Registrations are now open for the Insurance Council 2019 conference which continues their two-theme approach, this year being — conduct and culture, and resilience.

ICNZ 2019 Conference:

It has been an unparalleled past 12 months of regulatory reviews and reflection on how to achieve better customer outcomes. Across the insurance value chain, significant investment is underway re-designing systems, processes and remuneration incentives. We’ll hear the expectations from those who regulate, experts on how we should be going about the job and from right across the sector on how far we have come and just how far we have to go.

We’ve coupled this with a deep exploration of resilience, the ability to adapt and thrive in a world of increasing and emerging risks. Ultimately, it’s resilience that keeps insurance affordable and accessible without which we cannot support good customer outcomes. So, our themes converge as we look at resilience from a global, regional and New Zealand perspective.

Kim Hill is our MC and will ensure throughout the day there is plenty of opportunity to ask questions and engage in panel discussions.  

Minister of Finance and Minister Responsible for EQC, Hon Grant Robertson, opens the conference with a wide brief given his portfolio responsibilities range across the financial sector and include insurance and economic resilience to natural hazards.  Reserve Bank Governor Adrian Orr takes a look at what’s been happening in 2019, how supervision by the Bank will strengthen, and the major initiatives underway that will continue to shape how the sector operates.

Against this backdrop, a specialist in cultural risk in the financial sector, Elizabeth Arzadon, who developed APRA’s approach to evaluating risk culture in insurers and banks, will take us on a journey about the best way to meet regulatory expectations.

As good consumer outcomes is the focus for much of the change we are making, we will hear from two speakers with consumer insights:

• the Insurance and Financial Services Ombudsman, Karen Stevens, will discuss the connection between complaints and conduct and
• the Chief Executive of FinCap, Tim Barnett, will present the voice of vulnerable consumers telling us what more we need to do.

The rest of the morning will be vignettes from across the insurance value chain providing their response to the challenges we must face.

• Chief Executives of NZBrokers, Jo Mason, and the outspoken head of Steadfast Group, Rob Kelly, give the broker perspective.
• Young talent, 2018 ICNZ-ANZIIF Scholarship winner, Camille Cullen, and the innovative Young Broker of the Year, Rene Swindley, give us the next generation’s perspective of how we need to change.

The morning session ends with how insurers are responding to the changing customer and conduct landscape with the view of Tower’s Chief Executive Richard Harding and Suncorp’s Chief Risk Officer, Helen McNeil.

The afternoon’s focus on resilience starts with Mark Crosweller, most recently the Director-General of Emergency Management Australia and Head of the National Resilience Taskforce who will talk to the Australian approach.  He will be followed by the programme leader of the United Nations Environmental Programme’s Principles of Sustainable Insurance initiative, Butch Bacani, who will provide a global view of insurance markets, climate risk, resilience and sustainability.  Then, the Secretary for the Environment, Vicky Robertson, will give a New Zealand take on our National Climate Change Risk Assessment and other policy issues that underpin resilience.

Finally, we’ll look at two initiatives seeking to provide a way forward to negotiate through the challenges of sustainability and natural hazard risks:  

• Karen Silk, General Manager Commercial, Corporate and Institutional, Westpac and Co-Chair of the Aotearoa Circle on cross-sector work to develop a Sustainable Finance Roadmap for New Zealand, and
• ICNZ’s Chief Executive, Tim Grafton, will talk about the Rezealiance initiative designed to provide a multi-hazard bespoke risk model for New Zealand.