Lambros Lambrou

Rowing Australia and Aon have announced a four-year partnership that will see the global risk and people advisers become major sponsors of the Australian Rowing Team and Rowing Australia. The national deal also appoints Aon as the exclusive risk and insurance partner of the national body.

Chairman and President of Rowing Australia Rob Scott expressed the national body’s delight to be able to announce a long term partnership with such a respected and global brand in Aon.

“In our discussions with Aon over the past year, there was a clear alignment between what the Australian Rowing Team stands for and Aon’s core values. Put simply, we are always in the constant and unrelenting pursuit of excellence and this is also what Aon strives for everyday”, Mr Scott said.

Chief Commercial Officer Katherine Ginbey said that this strong connection provides a solid foundation to build a sustainable commercial partnership.

“Rowing touches local clubs, schools, universities and workplaces across our country and brings together a diverse cross section of our community. Rowers, particularly at the elite level, exemplify the characteristics of hard work, determination, team work and the pursuit of excellence that we share with partners like Aon.

“We are incredibly proud that Aon, who also support our rowing neighbours in New Zealand, have understood the clear commercial opportunity in rowing and we can now work together to build value across the quadrennial and hopefully beyond.”

The partnership will see Aon become the naming rights sponsor of rowing’s marquee annual event, the Sydney International Rowing Regatta, as well as providing a number of engagement and activation rights to connect with the broader rowing community throughout the year.

Aon Risk Solutions Australia CEO Lambros Lambrou, said: “Aon globally has had a very strong and successful record of supporting elite sports and athletes. In Australia, we are making the same commitment and we are thrilled to be embarking on this journey with the Rowing Australia family.

“Aon’s core values are very closely aligned to Rowing Australia’s, which includes integrity, diversity, collaboration and high performance. Our partnership allows us to extend our shared values to the wider rowing community in Australia to not only reach its full potential, but also to make social impact at a grass roots level.

“Specifically, this partnership will see us use our expertise in risk, retirement, talent and health to empower Rowing Australia.”

This partnership signals another step forward commercially for Rowing Australia. The last 12 months have seen rowing secure partnerships with Hancock Prospecting and the Georgina Hope Foundation, Tempur and now Aon. Rowing Australia will also be announcing two new partnerships in the equipment and apparel categories in the coming weeks.

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Lambros Lambrou

Aon has signed a three year corporate partnership agreement with York Butter Factory (YBF). Through the deal, Aon will bring its leading risk management, brokerage and insurance capabilities to Australia’s bourgeoning technology start-up community.

The partnership forms part of Aon’s strategic plan to stay ahead of the disruptive forces of the FinTech movement as start-ups continue to reshape the financial services market.

YBF is the destination point and open innovation platform for Australia’s innovative technology start-ups, corporates and early-stage investors. It focuses on B2B start-ups in the areas of FinTech, Big Data & Analytics, SaaS, New Media and HealthTech.

While the agreement with YBF offers new commercial opportunities for Aon, it also presents scope to establish mutually beneficial partnerships with start-up companies and talent in the FinTech world.

Lambros Lambrou, Chief Executive Officer, Aon Risk Solutions Australia, said the partnership is a significant step for Aon, its clients and the Australian start-up community.

“We are thrilled to be collaborating with York Butter Factory, as a leader in the Australian startup ecosystem. This partnership will allow us and our clients to tap into a network of entrepreneurs and corporates as we move into the new era defined by FinTech,” he said.
A recent study released by PwC estimates that by 2033 technology start-ups will contribute 4 per cent of Australia’s GDP, and over half a million jobs will be created in the sector by 2033.
“No matter what stage a start-up is in, they will face challenges, just like any other business. We recognise that there is a role we can play as trusted advisors in helping these businesses manage risk they have come across or will come across in their lifecycle. We are also excited to be bringing our other key capabilities, in the areas of talent and retirement planning, to the ecosystem,” Mr Lambrou said.
Stuart Richardson, co-founder of York Butter Factory commented, “We are delighted to announce the formalisation of our partnership with global risk management and insurance leader, Aon.
“Aon joins a distinguished cohort of ASX200 and Fortune1000 companies working together with YBF to support Australia’s best and brightest entrepreneurs to realise their potential in global markets.
“The partnership between YBF and Aon provides Australian start-ups with the opportunity to explore and experiment with new business models with the creation, integration and distribution of new risk products.”

