On August 22, 27 Tasmanian members attended a talk by Sandra Taglieri, a prominent Hobart barrister, on the topic: The recovery provisions of the Tasmanian workers’ compensation legislation.

On October 9, Ken Read SC presented a very thought-provoking topic: Concurrent wrongdoers- What are they?  What problems do they cause? The 45 attendees participated in a lively discussion on the Civil Liability Act 2002 and the 2005 Amendment.

Mikaela Reynoldson, director, Claverhouse Risk & Legal, and Fred Hawke, partner, Clayton Utz, examined the use of indemnity clauses - what they are, how they can be used effectively, the risks involved, the intersection with insurance policies and drafting techniques – in a November 14 presentation.

On December 4, barrister John Tesarsch and HWL Ebsworth partner David Guthrie analysed the wide-ranging reforms to the Insurance Contracts Act and their significance to insurers, brokers and insureds.

They discussed, in particular, amendments to the nature and scope of the duty of disclosure that will apply to different types of insurance contracts; ASIC’s role in monitoring compliance with the Act and intervening in litigation; the potential consequences that may result from a breach of the duty of utmost good faith; the rights now conferred on third-party beneficiaries to insurance contracts; and the new regimes for subrogation actions.

They also discussed what was left on the cutting room floor, including the legislature’s decision not to amend section 54 of the Act.

AILA Victoria’s annual general meeting will return to the Regent Ballroom on February 26, 2014.  The 2013 annual dinner was considered one of the best yet so ensure you are available to attend.

Saturday September 14, 2013, was a fairly wet and stormy night in Perth. But AILA WA members and guests enjoyed a peaceful evening of art, cocktails and canapés at the WA Art Gallery’s exhibition, Van Gogh, Dalí and beyond: The world re-imagined.

It was a great night and thanks to the WA social sub-committee and Angie Gimisis for organising it.

The breakfast seminar series continued in September with Glen Walker, Technical Claims Manager, RAC Insurance, providing some insights into fraudulent claims. Glen manages RAC’s fraud detection team, after spending 11 years with the WA Police.

He spoke about some of the latest developments in technology that could help the fraud detection effort and touched on recent fraud trends with some case examples. The September session was run earlier than usual this year to avoid coinciding with the national conference in Sydney.

In October, Barrister Maria Saraceni posed the question: “What does insurance have to do with occupational safety and health at work, if anything?”

Her paper was presented after the federal election, given the Productivity Commission under the previous ALP Government had put occupational health and safety (OHS) on the national agenda and WA had been a reluctant participant in the national debate. She said while the focus of insurance was risk sharing, OHS’s focus was risk management, and encouraged some lively discussion from the floor.

The year will round up with a talk by David McKenna, of Jarman McKenna, on the ethics of settlement negotiations, then finish with the annual Year that Was presentation at the December AGM from Debora Templeman, of Gilchrist Connell. 

AILA’s 2013 national conference in Sydney was a wonderful success with the venue showing off Sydney at its best.

Congratulations to the subcommittee members who, over the last two years, put in so much time and effort to ensure the high quality of the speakers and topics. The subcommittee was: 

John Edmond, Clyde & Co (chair)
Peter Backe-Hansen, Allianz Insurance
Andrew Thomas, Cerno
Ray Giblett, Gadens
Chris Ehlers, MDD Forensic Accountants
Justine Hall, Insurance Council of Australia
Matthew Harding, HWL Ebsworth
Peter Mann, Clayton Utz
Lisa Smith, APRA

The Young Professionals networking subcommittee held its last event for 2013, Oktoberfest, at the GPO. As usual, the event was a wonderful evening with more than 550 people attending and the event being sold out. 

Congratulations to the subcommittee members, Siobhan Newton (chair), Chris Ehlers, Daniel Robertson, Eric Lowenstein, Glyn Lloyd, Gregory Greer, Heather Ritchie, John Edmond, Julie Chalmers and Min Yang for their hard work in putting the event together. 

AILA NSW held a seminar, Reform of the workers’ compensation scheme in NSW – one year on, which was a great insight into the scheme, and  a seminar, The  Insurance Contracts Act Amendments - What is around the corner?, which gave an overview of the changes. Both seminars were really well attended and received.

Planning for the Twilight Seminar series for 2014 is in progress and the brochure should be available early next year.

The final quarter of 2013 kept the SA committee busy with several events.

On October 18, AILA hosted a Young Professionals networking function at the Tivoli Hotel. About 60 YPs attended the networking opportunity to connect with their peers and meet and mingle with senior leaders across the insurance industry.

The event was sponsored by CGU, Allianz, Guardian Insurance Brokers, Fox Tucker Lawyers, Gilchrist Connell Lawyers and Class A Jewellers.

On October 29, AILA hosted the national AGM in Adelaide. Afterwards, Nigel Wilson gave a very informative and interesting presentation: Expert evidence in the digital age. Nigel addressed challenges for insurers and insurance lawyers in using experts in evolving modern technologies and digital information and the key elements of admissibility of expert evidence.

The final YP Fundamentals lunch session on November 14, presented by Julie Kinnear, was on the topic: Five things you should know about the Insurance Contracts Amendment Act 2013.

The SA AGM is on Thursday December 12 at the Crowne Plaza. Sam Doyle, barrister at Jeffcott Chambers, will then deliver the 2013 Take Home Message seminar, which will give a rundown of key insurance cases of the year.

As 2013 draws to a close I thank SA committee members for all their efforts and hard work to ensure a successful year. I look forward to working with the committee again to make 2014 even better.

AILA Queensland had two breakfast seminars to close the year.

On November 19, barrister Kevin Holyoak presented: On the threshold of change: What the WorkCover amendments mean for other insurers.

Changes to the Workers’ Compensation & Rehabilitation Act mean injured plaintiffs will now go looking for other targets, such as occupiers, host employers and principal contractors covered. What will be the effect of the employment exclusion in their public liability policies? What about recovery claims? Kevin discussed other issues to watch out for under the new regime.

Another breakfast seminar was planned for December 11 which would see Rockhampton barrister Graeme Crow talk about current trends in future economic loss and quantum assessments.