Alec Christie

DLA Piper and Aon Australia, a business of Aon plc, have partnered to host a Network Security & Privacy (NSP) Symposium in response to growing concerns over cyber-risk and the potential jurisdictional and liability issues faced by Australian corporates who find themselves victim to cyber-attack or data breaches.

The series of events take place in Sydney, Brisbane and Melbourne on 2, 3 and 4 September respectively.

According to US-based Kevin Kalinich, Aon’s Global Practice Leader – Cyber & Network Security Risks, many organisations fail to realise the true impact of an NSP-related issue, both from a reputational and a financial perspective.

“Most high profile cyber and network security risk-related stories in the media concern data breaches that affect individuals on a personal level such as credit card numbers, medical records and banking details. However, loss of corporate data, including intellectual property, commercially sensitive client data and proprietary information, or the event of such material landing in the hands of a competitor or extortionist can pose potentially catastrophic risks to entire businesses.”

He sounded a stark warning to executives who take a “head-in-the-sand” approach or consider NSP as an IT or technical issue.

“To date, the issue of NSP has been seen as “IT’s problem” or something for the “techies” to worry about but this is a mistaken view that has long had its day. Board, directorial and other governance-related responsibilities land the issue of NSP squarely at the feet of an organisation’s senior executive,” said Mr Kalinich. “A major failure of NSP will land not with the IT department but with the Board, CEO and other executives – who are ultimately answerable both to Corporations Law and the vote of shareholders. Organisations in Australia are generally ill-prepared from a risk management perspective when it comes to NSP-related issues and they just can’t afford to be,” said Mr Kalinich

Sydney-based DLA Piper partner, Alec Christie, says: “Despite a company’s best endeavours, data breaches are more a question of when and how, rather than if. Cyber-attacks (including theft, fraud, sabotage, espionage and hacking) are becoming increasingly prevalent and sophisticated. But it’s still the case that the most basic security can prevent over 60 percent of the current type of cyber-attacks.

“While Australian corporations are known the world over to be early adopters of technology and the online business model, our ability to properly deal with data breaches has fallen behind. Now with the new Australian Privacy Principles (APPs) coming into effect, organisations have clear security and privacy obligations and a failure to meet those obligations will expose them to fines of up to AU$1.7 million, on top of any costs flowing from the data breach.”

In 2010 and 2011, 2.95 million cyber-attacks were detected in Australia, resulting in losses of up to AU$595 million.

The top five tips for companies to reduce the risk of cyber-attack/data breaches and mitigate potential liability are:

1. Understand your unique exposure (and what and where your “Crown Jewels” are)
2. Understand your potential legal liabilities
3. Make it a Board, Management and company-wide issue
4. Have a trained response team and Board approved strategies in place before a data breach/cyber-attack
5. Constantly review and update your risk management policies to ensure they are comprehensive and tailored for your organisation.

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Steve Lardner

Celebrating its commitment to empowering economic and human possibility, Aon Australia are using Global Service day to highlight the ways in which the Aon Charitable Foundation gives back to the community throughout the year. Aon Australia is a business of Aon plc (NYSE:AON), the leading global provider of risk management and human resources solutions.

Aon’s Global Service Day is a company-wide initiative where colleagues in more than 40 countries will volunteer their time and efforts to support over 170 charity partners in their communities.

Aon colleagues across Australia volunteer throughout the year to support the Aon Charitable Foundation which was established in Australia in 2006 to continue Aon’s community support by establishing long-term partnerships with national charities and encourage people to engage with them.

Aon’s Global Service Day will feature a social media campaign in partnership with the Red Cross to raise money for a children’s vaccination program in Mali.

For every Global Service Day post by an Aon colleague to Instagram, Twitter and Aon’s internal Yammer network, Aon will donate $1 to provide a Measles or Rubella vaccination for a child in Mali. With a goal of vaccinating 10,000 young people, Aon colleagues have the opportunity to make an impact on a community in need while also sharing their Global Service Day experience through social media.

Colleagues and community partners are encouraged to use the hashtag #EmpowerResults to share their events and activities.

“The core of any corporation’s citizenship is how its business contributes to society and to the communities where its colleagues live and work,” said Greg Case, Aon plc president and chief executive officer. “Today, our colleagues unite as a firm to give back to their local communities in order to empower those who need it most.”

