“Congratulations to this years’ winners and finalists – all have displayed excellence, and a commitment to professionalism over the past year,” said Prue Willsford, Chief Executive Officer,  ANZIIF.

The awards highlight the incredible work organisations and individuals are doing to make a difference in the insurance community. “Thank you to our diverse judging panel that have given their time to assess the submissions and to our great partners and sponsors, who continue to support this celebration of excellence, and truly make this event possible”, adds Willsford.

Among the awards for individual excellence, Calise Liu of Finity was announced Young Insurance Professional of the Year, Win-Li Toh was announced Insurance Leader of the Year, and Tony Morgan was presented with the ANZIIF Lifetime Achievement Award.

Congratulations to the 2023 Winners:

• Small Broking Company of the Year: Simplex Insurance Solutions
• Medium Broking Company of the Year: Warren Saunders Insurance Brokers
• Large Broking Company of the Year: Aon
• Authorised Representative Network of the Year: Insurance Advisernet
• Underwriting Agency of the Year: CHU Underwriting Agencies
• Small-Medium General Insurance Company of the Year: RACT Insurance
• Large General Insurance Company of the Year: Suncorp Group
• Claims Team of the Year: NTI
• Life Insurance Company of the Year: AIA Australia
• Insurtech Start-up of the Year: Sync Technologies
• Professional Services Firm of the Year: Finity
• Service Provider to the Insurance Industry: Allied Universal Compliance and Investigations
• Excellence in Workplace Diversity and Inclusion: Allianz
• Excellence in Environmental, Social and Governance Change: IAG
• Young Insurance Professional of the Year: Calise Liu
• Insurance Leader of the Year: Win-Li Toh
• ANZIIF Lifetime Achievement Award: Tony Morgan

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Annette King

The Actuaries Institute has issued a detailed report urging government, businesses, and insurers to collaboratively address significant insurance gaps in protection against cyber attacks that have already cost the Australian economy billions of dollars.

In its Green Paper, Cyber Risk and the Role of Insurance, the Actuaries Institute analysed the vulnerability of organisations, from SMEs to large corporates, and the role of cyber insurance in setting best practice standards for cyber resilience as part of a robust risk management framework.

“For cyber insurance to influence best practice in a major way, there are several gaps that need to be addressed by government, business and insurers,” said the report’s lead author Win-Li Toh, a principal at analytics and actuarial consultancy Taylor Fry.

“Adding to these challenges are escalating cyber losses that have reduced insurer appetite for this class, significant shortage of capacity to provide the levels of protection needed across the market, and premium hikes in the double/triple digits over the past two years,” she said.

Actuaries Institute President Annette King said the Green Paper identifies pathways for key stakeholders in the Australian economy to prevent further significant damage from cyber attacks.

“Sitting back and doing nothing shouldn’t be an option when cyber attacks cost the Australian economy $33 billion last financial year,” Ms King says, noting the Green Paper’s recommendations including scenario planning and a joint approach towards training and skills development.

“The issues may be complex, yet it is clear that protection is vital for economic resilience given the headline-making losses we too often read about here and around the world.”

In its assessment of economic losses, the Green Paper notes that only 20 per cent of small to medium enterprises (SMEs) have cyber insurance compared with 35 per cent to 70 per cent for larger organisations. In 2021, 75 per cent of ransomware attacks were on companies with fewer than 1,000 people.

In addressing these issues, Ms Toh said: “importantly, good cyber hygiene and security – not insurance – are the first line of defence.” She noted government entities are a long way off baseline standards of cyber security and many businesses are also behind in their resilience against rapidly shifting risks.

“A vibrant cyber insurance market will do more than provide financial recompense for risks that break through the first line of defence. It can also strengthen that first line, by offering clear signals and incentives to business – in the form of eligibility, pricing and sharing of insights – on best-practice standards,” she said.

Key gaps in achieving this best-practice approach include:

• a severe shortage of qualified cyber security personnel
• limited understanding of the role of cyber insurance among Boards
• limited education on cyber risks among SMEs
• achieving sufficient capacity and profitability in the market
• managing accumulation risks.

On a global basis, Ms Toh said cyber risk is growing at unprecedented levels, with ransomware attacks more than tripling in two years.

“The accessibility of Ransomware as a Service (malware products), combined with the development of crypto currencies enabling untraceable payments has super-charged the growth of cyber attacks.

“This has brought more organisations of different types and sizes under the widening net of cyber criminals to the point where it is now clear that no firm is immune. This is why a vibrant and resilient risk management framework and infrastructure for cyber risk is crucial, of which insurance is one part,” she said.

The Green Paper also notes that with no geographical boundaries, a computer virus can spread quickly around the world and results in many companies making a claim under their cyber insurance policy. “This is the accumulation risk challenge for an insurer – the potential for a single event to trigger losses across business lines and global borders,” said Ms Toh.

Another issue is the difficulty in defining Acts of cyber War (or terrorism) that are excluded from insurance policies, with Lloyd’s recently giving directions to underwriters towards excluding liability for losses arising from any state-backed cyber attack.

Ms Toh said, “finding the right balance between guidance, education, mitigation, cover and regulation, will be central in creating a robust risk management framework for cyber risk and cyber insurance.”

Read the report.

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Win-Li Toh

The Australian and New Zealand Institute of Insurance and Finance have announced the panellists for the 32nd General Insurance Breakfast which will be hosted virtually on December 02.

Damian Falkingham, ANZIIF General Manager Industry Engagement spoke about ANZIIF’s decision to host the event virtually in light of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

‘The General Insurance Breakfast has been around for over three decades, and historically is one of the highlights on the annual insurance calendar for industry professionals,’ says Falkingham. We are pleased to be able to host this year’s event virtually and provide a platform for the insurance community to come together to learn and connect.’

‘Attendees will be joined by an experienced panel of insurance experts to reflect on ‘the year that was’, discuss current market trends, explore issues and opportunities and discuss what the future holds. I encourage industry professionals to take advantage of ANZIIF’s early bird sale which ends this Friday 30 October.’

2020 General Insurance Virtual Breakfast panellists

Moderator: Win-Li Toh, Principal —Taylor Fry

1. Tony Clark, Chief Executive Officer – NTI Limited
2. Sue Houghton, ICA President and Managing Director Insurance – Westpac
3. Chris Mackinnon, Regional Head of Australia & New Zealand and General Representative in Australia and Vanuatu – Lloyd’s
4. Giselle Walther, Group Managing Director – Aon Inpoint

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