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Lambros Lambrou

Aon has announced the launch of its Entrepreneurs in Residence (EIR) program in Australia, a community-driven initiative for high-growth companies led by women. This is Aon’s second instalment of the EIR Program; The U.S. launched the first program in July 2014.

Driven by Aon’s ongoing commitment to workplace diversity, the EIR program sees Aon partnering with Springboard Enterprises to select a female-led, high growth business that will benefit from Aon’s and Springboard’s networks and business expertise.

In its first year in Australia, EIR has named IntelligenceBank its first partner. IntelligenceBank is a business process management company, which delivers software as-a-service applications to end-users. It offers digital asset management solutions to clients from varied industries, including the energy, financial services and technology sectors.

“The EIR program highlights Aon’s commitment to fostering diversity and inclusiveness in the workplace,” said Lambros Lambrou, Chief Executive Officer, Aon Risk Solutions Australia. “Combining our expertise, resources and tools with Springboard’s expansive support network, we believe this program can have a meaningful impact on up and coming companies.”

Topaz Conway, Chair of Springboard Enterprises Australia, said the EIR program will demonstrate to the corporate community what women-led companies can achieve and realise the commercial opportunities possible through the partnership.

“Our goal is to help female entrepreneurs realise their full potential by providing them with suitable opportunities and instilling that ambition for growth,” Ms Conway said. “We help women achieve their potential by surrounding them with the right kind of networks, the right kind of coaching and the right kind of information they need to become investable companies.”

In the coming year, IntelligenceBank will receive direct and ongoing access to business support and solutions. The partnership with Aon will be led by Eric Lowenstein, client Manager, Financial Services Group, Aon Risk Solutions.

IntelligenceBank CEO and director Tessa Court is a successful entrepreneur who completed Springboard Enterprises’ first Australian accelerator program in 2013. She said the Entrepreneurs in Residence program will offer her company access to immeasurable business insights and experience.

“Partnering with Aon on the EIR program will allow us to share best practice learnings and insights, helping us to understand how we can bring a different perspective to clients. It will be an illuminating experience,” Ms Court said.

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Lambros Lambrou

Aon Underwriting Managers (AUM), Aon’s managing general agency, has signed an exclusive distribution agreement with wholesale underwriting management company, Freeman McMurrick (FMM).

The agreement positions FMM as the sole distributor of AUM solutions throughout the region and will bring market-leading products to clients and brokers across Australia and New Zealand.

As part of the implementation strategy, Aon will establish Aon Underwriting Managers in Australia as a managing general agency (MGA) for risk solutions in the region.

AUM currently underwrites over USD$1 billion in premiums globally. This agreement will position AUM as unique regional leader, providing Australian and New Zealand brokers with access to exclusive products and services, supported by world class carriers through the FMM brand.

Lambros Lambrou, Aon Risk Solutions Australia Chief Executive Officer, said the new offering will benefit from greater data and analytical insights, combined with strategic carrier relationships.

“This agreement strengthens Aon’s existing local and global capabilities to give brokers and their clients a range of services and innovative solutions that go beyond traditional offerings in the retail marketplace,” Mr Lambrou said.

“This enhanced offering is a significant addition to the market and aligns with Aon’s global strategy around underwriting management.

“We have witnessed the successful implementation of MGA strategies in the US and UK. This agreement enables us to replicate a proven model in the local market,” Mr Lambrou said.

Freeman McMurrick is a trusted leader in wholesale underwriting management and will become the channel for the distribution of existing FMM products and new AUM offerings in Australia and New Zealand.

Development and refinement of new product solutions is currently underway and FMM will keep its broker partners, clients, the industry and other interested parties updated on the progress.

Aon has appointed Alison Smith as AUM Director to lead this initiative.

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Lambros Lambrou

The global risk management and insurance landscape has changed forever as the implications of big data continue to impact broking, underwriting and reinsurance markets and disrupt accepted business models.

This is the new reality driven home by global and local risk specialists at the Aon Advanced Risk Finance Conference held in Melbourne earlier this month. The Conference was attended by over 300 representatives of industry giants from all sectors of risk management.

Speaking about the lessons to be learned from specialists in the field, Lambros Lambrou, CEO of Aon Risk Solutions Australia, challenged conference attendees and the broader business community as to whether they possess the skills needed to compete and succeed in an environment undergoing fundamental change.

“There is no doubt that big data has changed our industry forever, and industry participants must take the necessary steps to understand its implications if they wish to remain competitive,” he said.

