Thursday night was the Australian and New Zealand Institute of Insurance and Finance (ANZIIF) Australian Insurance Industry Awards. It was an evening that resonated with important anniversaries and significant moments.
More than 800 industry professionals attended at Sydney’s Star Casino. Insurance Business felt lucky to be among the invited guests.
“This event is dedicated to honouring the remarkable accomplishments of individuals and businesses within the Australian insurance sector, and to celebrating our shared successes,” said Katrina Shanks, ANZIIF’s new CEO.
Shanks was marking her first awards as CEO. The industry peak body was also celebrating 20 years of staging this glamorous and engaging event.
Then another important date was revealed.
A short video beamed onto the screens and, rather mysteriously, its narrator began talking about the 1880s.
“Thomas Edison developed the first ever commercial production of electric lighting; Coca Cola, the most popular drink on Earth, was invented and sold for five cents a glass…” said the narrator.
Then there was a Eureka moment. The delegates, enjoying entrees and free flowing wine, paused to take it in.
“…For ANZIIF It all began in 1884, 140 years ago,” said the narrator.
Which makes ANZIIF one of the oldest professional associations in the world – not to mention another, round numbered anniversary.
Another memorable moment of a different kind came shortly afterwards when heavy transport insurer NTI won the Underwriting Agency of the Year award.
“It’s such a unique place to work,” said chief customer officer (CCO) Janelle Greene who came onto stage to accept the award.
“There’s such diversity of thought at NTI, you can be in a meeting room with a diesel mechanic, someone who knows how to clean up an oil spill, someone who knows how to get milk out of a drain, a data scientist, an actuary, a relationship expert - and it’s the alchemy of that diversity that fuels our business and their passion.”
For IB, this seemed like an apt summary of why so many people enjoy working in the insurance industry.
NTI did well on Thursday, winning both the Underwriting and Claims Team of the Year Awards.
Allianz Australia was the only other firm to take home two awards. The big insurer won both the Large General Insurance Company of the Year and the Excellence in Workplace Diversity and Inclusion prize.
Allianz Australia also awarded as the Most Innovative Insurance Companies in Australia and New Zealand. Read the 5-Star Insurance Innovators report here.
But the night also belonged to smaller insurance and brokerage firms. In a time of ongoing mergers and acquisitions the industry’s capacity to provide genuine service to a wide range of customers could depend on them.
Trade Risk won the Small Broking Company of the Year. When managing director Shane Moore accepted the award, he spoke with an honesty and humanity that helped demonstrate why the awards judges liked his firm.
“When I started Trade Risk, I’d never been a broker, I’d never run a business, I had no idea what I was doing, I had no money and I didn’t really have anything,” said Moore. “But I had a wife - a girlfriend at the time - who had some sort of faith in what I was trying to build and she stuck by me, so thank you, Jessica!”
He said the industry is “amazing” for its wide range of opportunities and he felt lucky to be part of it.
As Moore left the stage, Osher Günsberg, the night’s witty host, said because the event was in a gambling institution he was going to bet on Moore’s speech being the speech of the night. He was probably right.
Andrew Hall, CEO of the Insurance Council of Australia (ICA) won the Insurance Leader of the Year award. During his acceptance speech, the former journalist brought the industry’s serious challenges back into focus.
“Our purpose is to be the voice for a resilient Australia,” he said. “Insurance owns the term resilience and the definition of resilience is being able to bounce back and be in a position you were before the unexpected - and that’s what insurance does each and every day.”
He warned of the protection gap in this country but said the industry has a “a lot to be proud of.”
Hall said he’d just returned from a trip to a Flood and Fire Summit in California. The Australian politicians who went along too, he said, were genuinely impressed by how well Australia’s industry compares to the US. He suggested those politicians are now committed to helping insurers.
“I think that was a really good signal of support for all the work that people do in this room,” said Hall.
Hall also mentioned that next year is the 50th anniversary of his insurance organisation.
Did you attend the ANZIIF Australian Insurance Industry Awards? What did you like most about it? Please tell us below