The focus of the Aon Charitable Foundation’s activities in Australia are on the areas of healthcare, welfcare, education, environment and research – with key charity partners being the Leukaemia Foundation, Create Foundation, The Smith Family and Conservation Volunteers.

Steve Lardner, Chairman of Aon Australia’s Charitable Foundation said “Whilst the Aon Charitable Foundation continues to provide valuable financial support to our key charity partners, the contributions from our colleagues who volunteer their time and skills is also extremely valuable. Colleagues become truly engaged with our charity partners in a variety of ways that fits with their skills and meets their personal interests. Our charity partners are thrilled and appreciative of this extended and valuable support.

What starts as enthusiastic support from our colleague volunteers quickly develops into a broader understanding and true appreciation of the wonderful work our charity partners really undertake in the communities we live in.

On this day we celebrate and acknowledge all the Aon volunteers who continue to get involved and empower results for communities throughout the entire year. We thank each and every person for their on-going contributions to giving back to the communities around them.”

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AON expands regional footprint.

Aon has announced plans to extend its regional presence – with three new offices planned for opening in Geelong, Springwood and the South Coast region by the start of next year.

The decision to establish a presence in these regions follows increased interest and demand from local clients and will enable Aon to provide its growing client base with more direct and specialised customer support.

Commenting on these growth plans, Steve Nevett, Chairman, Pacific Region, Aon Risk Solutions, said:

“Our regional branch network has long been a strong contributor to our profitable growth and growing our presence in regional locations is part of our core business strategy. We have confidence in the SME opportunities in these locations and we very much want to strengthen our market presence there.

It’s an exciting time for Aon as we continue to help our clients understand their unique challenges – providing expert, practical guidance on broking and insurance solutions.”

Aon’s branch network currently extends across every state and territory with 28 offices in capital cities and regional centres.

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Insurers have many opportunities to grow: AON Benfield

Aon Benfield, the global reinsurance intermediary and capital advisor of Aon plc (NYSE:AON),  reveals eight trends that create opportunities for insurers at the Aon Benfield 13th Biennial Hazards Conference in Australia.

Bryon Ehrhart, Chief Strategy Officer for Aon Benfield and Chairman of its Analytics and Investment Banking divisions, will be introducing the conference by discussing the emerging global trends impacting insurance markets. This is part of the ‘Think Outside the Risk’ theme, which aims to stimulate thinking among delegates about big picture trends.

Mr. Ehrhart will discuss the business drivers and influences that are now changing key segments of the global insurance markets. These include:

1. Auto safety

2. Urbanization

3. Low interest rates and longevity

4. Pace of technology change

5. Segmentation

6. Changing governmental roles

7. Catastrophic corporate liability

8. Strained government finances

Mr. Ehrhart commented: “Insurers have so many new opportunities to grow. The products and services insurers can offer to address the new financial risks faced by consumers as employers and governments eliminate or reduce their participation in programs that have heretofore provided stability for short and long-term risks of families.”

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Mr. Lambrou is Aon’s current Head of the London Global Broking Centre and Chief Broking Officer for Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA). He has worked across both complex client placements and structured portfolio solutions in a variety of roles and, having spent some 16 years of his working life here, has a strong understanding of the Australian market.

Mr. Lambros will report to the current Australian ARS CEO, Steve Nevett, who will step down from this role but continue as Chairman, Pacific Region. Mr. Nevett has been the CEO of ARS in Australia for almost seven years and Chairman of the Pacific Region since 2010.

“We couldn’t be happier about Lambros’ appointment, which will further strengthen our already successful Australian leadership team.  Our clients can expect to benefit from his outstanding understanding of global insurance markets and we’re very much looking forward to cementing his expertise into our business here,” said Mr. Nevett.

“Being able to fill this very important role internally is particularly pleasing: we know Lambros and he knows us, which means he can hit the ground running on behalf of our clients and colleagues.”

Prior to his current role in London, Mr. Lambrou was based in Chicago as Head of Aon Analytics and then as Chief Operating Officer, Aon Broking. From 1992 to 2008 he worked for Aon in Australia in roles that spanned reinsurance and retail broking.

