The Australian and New Zealand Institute of Insurance and Finance (ANZIIF) has announced the winners of this year's ANZIIF Australian Insurance Industry Awards, which recognise and celebrate individuals and companies that have demonstrated exceptional dedication to the industry and share a common pursuit of excellence.
The event saw over 750 professionals from the insurance and financial services industries at The Star in Sydney and was hosted by Craig Reucassel, an Australian writer and comedian best known for his work with The Chaser and for going through your bins on The War on Waste.
The winners of the 18th Australian insurance industry awards are:
Small Broking Company of the Year – Clear Insurance
Medium Broking Company of the Year – Scott Winton Insurance Brokers
Large Broking Company of the Year – Marsh
Authorised Representative Network of the Year – Insurance Advisernet
Underwriting Agency of the Year – CHU Underwriting Agencies
Small-Medium General Insurance Company of the Year – Royal Automobile Club of Tasmania (RACT)
Large General Insurance Company of the Year – Suncorp Group
General Insurance Claims Team of the Year – CGU Strategic Broker Claims Teams
Life Insurance Company of the Year – AIA Australia
Insurtech Start-up of the Year – Mitti Insurance
Professional Services Firm of the Year – MinterEllison
Service Provider to the Insurance Industry – IVAA
Excellence in Workplace Diversity and Inclusion – Hollard Insurance Company (Hollard)
Excellence in Environmental, Social, and Governance Change – QBE
Young Insurance Professional of the Year – Bianca Parussolo, Professional Risk Underwriting (ProRisk)
Insurance Leader of the Year – Sharanjit Paddam, Finity Consulting
ANZIIF Lifetime Achievement Award – Jacki Johnson
Commenting on this year's winners, ANZIIF CEO Prue Willsford said: “We were so delighted to see a full house of over 750 insurance professionals here to celebrate the year that was – in person! Every finalist embodied the true meaning of professionalism and has contributed to building trust and confidence in our community. For that, you all deserve to be celebrated.
“Thank you to our fabulous, diverse judging panel for dedicating their time to fairly review all submissions. This year, our judging panel consisted of a wide range of industry representatives, and I know how much time they have invested in ensuring a fair and serious consideration of the submissions.”
Commenting on Hollard receiving the Excellence in Workplace Diversity and Inclusion Award for the second year, Jenny O'Neill, chief people and legal officer of Hollard, said: “Thank you to our incredible diversity and inclusion community throughout Hollard for their commitment towards our mandate to advance equity for all Hollardites and our customers. When our new incoming CommInsure colleagues join us in the near future, we're looking forward to continuing to go further with this important work together.”
Hollard CEO Paul Fahey added that diversity and inclusion drive the company's culture of ensuring its employees “bring their whole selves to work to be their best”.
“It enables our contribution as a positive business with people, customers, and the community,” he said. “I'd like to acknowledge our board for their support and all of our Hollardites who contribute regularly to our D&I working groups and have continued to push the envelope with this important work.”