“For example, data scientists and actuaries, often from non-insurance backgrounds, are now at the very centre of insurance markets, and the risk community needs to accept the change and leverage their skills in big data and analytics,” he added.

And it’s not just big data driving change. The annual conference also tapped into Aon’s global expertise in research and analytics to highlight some of the other pressing issues facing businesses today. Sessions chaired by global specialists offered a glimpse into the future and revealed insights into how businesses can and should respond to a variety of risks in order to achieve the results they are aiming for.

These areas included:

Returning to the theme of big data, Mr. Lambrou stressed that companies have nothing to fear from it. In fact, those willing to get on board have a great deal to gain.

“Harnessing big data and interpreting it to develop fact-based insights does require specialist skills, but those insights can be used to improve every aspect of the industry, from pricing efficiency to policy construction and risk financing strategies,” he said.

“Brokers and other insurance industry players have much to gain, among many others. And, far from minimising relationships with clients as some may fear, relationships based on science and robust data and insight, as well as trust, are likely to be deeper and longer lasting,” Mr. Lambrou said.

He concluded by saying that the Aon conference brought home the revelation that the power of big data lies in its ability to drive smarter business decisions.

“Which brings me to Aon’s ultimate aim – to use our unique global strengths and expertise to raise the industry benchmark and empower results, helping our clients understand the dynamics of the risk management industry they are in today, and ultimately to partner with them to fuel superior outcomes tomorrow,” he said.

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Lambros Lambrou

According to Aon, the leading global provider of risk management and human resource solutions (NYSE:AON), many of the risks that businesses list as their most pressing are uninsurable within current policy structures, which is both disappointing and cause for real concern. To remain sustainable and support clients, the risk industry must find ways of staying relevant as traditional risks get bigger and non-traditional risks pose new threats.

Lambros Lambrou, CEO for Aon Risk Solutions in Australia, made these comments in the wake of this year’s Aon Advanced Risk Finance Conference, while warning that the future of risk financing will look very different from that of the past.

“Our industry is very sophisticated in handling smaller risks, such as health, vehicle and even safety. There is a wealth of data and experience around these risks which informs decisions at all levels of the value chain,” Mr. Lambrou explained.

“However, when something goes wrong outside established “comfort zones”, while it may be less frequent, it is more likely to be catastrophic. And the truth is that the risk industry has struggled to develop strategies relevant to clients’ needs in the catastrophic risk space.”

Mr. Lambrou explained that part of the problem is that the risk industry tends to look at the past as a guide to future decisions, a practice that can lead to a failure to innovate as required to address new or changing risks which fall outside of what is routinely offered.

“Changes such as the increased connectivity between individuals, the accelerating accumulation of data and the speed at which information is sent digitally around the globe mean that all companies are now borderless and all risks are global,” he said.

“And that means the risk industry must stay ahead of clients and develop risk mitigation and financing strategies if they are to continue offering value and relevance,” Mr. Lambrou explained.

Stephen Cross, Chairman of Aon Global Risk Consulting and Aon Centre for Innovation & Analytics in Dublin, said that cyber risk is a prime example of a new and changing risk requiring innovation on the part of the industry in order to help companies understand and address cyber risk – before it’s too late.

“Cyber risk is to our industry what asbestos was to the building industry, a ticking time bomb just waiting to explode,” Mr. Cross said.

He also cited the hyper connectivity that now underpins the functioning of our world as a factor that, if not effectively addressed, may affect the very structure of the risk industry.

“Insurers and brokers alike should take a long hard look at the traditional distribution model we’ve lived with for years. Peer-to-peer lending, peer-to-peer sharing of risk and even crowd-sourcing of insurance policies and capital could change the way we do business forever.”

Mr. Cross concluded by saying that while some of the changes to the industry are profound, responding to them on behalf of clients requires the industry to stay alert and take advantage of the research and analytics available.

“The Aon Centre for Innovation & Analytics is dedicated to data analytics and innovation with the sole purpose of anticipating and responding effectively to the needs of our clients.

“Our real aim is to help our clients, insurers and our brokers look to the future of risk armed with fact-based data and insights,” Mr. Cross said.

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Lambros Lambrou

Most companies understand that they must address risk to remain competitive and grow their business. However the real challenge for business lies in understanding and developing the tools and solutions necessary to succeed in the face of the ever-accelerating change and complexity of today’s risk landscape.