Mr. Lambrou’s appointment will allow Mr. Nevett to focus on the execution of Aon’s broader strategy across the Pacific and work to further build a number of key client and market relationships.

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Aon named ‘Large Broker of the Year’.

Aon Australia has been named ‘Large Broker of the Year’ and has won the ‘Generation i Youth Development and Employer of the Year’ category at the Australian Insurance Industry Awards, held in Sydney on Wednesday night.

Hosted by the Australian and New Zealand Institute of Insurance and Finance (ANZIIF) and founding partner Asia Insurance Review (AIR), these are the peak awards honouring achievements in the Australian insurance industry.

Commenting on the wins, Steve Nevett, Chairman, Pacific Region, Aon Risk Solutions, said: “These awards are all about industry recognition. The fact that the awards are judged by our peers makes them all the more meaningful and is a genuine sign that we are making real strides as leaders in delivering client value.

“I’d like to thank all those involved in the activities and initiatives that contributed to our achievements, especially the dedication and quality of our people whose efforts made every day on behalf of our clients and our business have been recognised,” he said.

On winning the ‘Large Broker of the Year’ category, ANZIIF cited Aon’s “ongoing commitment to providing excellent services to clients”.  The judging panel was particularly impressed with Aon’s measurement initiatives and the client satisfaction achieved through activities such as the Aon Risk Management Benchmarking Survey, the Aon Risk Maturity Index, quarterly Insurance Market Update and its corporate publication, Currency.

Later in the evening, Aon also received the inaugural ‘Generation i Youth Development and Employer of the Year’ award, in recognition of its continued investment in and support of the industry through its development of younger industry members.

Aon Risk Solutions boasts an impressive 82 per cent retention rate among young professionals, which Aon attributes to employee development initiatives such as the ‘Learning Standards Framework’ and ‘Momentum through Mentoring’, along with scholarship and leadership initiatives such as its  ‘Emerge Early’ career development program and the ‘Geoff Freeman Scholarship’ to support career development.

“Supporting our people by investing in career development programs, particularly for the younger generation, creates a positive internal culture that fosters a sense of loyalty and excellence which ultimately flows through to our clients in the quality service we provide.  We have invested heavily in creating useful initiatives for all our people, but particularly for our younger employees, and while we see they really appreciate it, it’s also immensely rewarding to have our commitments in this regard recognised by the wider industry,” said Mr Nevett.

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Queensland floods

The record wild weather in the wake of Ex-Tropical Cyclone Oswald continues to take its toll on Australian families and businesses along a vast tract of the eastern seaboard.

Many who are affected are still yet to count the emotional and financial cost involved, and are only just gaining access to their properties to assess the damage. Others have commenced the clean-up but still have a long road ahead of them.

As well as the immediate distress of their situation, many flood affected people face another hurdle: navigating the related insurance claim. The reality is that making a claim can seem complex and demanding at a time when people are least equipped to handle an additional stress.

Understanding this, Aon Australia has reinstated its ‘Severe Weather Situation Room’, an online resource that provides weather and related updates and warnings, contact information for key emergency services and other support agencies and practical claims assistance – including toll-free claims numbers and a range of downloadable claims forms.

The Situation Room provides information for customers with policies from a range of major insurers.

It also provides information on how customers experiencing hardship paying premiums in the wake of the floods can access help, and some personal contacts to assist those who are trying to make large and complex claims.

“The Situation Room is a one-stop information shop that helps insurance customers fast-track the claims process and gives them other vital information they need when they’re trying to deal with a whole range of extremely pressing issues,” said Mark Ronan, Chief Claims Officer, Aon Risk Solutions.

“We first trialled this approach during the Queensland floods of 2011, and feedback was that it saved a lot of time and uncertainty, making it easier for people to understand their position with their insurers and get the claims process under way. While it’s regrettable that we’ve had cause to reinstate the Situation Room so soon, on the other hand we are very keen to be able to offer this kind of practical help and support as soon as we possibly can – and that means before the claims process even begins.”

The Aon Australia Severe Weather Events Situation room can be found at http://www.aon.com.au/australia/ind/severe-weather-events-situation-room.jsp

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