Humans of NZI

from CoverNote June 2021 issue

Managing bushfires in New Zealand

Combining process with creativity

Meet NZI’s new EM Operations and Governance, Nancy So

Driving positive change through good processes and creative thinking has always motivated Nancy So, who has recently been promoted into the new role of executive manager operations and governance for NZI.

Born in Guyana in South America, and from a Chinese background, Nancy moved to New Zealand when she was five-years-old, as her parents looked for better opportunities.

“My parents worked hard to give us a better life. My mum was a sewing machinist and my dad a cook, and they worked very long hours. Seeing their hard work and the sacrifices they made so I could have the opportunities I have today has driven me to constantly put a big effort in everything I do.”

Nancy has a degree in Economics, and her background includes strategy development and business planning roles in the public and private sectors. She joined IAG seven years ago and has been working closely with NZI for almost three years.

Nancy is passionate about driving positive change in her new role.

“I’m excited about the opportunity to look at ways we can improve the efficiency of our processes and continue to enhance our relationships with our broker partners.

“I’ll also be looking at ways to enhance systems and processes around partner lifecycle management, including partner selection criteria and due diligence; contract management processes; partner remuneration structures, processes and controls; onboarding processes for partners, and educating partners on our products and expectations.

“As we see higher industry standards and new regulations coming into force, it’s crucial to have stricter requirements around governance, linking ourselves back to what our customers, partners and regulators expect from us.”

Maintaining the social licence to operate

For Nancy, social licence and doing things right for customers is key.

“I’ve learned a lot about the importance of social licence from my time working in central government and at Fonterra. It’s the concept that if you don’t have the trust and support of your customers and the public, you may not be able to grow and succeed as a company, even if you are doing everything right legally.

“NZI has been a trusted insurer for over 160 years, and I want to ensure that we have the social licence to operate for another 160 years. Ensuring we have good systems and processes in place to do things right in accordance to customer, partner, and regulator expectations is key.” Balancing act with a pinch of creativity

As a busy mum of three, balancing work and family life is important for Nancy, and this translates into extra planning and family traditions.

“Being a working mum has its challenges, but I always put my kids first as I don’t want to miss key milestones. Every day I’m at work I use the time to the best of my ability, I give it 100 percent. This way, I can make sure that when I’m home I’m actively present.”

Family traditions include her entire family - including three sisters, who together have ten children — coming together for dinner at her parents place every Saturday. For every birthday, she goes through the process of planning, baking, and decorating cakes.

“Creating cakes is a real passion for me. It’s such a meaningful thing for my kids. The planning does take a bit of time, days or even weeks, as my kids would say ‘I want a Minecraft cake’ or ‘I want a Peppa Pig cake’, and I would have to do some research first! I made my mum’s 60th birthday cake and she shows the photos every time she has a chance; she is quite proud.”

For Nancy, baking cakes isn’t so dissimilar from her work.

“You need to follow a recipe (process) as your guide, use the right ingredients and the right amount, but you also need to consider your ‘stakeholder’ and what they want. That’s where you get to add in a “pinch” of the personal touch and creativity.”

“Next Level” Queenstown Conference

PSC Connect held their very successful inaugural NZ conference at the QT Queenstown earlier in May with over 130 delegates attending what was one of the first industry conferences held since Covid-19 hit NZ shores.

PSC Connect NZ Director, Dave Penfold, was delighted with the feedback from the PSC delegates and sponsors some of whom rated this as one of their best conferences. “We have attended the Australian annual conferences since the inception of the PSC Connect NZ business 9 years ago but as a result of our continued growth of around 30% year on year we were always intending to do our own NZ conference at some stage and we were thrilled to be able to put together a conference with valuable content, excellent key note speakers and some great networking opportunities at a stunning location”.

“The conference theme was “Next Level” and linked in the FSLAA regime’s expectations of the Financial Services Industry raising their level of professionalism. However “Next Level” also reflects the exciting plans PSC Connect have for big improvements to the model we offer to quality Advisors wanting to build their own businesses and assets for themselves” Penfold says.

PSC Connect continues to show impressive growth since setting up in 2012 with 51 Member Brokers and over $70mill GWP throughout NZ with plans to double this over the next 5 years. "To achieve this we need to continually improve our model” Penfold says.

The PSC Group also continues its expansion globally with further acquisitions in the UK and Australia meaning the group now manages over $2billion in premiums globally with plans to also double this over the next 5 years making the group an increasingly significant participant in the insurance market.

PSC Connect Life NZ is also growing quickly since setting up last year and is proving to be a very attractive option for Life Advisor businesses looking for quality compliance solutions and business guidance under the leadership of Steve Morris.

BE YOURBE YOUR OWN BOSSOWN BOSS

The Future is now

If you want the freedom and flexibility to run your own General or Life Insurance Advisory Business, If you want the freedom and flexibility to run your own General or Life Insurance Advisory Business, then speak to the team at PSC Connect NZ.then speak to the team at PSC Connect NZ.

Being part of PSC Connect comes with a range of benefits, including: Being part of PSC Connect comes with a range of benefits, including: • Buying power of the PSC Group which has a gross premium of $2bn• Buying power of the PSC Group which has a gross premium of $2bn • Full administrative and compliance support• Full administrative and compliance support • Access to all major markets and specialist underwriting agencies including Lloyds• Access to all major markets and specialist underwriting agencies including Lloyds • Agile operating systems that will allow you to work from Home, Office or anywhere• Agile operating systems that will allow you to work from Home, Office or anywhere • Assistance with hard to place risks• Assistance with hard to place risks • Product and Professional training• Product and Professional training • Claims and Marketing support• Claims and Marketing support CEO Tony Walker and Dave Penfold presented these awards at the Conference Gala Dinner