. HEADLINES – Regulatory focus on financial sector,...
The financial services industry, including insurance broking, has been known to be heavily male-dominated in the past. So, in 2016, have things changed? Headlines – Women still have a long way to go in insurance, particularly at senior levels...
As we head into the Australian summer, we’re already being warned about the ‘higher than normal risk’ of bushfires and an ‘above-average’ cyclone season. It’s time to prepare clients for this by ensuring they are reducing their risks and...