In conversation with Jenny Bax, CEO of UAC

NIBA and UAC have always enjoyed a productive relationship, partnering to deliver many events that have added significant value to both brokers and underwriters. Therefore, we were delighted to get the opportunity to speak with Jenny Bax, UAC’s inaugural CEO. Jenny was appointed earlier this year, so we caught up to discuss her first few months in the hot seat, views on the industry, and plans for the organisation’s future.

What attracted you to the role at UAC?

I was lucky enough to work at Allianz as General Manager, Underwriting Agencies, managing their owned, unowned and global agencies. I loved the niche market that each of them specialised in and realised early on that agencies have a passion for their business, their product, their people and the end customer that really is second to none.

When the role of CEO UAC was advertised, I jumped at the chance to join a member-led organisation that connects brokers with our underwriting agency partners. As the inaugural CEO, the role allows me to guide the future of UAC, driving a new strategic plan through the business that provides a real clear roadmap for our members’ success.

Almost three months in, how are you finding the role, and UAC more generally?

It’s been full-on, but I’ve had so much fun. William Legge left the business in a solid position, so that’s allowed me to focus on the future. He was very supportive of me and my new role, and he couldn’t do enough to help me get up to speed as quickly as possible.

I was only two weeks into my role when we held the UAC/ Lloyds Sydney Underwriting Expo, and I have to say, what an experience! We had a record number of exhibitors, and over 600 brokers attending throughout the morning – the buzz on the floor was electric. We’ve since had our inaugural Gold Coast Expo, which carried the same level of buzz for both exhibitors and brokers.

We’ve got an amazing board supporting myself and the UAC members, which really helps. I think the whole point of creating the CEO role was to elevate the position to support the agencies in dealing with the regulators, government and other national bodies. And I think that’s been well respected and accepted by all parties. It’s early stages, and so far, I can only say it’s been very satisfying. That’s not to say it hasn’t had its challenges, and it’ll continue to have its challenges, but I have a smile on my face, which is a good way to be.

What’s your view on the insurance market at present? What are the key issues at play?

There have obviously been those legislative burdens over the past few years that have placed a lot of pressure on all parties as we’re still implementing a lot of that legislation, but the biggest issue right now is the cost impost for business. It’s enormous, and it’s impacting the affordability and availability of insurance for end customers. Costs are going to continue to rise with reductions in capacity and increased reinsurance costs, and inflation is going to continue to impact everything, including employee costs, the costs of materials and the labour supply chain. If there’s a recession, we may see an increase in claims lodged in the SME sector, and that’s going to contribute to the current market environment that we’re in now.

Talent is another major issue across the industry everywhere. We’ve got an ageing workforce, and a lot of intellectual property is being lost as people retire. We’ve always had trouble getting young people into the industry, but we need to work collaboratively and collectively as an industry to advocate and create opportunities that excite the younger people. We’ve got the capacity to drive change as an industry – social change, social issues, climate change and risk management. If we can improve our messaging to the young people coming out of university, help them to understand what we are doing that will impact climate and social outcomes into the future, I think we can attract a new level of talent.

What role should UAC play in the industry, and what are the key areas of opportunity?

Elevating the role to CEO was specifically to ensure that we are playing a more involved role in decision-making, and ensuring we have a seat at the table in relation to some of those discussions. Our figures indicate that underwriting agencies write about $8 billion worth of GWP in the Australian market – that’s about 17 per cent of the overall GWP.

We’re a member-led organisation, representing 130 members in Australia. We help connect agencies to potential markets locally and globally. My role involves greater engagement with government, regulatory authorities and other national bodies to ensure that our members are equipped to make informed decisions. We also have relationships with international MGA bodies, which allows us to understand and learn what’s happening in those markets outside of Australia.

What are your strategic priorities for UAC in the short, medium and longer term?

In the short term, it’s about meeting the members and understanding their business and the issues confronting them. It’s also vitally important to understand their thoughts on us – understand how they would like us to support them now and into the future, and understand what they expect of me as a CEO.

From a medium and longer-term perspective, the board has signed off on a three-year four-pillar strategic plan that is going to deliver a roadmap of success for our members.

The first pillar is Connected, and it’s about building on UAC’s successful foundations, while the second pillar, Influential, refers to investing in advocacy and leveraging members’ industry insights. Future Fit is about offering essential resources and information, and Viable relates to strengthening our associations to deliver for members. It’s really important that we make this plan visible to everyone so that they can see the value in UAC, and its release is high on my priority list.

And finally, how important is that underwriter/ broker relationship?

With the market shrinking and major carriers withdrawing from segments, brokers are becoming increasingly creative in the ways they structure programs for the customer. This ensures that we continue to innovate and find solutions for the broker and their customer. Underwriting agencies complement the major carriers and provide additional distribution avenues for the broker, which ensures that we will continue to play an integral role in the Australian insurance landscape.