The biggest story of the year without a doubt was the dramatic
departure of Lumley CEO John Lyon on Friday, 18 July when he decided to step down following the company’s acquisition by
IAG.
The epic merger prompted plenty of lively debate in the industry and represented five of the top 20 stories read on
Insurance Business throughout the year.
Among them were the news of industry veteran
Paul Munton and highly respected Toni Ferrier deciding not to take up positions at IAG;
Lumley’s Christchurch branch manager
Brent King’s departure; the New Zealand
Commerce Commission’s green light to IAG to acquire Lumley; IAG’s
response to criticism over the way it merged the companies; and the significant
numbers leaving Lumley both in New Zealand and Australia.
The other big news was just last month when
Austbrokers announced it was acquiring New Zealand’s BrokerWeb.
The move was welcomed by many who felt it would shake up the current duopoly held by
Aon and
Crombie Lockwood and prompted some lively debate with 10 comments added.
Not surprisingly the other big reads were from the big awards of the year, including the
IBANZ broker of the year and the
New Zealand insurance industry awards nominees and winners.
The number six story was dodgy broker
Grant Herbert being jailed.
And amongst all the mergers and acquisitions, there was the
launch of underwriting agency Delta Insurance, which also proved popular with readers.
The stories which proved most fertile for the
Insurance Business forum varied widely.
The one which attracted the most comments this year was
No golf, no strippers, no men, about the new informal group aimed at women connected with the NZ insurance industry.
Sixteen comments were racked up, and a degree of hilarity too.
The other two big discussion topics were around
fee disclosure and
John Lyon’s departure.
