Going further on representation, professionalism and community

New NIBA President Gary Okely says the broking industry has a major opportunity to build on its advocacy and deliver the best client outcomes by further expanding our role as a trusted adviser to government.

Over the past decade, the broking industry has contended with considerable disruption, largely focused on an enhanced regulatory framework. New NIBA President Gary Okely says the work on the Hayne Royal Commission, NIBA’s review of its Code of Practice and delivery of the Quality of Advice Review (QAR) outcomes, underpins his vision for the future of the industry and the value it can continue to drive.

“The three pillars of NIBA’s strategy around representation, professionalism and community have come to the fore over the past few years,” Gary says. “From the representation perspective, the work that NIBA has done with the government has led to a very positive outcome from the QAR. NIBA’s leaders in Di Phelan and, before her, Eric Harris, have created a great foundation with the industry and governments that has been reflected in the very positive outcomes for brokers in Michelle Levy’s report.”

So, where to now? Gary believes there is a logical progression for NIBA. “We do a lot of excellent work in advocacy and the QAR report reinforces this with better broker and client outcomes,” he says. “The net stage of this that I’d like to see is for NIBA to become a trusted adviser to government from a client perspective. This will see governments reach out to NIBA more to work together to achieve better outcomes for our clients.

“There are plenty of challenges around affordability and availability of insurance that present a real opportunity for the broking industry to work with government and support vulnerable communities. We need to work towards an improved focus on mitigation rather than recovery and helping guide the government on longer term investments will be an important way we can deliver better outcomes for our clients.

“While the Federal Government controls our insurance legislation, state governments also have a key role in decision making and funding of the mitigation requirements that will assist the long-term availability and affordability of insurance for the clients of brokers right across the country.”

Outgoing NIBA President Di Phelan has started conversations in this area and she recently commented that “More innovative thinking is needed to find solutions where the market has shifted”. I believe that there is an opportunity for the NIBA Board to further engage with our state Committees, to support their focus on the local issues impacting brokers in their individual states. Some of these are the NSW Emergency Services Levy, impacts from flood and cyclone events in Queensland, workers’ compensation in Western Australia and flood insurance affordability in Victoria and South Australia. While these are state based issues, they have impacts beyond individual state borders and will impact the accessibility and affordability of insurance for our clients.

“All brokers should look at these issues through a lens of creation and innovation; and a key part of that for NIBA is working with governments to bring a client lens to these discussions so that businesses, homeowners and broader communities have a voice. We need to encourage government to invest in the right way. NIBA has a strong and unique advocacy role that we can crystallise further and I see that there is a real opportunity for NIBA to do this over the next few years.”

Fostering collaboration

Gary believes the community of brokers will gain significant benefits from the return of an in-person NIBA Convention on the Gold Coast in October. “By our very nature, brokers are relationship driven, social people who thrive on continual learning and collaboration.”

The Head of Public Sector – Pacific, for JLT Risk Solutions, Gary says that as he moves around the country, he sees solid evidence of how the key broker skills of relationship building and engagement are rebounding from the effects of the pandemic.

“Being part of the community is very important. NIBA fosters that with our partners, including insurance partners through such initiatives as the Vero-sponsored Young Broker of the Year award and the QBE-sponsored Broker of the Year award. This is an industry that thrives on networking and personal development and being involved in these industry awards is a great opportunity to expand.

“There is little doubt that the pandemic was tough on those who entered the industry at that time. A number of the young and emerging talent that came into our industry didn’t have opportunities to meet and engage with each other and thankfully this is changing.

“That’s another reason why being able to get back together at the NIBA Convention is so important.

Future-proofing the industry

Adelaide-based, Gary says he is mindful that the NIBA Board is able to represent brokers from right across the country. “Having been born and raised in the country, I have a genuine belief that amazing things come from regional Australia and smaller geographies, so it is vital that small regional brokers through to the large internationals have a voice through NIBA.”

NIBA’s involvement in “Careers In Insurance” will promote more talent joining the industry.

“One area we want to focus on more is developing the story around broking being a career of choice,” Gary says. “We know what a rewarding career it can be; the challenge is to be able to promote that message in schools, and Universities and to school leavers. It’s early days but we have a committed group of volunteers championed by Cameron Sheilds in Victoria working with the NIBA team to build that storybook.”

Former President, Di Phelan from BJS Insurance Group, says she’s ready to “hand over the baton”. “We’ve achieved a lot in the last few years, and we need to continue the work that began, not only in my time as President but from Eric Harris before me. Gary has some great ideas to help our industry progress and I’m excited at the prospect of supporting him. The new Vice-President Nick Cook is another outstanding broker and the industry is fortunate to have both of them volunteering their time.”

Di believes NIBA’s “voice” is unique. “I have no doubt that government sees that as critical to building engagement, confidence and trust. They can come to Phil as the NIBA CEO and ask questions, which they do on a regular basis, knowing he represents the broking community.

“That’s not to say we haven’t had our challenges; some things aren’t easy to get everyone on the same page. Both Phil and the NIBA Board are continuing to work to bring brokers on a journey of what we know has to be done, so we can make the industry strong and relevant for the future.

“We can be in a room with competitors, but we’re not scared to share our information for the betterment of broking. This philosophy of openness, transparency and having clients’ best interests ahead of our own, gets passed down through generations of brokers because we’re all batting for the same end.”

Di says there is a paramount need to retain representation across Australia on the NIBA Board. “Heather Peirano, from Rockhampton, represented both Queensland and the smaller brokerages admirably in her term on the NIBA Board. Her energy and passion were just extraordinary, particularly at a time when the challenges of northern Queensland have been, frankly, brutal.

“I also wanted to acknowledge Eric Harris – his presidency provided a huge benefit to the industry and what I’ve learned from him has been immeasurable.

“One thing I will say about the NIBA Board is that we don’t always agree and that’s a good thing – it’s something we need – but we have maintained our ability to work together and come up with the right solutions for the industry. That is something of which every Director should be proud.”

A changed expectation

Outgoing Director and former President Eric Harris says the role brokers play as client advocates in the mature Australian market is second to none. “We’ve been challenged by legislation, and regulation controls what we do, but NIBA has been first-rate in its ability to represent the industry and get the outcomes needed with regulators,” he believes. “Then, we leverage the learnings from the global environment so we can deliver for our clients. That was very evident to me from my work with the World Federation of Insurance Intermediaries.

“I’ve enjoyed every minute of my 10 years on the NIBA Board, particularly in the way we’ve been able to define the value proposition of broking. I did want to mention working with Dallas Booth; the way he represented our industry having never sold a policy as a broker was unbelievable and he was a key part of my journey on the Board. The transition to Phil Kewin was seamless –he stepped into big shoes and has done a fantastic job.”

The Head of Asia-Pacific Operations for Aon, Eric says the role and impact of NIBA have changed over his Board tenure. “When I joined the Board, the industry wasn’t as connected as it is today; the work we’ve done around the three pillars of our strategy, particularly representation, has brought the industry together and made it stronger – across all aspects of NIBA, from the staff to the state and Young Professionals Committees. We’ve approached every decision after we’ve taken off our individual company hats.

“But we still have ways to come together; much of our industry still hasn’t woken up to the fact that the expectation of brokers by their customers has changed. We all need to recognise this and adapt. We need to be confident in the value we bring to our clients.”