CGU InSTRIVE

1. A message from Damien Gallagher

Happy New Financial Year to our valued broker partners! As we look towards new possibilities, I hope you’ve found a moment to reflect on the year that was and recognise the achievement of your goals. If the events of the past couple of years have taught us anything, it is the importance of slowing down and taking stock of where we are now. It’s also important to give ourselves permission to celebrate success before diving into setting some ambitious plans for FY23.

It’s been a very busy time with broker engagements around the country. Jarrod and I, and a full contingent of CGU staff recently attended the Austbrokers Conference in Kingscliffe which was a great opportunity to reconnect and hear directly from our brokers about the issues that matter. My leadership team and I have also travelled to our local offices in each state, taking the opportunity to see our teams and visit broker partners to thank them for their support during a tough couple of years. Most recently, Tim Rafton, EGM Intermediated Claims attended the Council of Queensland Insurance Brokers (CQIB) Queensland Day Awards where CGU was recognised for the valuable relationships we share with brokers by receiving the “Domestic Insurer Award” and runner-up for the “All Rounder Award.” It was a fantastic achievement and a credit to our teams.

CGU recently featured in the May/June edition of Insurance News with a story, “Backing Australia’s small business ambition” featuring interviews with our broker partners and their SME clients.  Through telling their stories we hope to change Australia’s negative views on ambition and encourage businesses to dream big and celebrate success.  If you missed it you can read it here.

We have also been working on more broker education delivered through our ongoing partnership with NIBA. In May Dr Bruce Buckley and Peter Chan from our IAG Natural Perils team presented “Australia’s Changing Weather”, looking at historical and recent major weather events and providing insights into what we might expect in the future. In the light of so many unprecedented weather events this year it makes compelling viewing.

Under the leadership of Tim Rafton, EGM Intermediated Claims our teams are working on a number of initiatives to maximise our supply chain for the benefit of brokers and customers impacted by these recent weather events. It’s an issue affecting our entire industry, and one that CGU has prioritised solutions for so that we can deliver on our claims promise to our customers. We will continue to update our brokers as these initiatives progress.

CGU has also recognised that we can play an active role to help our broker partners navigate more complex client conversations influenced by inflationary pressure, geopolitical tensions, supply chain delays, weather events, and labour market shortages. We are all feeling these impacts with many unsure of what all of this means for our industry. I’m pleased to announce we will be exploring these themes at our ambitious new broker insight series, coming soon to your state in September and October.

We’re also energised by our ambitious plans focussed on what we hope to achieve with our broker partners in the year ahead. From all of us at CGU, we thank you for your support during FY22 and look forward to helping you realise your own ambitious goals.

Best Regards,
Damien Gallagher.

2. CGU Padlock - cover this good shouldn’t be overlooked!

Why settle for less when it comes to commercial landlord insurance? CGU Padlock is a premium product, offering tailored cover for property owners. Designed with their needs in mind, you can rest easy knowing that Padlock will provide the protection they need. With experienced underwriting teams, local claims management and a commitment to protecting your client, CGU Padlock should not be overlooked.

Padlock provides your clients with an all-in-one insurance package tailored for the unique cover requirements of commercial property owners. It is designed to provide comprehensive cover for:

• Property
• Tax audit
• Loss of income
• OH&S and legal costs
• Theft, money & rent default
• Liability
• Machinery/electronic
• Glass equipment breakdown.

You can count on the right insurance cover at the right price, tailored and delivered by insurance professionals and backed by the financial strength and security of a company that has been serving Australian communities for more than 160 years.

To find out more, contact your Broker Relationship Partner.

3. NIBA On-demand Learning Series

The NIBA CGU on-demand learning series bring you a range of pre-recorded webinars on key topics to support the application of some of these insights into the important conversations being had with customers. These NIBA and CPD accredited recordings can be viewed at your convenience for the time that they are made available.

See the latest recording and look out for an email from NIBA in the next little while announcing the next in our series. It will provide a general overview of our Workers Compensation offering across risk and fee states.

4. CGU in the market

It’s been a busy few months with the industry returning to many much-anticipated conferences and events. Our teams around the country have missed these engagements and were excited to represent CGU and connect with our broker partners again. Although virtual networking filled a need during the peak of the COVID pandemic, it could never replace the energy of engaging in person.

In May, our Senior Executive, Underwriting, Claims, and Broker Relationships team members attended the Austbrokers Conference at Mantra on Salt Beach, Kingscliffe. Celebrating being “Stronger Together” it was a great success with strong attendance by insurers and delegates across three days of networking and professional development. Taking the opportunity to thank our Austbrokers partners for their support, CGU invited guests to wear their most colourful party shirt at our Gold Sponsor “Party Shirt Pub Night.” Judging by the photos it was a hit with our guests getting into the spirit and celebrating a sense of normality returning to our industry.

We also took the opportunity to thank our broker partners for their support at our Gold Class Cinema Events around the country in May and June. Guests were treated to the launch of the hotly anticipated release of “Top Gun Maverick". Enjoyed by all, it was a nostalgic blast from the past for those who were lucky enough to enjoy the original film back in 1986, and an adrenalin-fuelled introduction to the world of Miramar for our younger audience members.

In June, the CGU team attended the annual CQIB (Council of Queensland Insurance Brokers) Queensland Day Awards, recognising excellence within the broking and insurer community. Attended by our EGM Intermediated Claims, Tim Rafton, and team members from Underwriting, Claims and Broker Relationships, we were delighted to receive the “Best Domestic Insurer” award and runner-up for the “All Rounder Award” 2022. Voted by brokers, this was wonderful recognition for our team members who support our broker partners across all parts of our business.

With many more engagements planned in the months ahead, our teams are looking forward to seeing many more of our valued broker partners in the market!

5. Fast 5 with Lilly Lazarevski

In this instalment of Fast 5, we introduce you to Lilly Lazarevski, Executive Manager, Agri, Personal & SME. Leading some key CGU intermediated portfolio’s, Lilly has a passion for insurance and a strong sense of pride in the industry in general.