New YIPs president reveals future plans

Earlier this month, Young Insurance Professionals (YIPS) confirmed the appointment of a new president and named Marsh broker Katie Stephenson as the latest organisational head.

As one of the founding members of the Northern Territories chapter, Stephenson stepped into the Australasian treasurer’s role and later the vice president position, before becoming the first woman to lead the organisation.

Now, less than a month into the role, Stephenson has spoken to Insurance Business about what the appointment means to her and what the not-for-profit has planned for the future.

“I’ve tracked and steered the financial viability of the organisation over the last few years and now it’s my opportunity to drive my own ideas, along with the voice of the young insurance network that we have,” says Stephenson.

“For me, that means continuing on the success that we have had – having grown from a couple of hundred members in Melbourne to now being the largest not-for-profit young insurance network throughout Australia and New Zealand.”

Looking ahead, Stephenson said YIPs would be focusing heavily on the attraction of new graduates into the insurance industry but she also stressed that the organisation would never lose sight of its members.

“Over the next couple of years, it will really be about engaging new talent into the industry but one thing we always focus on is that we are for our members,” she told Insurance Business. “I’m really passionate about the fact that we leave the ladder down – we advocate for young insurance professionals to continue education and to continue networking to ensure their success in the industry so they also can pass that on.

“We’ll also be ensuring that we continue to reach out and spread throughout Australia and New Zealand because we’re now represented in every state and territory in Australia and we’ve got three branches throughout New Zealand too.”

Stephenson also noted that her appointment sends a clear message to young women in the insurance industry that they will be welcomed into senior roles.

“I think culturally, in Australia, we are starting to turn the page on unconscious bias towards women and that’s really refreshing,” she added.