So said Lambros Lambrou, CEO of Aon Risk Solutions Australia, a risk management business of Aon plc (NYSE:AON) ahead of the tenth annual Aon Advanced Risk Finance Conference, which kicks off in Melbourne on 8 October. The theme of this year’s conference, “Ten Years of Risk Financing Insights”, will drive home Mr. Lambrou’s point, highlighting that risks which now appear high on many organisations’ agendas barely existed 10 years ago.

According to Mr. Lambrou the breadth and variety of risks businesses now face requires them to mitigate against a wider range of issues than ever before, from white-collar crimes to cyber risk.

Mr. Lambrou highlighted cyber risk as a significant hazard in a technology driven environment that often flies under the radar: “The potential ramifications of cyber risk, which has been described as “the asbestos of risk”, are widely underestimated, particularly here in Australia where we are demonstrably behind the curve when it comes to even a basic understanding of the issues. This applies not only when it comes to individuals’ privacy, but for the integrity of entire organisations. That includes major liability issues at the Board and Director level right through to the very real threat that cyber risk poses to undermining everyday operational capability.”

The underlying theme of the conference focuses on the importance of ‘big data’ in shaping the future of risk management and helping businesses address issues like cyber risk in a more sophisticated way.

“The risk management industry has become the poster child for resolving the vexed question of how to put big data to use, and in so doing has transitioned from being a relationship, intuition-based industry to one that is increasingly truly data driven,” said Mr. Lambrou. “As our industry plays a vital role in promoting global economic growth, we must use the data and technology available to us to evolve faster than our clients on their risk and people issues to support them in meeting the challenges in the future. This conference is an ideal forum in which to do this.”

In addition to looking at global and local insurance and reinsurance trends, the conference will examine another important economic issue: risk and people – and, more specifically, how they interrelate.

“An organisation’s people is its most valuable asset. People risk is often at the heart of our conversations with clients, and rightly so. Failing to properly mitigate against this risk will have catastrophic outcomes for any business,” said Mr. Lambrou.

The Aon Advanced Risk Finance Conference 2014 will highlight the following issues:

• Shareholder value and risk maturity – the strong correlation between a company’s risk preparedness and its financial performance
• Big data – developing tools to harness its power to make better risk management and financing decisions
• Global insurance and reinsurance markets – the effect of the flow of capital from alternative sources such as pension funds and the need to use this capital to innovate
• People risk – the so-called ‘soft science’ that hits hardest on the bottom line
• The psychology of the white-collar criminal
• The “asbestos” of today’s risk management world: cyber risk

The conference unites global specialists from Aon’s London, Chicago, Singapore, Ireland and Beijing offices to share latest industry trends and data and offer risk management and financing insights to an audience of leading Australian and multinational companies.

Conference sessions will be delivered by key Aon executives from across the world, in conjunction with some of Aon’s major clients, including Coca Cola-Amatil, Lend Lease and Tesco, along with a range of experts from academia, the insurance industry and the corporate world.

Mr. Lambrou concluded: “While organisations have a surplus of information, which is growing exponentially, they also often have a shortage of insight. Understanding that information as it relates to risk and how to mitigate it can have an extraordinary effect on the growth and bottom line fortunes of any organisation.

“Risk and insurance go hand-in-hand, but our conference agenda goes beyond the surface to drill into the hard data and trends that underpin the way every single industry should be looking at managing the countless risks they face.”

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Lambros Lambrou

Drivers of change in certain sectors of the insurance market in Australia are shaping a new set of business conditions – and those companies who wish to be winners should be prepared to act on them sooner rather than later, according to Lambros Lambrou, CEO of Aon Risk Solutions Australia, a risk management business of Aon plc.

This view was expressed by Mr. Lambrou upon the release of Aon’s third quarter Insurance Market Update for 2014.

Mr. Lambrou sounded a general warning against taking recent market data at face value, urging the insurance industry in Australia to look deeper rather than remaining content with the status quo.

“At first glance the data shows little variation from the past few quarters. Casual observers might conclude that we are in a ‘steady as she goes’ part of the cycle,” said Mr. Lambrou.

“However just because themes such as industry capacity and increasing competition are recurring, that does not mean the interplay of these factors will deliver recurring outcomes. On the contrary, some outcomes may come as a surprise to the industry – especially those who’ve become complacent and failed to look ahead.”

