NEWS / Industry Bulletin
BROKING IN 2025: GEARING UP FOR THE FUTURE T he National Insurance Brokers Association (NIBA) President, Dianne Phelan, Vice-President Ward Dedman, CEO Dallas Booth, and incoming CEO Philip Kewin discussed NIBA’s latest strategic project; Broking in 2025, which is being undertaken to ensure the intermediate insurance market remains strong and viable into the future. Booth said at the start of the discussion, “This is not a strategy for NIBA, this is a strategy for insurance brokers in Australia. It primarily began with us trying to gauge where is insurance broking is heading and what direction we want to steer it to.” Phelan questioned if intermediaries might refuse to call themselves insurance brokers by 2025, because their role already encompasses so much more than brokering insurance deals. Developed with assistance from Stanford’s Professor Steven Callandar and industry leaders, the NIBA Board’s vision for Broking
in 2025 sets out steps the industry can take with the Association’s support to engage with government and regulators to secure brokers’ professional standing. Booth made a note of the current challenging market conditions, the technological advancements, and the general environment that risk management professionals work in alongside the sweeping regulatory changes that are coming in. He urged brokers to read the Deloitte Access Economics Report on The Economic Value of Insurance Broking, which describes and quantifies the elements that comprise the industry’s value: to customers, insurers, the economy, governments, and broader society. The goals highlighted during the discussion included increasing levels of professionalism across the industry, solidifying brokers’ positions as trusted risk advisors to clients, trusted partners to underwriters and capital providers as well
as trusted advisors to the government on general insurance and risk. It was made clear during the discussion that it is absolutely crucial that insurance brokers are widely regarded as competent, professional, ethical and people who act with high integrity. Phelan added that to be a trusted advisor and partner it was essential that insurance brokers self-regulate to a high degree and be qualified beyond the current minimum standards. She said, “We want brokers to be regarded as having unique skills to provide the services that they do. We are very wellplaced for this but there is still work to do.” She also stressed the importance of the Qualified Practising Insurance Broker (QPIB) designation and why intermediaries must strive to proudly display it as the mark of their professionalism. Booth concluded that NIBA will keep its members informed of the progress on this project.
For breaking news and updates curated specially for insurance brokers please visit: niba.com.au/articles
12 / INSURANCE ADVISER SEPTEMBER 2021
