The winner of the 2015 Australian and New Zealand Institute of Insurance and Finance (
ANZIIF) TurksLegal Scholarship has been announced and the winning entry deals with a pressing matter for the insurance industry.
Darren Low, a commercial insurance graduate and underwriter at
Suncorp, was announced as the winner at the ANZIIF Annual General Insurance Breakfast held in Sydney last week with his winning entry on the topic of the sharing economy and the challenges it raises for insurers.
Low told
Insurance Business that he is thrilled with his win and said that the rise of the sharing economy shows now signs of stopping.
“Surprised would be an understatement,” Low said.
“I’m thrilled my thoughts were well received by the judging panel.
“My paper deals with the issues that the sharing economy represents to insurance companies from a claims perspective. I’ve covered aspects relating to the adoption of sharing-economy-related insurance products, claims resourcing and where peer-to-peer (P2P) insurers could possibly fit in the existing status quo.
“The sharing economy has gained a lot of traction in a very short amount of time. This is unlikely to abate, so the insurance industry needs to continue to respond to the changing environment.”
As winner, Low receives a package valued up to $8,000, including return travel, accommodation, $500 spending money and registration to the 2016 Claims Conference and Insurance Services Expo to be held in San Antonio, Texas or $5,000 cash and registration to attend the 2016 ANZIIF Claims Convention in Australia including return flights and accommodation.
Runner-up Michael Parker, director at Queenscorp Insurance Services, was awarded registration to the 2016 ANZIIF Claims Convention with travel and accommodation for his submission on affordability and the effectiveness of natural disaster insurance in Australia.
Prue Willsford, CEO of ANZIIF, said the scholarship offers a great opportunity for the industry to discuss the sharing economy and praised Low's submission.
“The TurksLegal Scholarship is a wonderful opportunity for Darren and his contribution to dialogue on the sharing economy is a timely and valuable one for our industry,” Willsford said.
“It is a privilege for ANZIIF to partner with TurksLegal with this scholarship and we look forward to seeing the contribution Darren makes to the industry as his career goes from strength to strength.”
Paul Angus, General Insurance partner at TurksLegal and member of the judging panel praised the quality of the winning entries.
“Both the winner and the runner-up’s entries were high quality, fascinating reads,” Angus said.
“Darren’s paper tackled an emerging ‘hot topic’ for the insurance industry with a well thought out and practical approach.
“Michael’s paper showed a detailed and in-depth knowledge of the issues facing the industry around natural disaster insurance.
“TurksLegal is thrilled to continue to partner with ANZIIF for the 8
th year of this important professional development opportunity for those working in the general insurance industry.”
Low stressed that, while the industry is doing well to keep up with sharing economy changes, more could still be done in the space.
“The insurance industry is certainly beginning to accommodate the changes happening as a result of the sharing economy. There is a growing commitment to work alongside businesses in the sharing economy.
“The industry is doing a lot to stay abreast of emerging risks, but it is challenging for the industry to act proactively all the time.
“More often than not, the world changes much faster than products can be developed.”