James Baum, Managing Director of Broking & Chief Broking Officer, Aon Risk Solutions Australia, cited some potential drivers of change for which the industry should be prepared. He also pointed out some of the underlying differences between today’s environment and more traditional scenarios – and their potential implications for the broader industry.

“Diversity of funding is one feature of our macro environment that should not be underestimated,” Baum explained. “The increasingly broad funding base of the insurance industry in Australia raises questions as to whether there would be the same level of withdrawal of capital from the market in the face of a catastrophic event as in the past. With insurance forming a smaller part of their portfolios there is less likelihood of new investors, such as pension funds, withdrawing their support. And that may well mean that we are moving away from the traditional cyclical market, with current market conditions likely to become the new norm.”

Another macro factor is the U.S. interest rate environment – more specifically, the likely global impact of an unexpected adjustment.

“Interest rates are priced in across all markets and any change would have profound implications on the shape of investment and markets in general – including the insurance market,” said Mr. Baum.

“Recent experience and the continuing economic uncertainty prevailing in the Eurozone and the UK are factors that we should remain aware of even in the face of more positive news from elsewhere. Failing to remain alive to the possibility of sudden unexpected downturns would be to deny the lessons of the past and the reality of today.”

In addition to the United States, Mr. Baum pointed to the role of China and its economy as a potential shaper of industry change – in particular in relation to property.

“Until recently the focus of the larger Chinese insurers and reinsurers has been on Chinese-owned assets,” said Mr. Baum. “However as they gain a better understanding of the geographies in which they operate – and that certainly includes Australia – they are developing an appetite for non-Chinese-owned assets. The upshot is that these insurers offer a very cost-competitive avenue, particularly where large amounts of capacity are required. It is likely that over time, as differences in business culture become better understood and managed, there will be a major move toward these providers.”

Mr Baum also named a number of micro or more industry- or sector-specific factors that should be factored into the insurance market outlook

• Heavier regulation in many sectors is leading to a greater compliance and risk burden – with corresponding effect on policies including for financial institutions and Director’s and Officer’s Insurance.
• Increased competition has reduced premiums in many instances, however insureds should be wary that this does not come with a corresponding reduction in the scope of the policies concerned. It’s a case of buyer beware.
• Competitive pressure is also leading to innovation in terms of both policy types and policy wording, as insurers work ever harder to attract and retain clients – a positive outcome for the industry and a direction in which it should continue if it is to thrive.
• Loyalty is becoming a watchword as falling premiums cause unprecedented numbers of insureds to “shop around”. Insurers who crack the “loyalty code” are likely to reap the benefits.
• Big infrastructure projects coming on-stream in response to moves at federal and state government level may also change the insurance outlook, especially in the project-specific Professional Indemnity space.

In conclusion, Mr. Lambrou highlighted the need for the industry at large to address its longer term, strategic challenges – and said that using hard data and information as reference points is the key to success.

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Lambros Lambrou

Aon Risk Solutions Australia named ‘Large Broker of the Year’ for the third year in a row at Australian Insurance Industry Awards

For the third year in a row, Aon Risk Solutions Australia, a business of Aon plc, has been named ‘Large Broker of the Year’ at the Australian Insurance Industry Awards, held in Sydney last week.

Lambros Lambrou, CEO of Aon Risk Solutions Australia, said the win is significant in its recognition of Aon’s ability to empower results for its clients:

“These awards are about the industry acknowledging its peers which makes the accolades all the more meaningful.

“We are focused on providing distinctive value to our clients across all our markets from sole traders through to large corporates . As the magnitude and complexity of risk continues to rise, Aon’s industry leading analytics and deep industry insights provides clients with a factbase to make better informed decisions around their risk management and insurance strategies. Our experienced broking teams have proven time and time again their ability to secure world class innovative and competitive solutions across local and global insurance markets. We are very proud to be awarded the Large Broker of the Year accolade for the third year in a row, a testament to our ongoing commitment to both our clientele and the insurance industry.”

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.

On winning the ‘Large Broker of the Year’ category, ANZIIF cited Aon’s strongly client-driven activities, “with the firms ‘Client Promise’ ensuring an emphasis on personalised service plans in order to meet individual client needs.”

The judges also noted “Aon’s proven customer satisfaction figures and continuous review of client services as integral to securing the award, as well as its efforts to educate clients. The firm’s success in providing risk management assistance was also highly regarded.”

