Presidents report

President's Report | Operations Report

This being the first report of my term as president, for the year 2008/09, gives me pause for reflection. My role has in many ways been a continuation of, really, all my predecessors insofar as I have spent the majority of my time, in some way or other, promoting the profession of loss adjusting.

This has, in large part, been via our Profile and Communications Campaign, in which I have been ably assisted by Philip Maguire. Philip has been able to open many doors and call in many favours for us to gain access and promote our message to the movers and shakers of the Insurance Industry.

In addition there has been a plethora of events to attend, divisions to visit and numerous speaking opportunities. To name but a few there has been involvement in the ANZIIF Insurance Industry’s Awards, the upcoming NIBA and RIMA conferences, the New Zealand division conference and of course our own CC09 conference.

My travels have taken me to the majority of the states and to Hong Kong, Malaysia and Singapore and even, occasionally, my home town Sydney.
When I first started writing in LA news last November I outlined that the theme of my presidency would be one of help. Little though did I realise just how much help a president really needs.

To everyone I have met and spoken to during these travels I must extend my thanks for the hospitality and help provided.

Education, Accreditation and Promotion

Last year Stephen Thorpe wrote that “education, accreditation and promotion are the three tenants of AICLA”; this is something I must wholeheartedly agree with.

We have, I believe, an enviable education system for loss adjusters, being the Diploma of Financial Services (Loss Adjusting). The fact we have such a system however does not mean that we can rest upon our laurels as we live in an ever moving, ever changing world.

It is a system that requires constant monitoring and updating. We must begin now to determine where we need to be with our education offerings in the longer term, in 5 to 10 years. We live in a global community and we must continue to look beyond our own shores if our education system is to thrive and grow. With this in mind we are talking to other institutions in other countries to monitor where growth might come from and where allegiances can be formed. Our education director Michael Davies is actively involved in such discussions.

As one example we have recently signed an agreement with the SII (Singaporean Insurance Institute) to licence to them our claims technicians course. In particular I must congratulate our International Development Director Jaye Kumar for his unstinting efforts in this regard.

Despite the world wide economic woes we are still seeing strong growth in enrolments in the Diploma of Financial Services (Loss Adjusting) which can only be to the betterment of the whole profession.

A significant input in the middle of the year went into our submission to the ICA in relation to the upcoming revised Code of Practice. We attended at the hearings and were congratulated by the appointed reviewer Robert Cornall on a well prepared and thought out submission. There was an extremely tight time frame for its submission and all those involved, including our secretariat Tony Libke are to commended on this. The results of the various submissions are not yet known, but we are hopeful the bar will be pushed just that little bit higher.

I have already mentioned the Profile and Communications Campaign but I must add that its success is very much dependent upon the assistance and help of you the members. At CCO9 this year we saw a swell in numbers at the conference. We need to carry that groundswell into our own lives, to bring awareness to the rest of the insurance industry of our abilities, our commitment and centrality to the whole claims process.

CC09

CC09 this year took place in Sydney. This was the final year of our three year agreement with our partner ANZIIF. It is very pleasing to advise that this year we were able to build off the hard work put into the previous years conferences and significantly increase the numbers to make this conference the most successful of the three. The convention included presentations and interviews with leaders in the loss adjusting industry, and the insurance industry in general including Ben Bessel of CGU, Jenny Lambert of Allianz and Peter Rush of Catholic Church Insurances.

It is ever more evident, if we are to continue to build the numbers and the profile, that we need to engage with our industry partners whether it be claims officers, claims managers, brokers or industry suppliers, including insurance builders. Its somewhere we can learn about ourselves and how others operate. The more we understand the more will be the opportunities we can identify to expand our services and our profile.

We are currently in negotiations with ANZIIF for 2010 and beyond. I look forward to continuing to build the conference to become one of the premier insurance events of the year, providing not only excellent networking opportunities but a forum for debate and camaraderie.

Industry Liaison

AICLA has for many years had liaison with industry organisations in Australia, New Zealand, Malaysia, Singapore and Hong Kong. We are now also actively pursuing contacts with other interested organisations in other countries including Indonesia, China and India. In doing so we can effectively strategise the course we wish to pursue in an increasingly global insurance community.

We continue to have an excellent liaison with the Insurance Council of Australia and their Disaster Response Unit led by Mr Karl Sullivan. The communication pathway during the Victorian bush fires earlier this year was particularly effective. Such times are testing for all involved, but loss adjusters across the board, with quiet purpose and resolve, rose to the many challenges presented by this tragedy.

We have also had discussions with CILA (UK) regarding the future path of education and we continue to maintain Board representation on the International Federation of Adjusting Associations. (IFAA).

Prize Winners and Awards

I congratulate the following members on winning AICLA educational prizes during the year:

Loss Adjusting Diploma Prize – Kamini Kanagalingam

Charles Buchanan Prize – Emily Hart

Syd McDonald Young Adjuster Prize – Emily Hart

Ted Cooper Prize (WA) – Michael Pagels

Brian Geraghty Prize (QLD) – Sharon Dawson

Congratulations to McLarens Young International New Zealand for winning ‘Loss Adjuster of the Year’ at the ANZIIF Insurance Industry Awards.

Acknowledgments

I would like to extend my thanks to all of my colleagues on the AICLA Board. It is with their help and support that AICLA has been able to formulate and take to the broader insurance world the initiatives and activities of the last 12 months. Like my predecessors I must also give special thanks to Mr Tony Libke, Administrative Officer whose help and historical knowledge bring continuity to the boards decisions. Finally I would also like to thank you, the members, for your support and encouragement in my tenure to date.

Kind regards
Ian McWalter