IAG employees have swapped their keyboards for sandbags to protect local communities from the threat of floods.
IAG teamed up with the South Australian State Emergency Service (SASES) to help Australians residing in Mannum, South Australia become more resilient to floods.
The SASES had been working with the local council to build a giant flood levee down the centre of the main street to prevent the peak of the river from flowing into the town. Through the partnership, the insurance giant's employees volunteered to help sandbag parts of Mannum to reduce the risk of flooding.
IAG partnership consultant Sonya Catalano, one of the employees who volunteered, described the experience as “eye-opening.”
“I'd never done anything like this before, and it was way out of my corporate office comfort zone,” Catalano said. “I'm still buzzing from the feeling that I can do something to help my community.”
“Not only is the SASES thankful for the great efforts of the IAG volunteers, but they are also greatly appreciated by the River Murray communities,” said SASES duty officer Dave O'Shannessy.
IAG's Community Connection program, which supports employee volunteering, enabled Catalano to volunteer her time to help local communities.
With the program, Catalano accessed her Volunteer Leave – Resilience, which provides up to five days of paid leave to enable IAG employees to support preparedness and recovery efforts related to severe weather events.
The program also has volunteer leave, which provides up to one day of paid leave to help IAG employees support any not-for-profit organisation they are passionate about. Meanwhile, Emergency Services Leave, which is up to 20 days, can be used to support volunteer roles with organisations such as the State Emergency Service and Rural Fire Service.
Aside from implementing volunteer programs for employees, IAG supports flood-impacted communities.
IAG and its brands have a major response team equipped and ready to deploy a national team of assessors, builders, and claims consultants across the country to help customers impacted by severe weather events.
Early this year, the insurance giant placed its catastrophe reinsurance program for 2023 and renewed its Whole of Account Quote Share (WAQS) agreements.
IAG is one of the largest insurance companies in Australia.