“The Large Broker of the Year Award recognises the enormous efforts that our colleagues go to in order to exceed client expectations and lead the industry,” said Mr. Lambrou. “Our focus is always on connecting with our clients – understanding their needs and delivering the full Aon capability to create exceptional outcomes.

“From ‘creating the insight’ to leading the market, we continuously raise the benchmark on service, client experience and innovation – to empower results,” said Mr Lambrou.

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Lambros Lambrou

Growth in capacity and increasing interest from international markets mean the recent run of reducing premiums in Australia may well continue, raising the question of whether insurers are prepared to meet the challenge and diversify by developing new products.

This is one of the key insights revealed by Lambros Lambrou, CEO of Aon Risk Solutions Australia, following the release of Aon’s Australian Insurance Market Update for Q1, 2014.

Mr Lambrou said that the data, gleaned from the Aon Global Risk Insight Platform (GRIP), the world’s largest proprietary database of insurance placement data, enables better analysis and more profound insights to support the insurance industry in shaping its future.

He also pointed out that insurance markets in general are becoming increasingly attractive investment opportunities for alternative capital, such as pension funds, which are actively seeking greater returns and further diversity for their investors.

“For buyers, this adds to an already competitive environment,” Lambrou said. “So for the insurance market, the big question becomes: when will it genuinely start using profits derived from the relatively benign claims environment to develop innovative products for traditionally uninsurable risks, rather than simply banking the difference?”

According to Mr Lambrou, future success for the insurance market lies in its ability to innovate by anticipating and meeting client needs in an ever changing risk landscape.

Mr Lambrou cited network security and privacy insurance policies as a recent example of product innovation: “Five years ago organisations were completely exposed to cyber risk. The insurance market just did not cater to this very real and constantly evolving risk. Now the market offers specialist cyber risk insurance policies to adequately mitigate risk; opening itself up to an entirely new segment of the market that was up until recently uninsurable.”

Mr Lambrou went on to outline some of the highlights from the latest update.

“The good news is that at a macro level, and despite some commentary to the contrary, commercial markets are in good shape and continue to return healthy profits, largely off the back of a year with fewer natural catastrophes and attritional losses,” he explained.

According to Aon, at the micro level, there are some marked variations in the profitability and outlook for different sectors. For example, despite intense competition and surplus capacity keeping premiums flat across the board in general liability, those with bushfire and offshore energy exposures are a marked exception. Rates in these areas have hardened in the last year, and this is expected to continue.

Mr Lambrou said that Workers’ Compensation was another line to buck an otherwise favourable claims trend.

“Both the volume and the value of Workers Compensation claims are on the increase,” he explained. “This means that clients with poor loss histories will inevitably be asked to take on more risk themselves.”

In the Directors’ & Officers’ Liability (D&O) space, supplementary traditional and non-traditional capital has created an oversupply, pushing premiums down, a trend expected to continue throughout 2014. On the other hand, the total amount of compensation claimed is on the rise. Of particular concern is the growing tendency for legal costs to outweigh settlement amounts.

Mr Lambrou commented that up-coming court cases in respect of whether directors can access their D&O insurance to fund legal costs will have potentially serious ramifications for Australian companies.

“Courts want the insured to have access to a legal defence, but whether or not this comes at the expense of those entitled to compensation from the policy remains to be seen. We may see a rise in the purchase of separate ‘legal expense only’ policies to complement traditional D&O policies depending on the way the decision goes,” he said.

While the majority of market commentary is focused on the large corporate space, this sector is becoming increasingly difficult to penetrate. As a result, there is a strong trend of insurers entering the small and medium enterprises (SME) market, particularly in the professional indemnity space.

“They believe that the fluid SME market provides more opportunities, and as a result, between 40 and 50 insurers are currently actively looking to provide professional indemnity cover to SMEs,” he said. “The one exception to this trend is financial planners, where poor loss histories across the board have resulted in rate increases.”

Mr Lambrou concluded by saying that Aon has been sharing deep data insights from the report with key clients in a series of boardroom briefings held in major capital cities around Australia prior to its more general release. The aim of the briefings is not just to share Aon’s insights, but for clients to contribute to the conversation by raising their questions and concerns.

“The response from clients has been overwhelmingly positive,” he said.

“Our clients are clearly keen to get the edge on their competitors by building their businesses on the back of hard data. We are really pleased to be able to share evidence and insights from GRIP to offer them the opportunity to do just that.”

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