Read a roundup of activities around the AILA-NZILA branches

Young Professionals

The YPs are a group of young professionals working in the insurance industry who are responsible for organising educational and networking opportunities for YPs.

Committee members are:

- Dan Robinson, from Clyde & Co (NSW representative and chair)
- Kimberley Miller Owen, HWL Ebsworth (SA)
- Jade Macukat, Clyde & Co (WA)
- Melinda Bird, Page Seager (Tas)
- Erica Lawson, Barry.Nilsson (Vic)
- Chrissy Cheesman, Suncorp (Qld and national board representative)

The YPs are piloting a mentoring program in Victoria that it hopes to roll out across Australia next year.

The YPs are forging links with other insurance-based YP organisations abroad with a view to strengthening relationships and providing opportunities for YPs.

NSW YPs held a mock-trial moot in the Banco Court of the NSW Supreme Court before Justice Bellew. The mock trial involved a hypothetical non-disclosure case which was argued by counsel and had hypothetical underwriter and insured witnesses give evidence. A similar event is planned for the national conference in WA.

Victoria

The annual general meeting was a successful event with 238 guests entertained by the true story of Mick Collis.

Mick dreamed of representing Australia and, after various failed attempts, finally achieved his ambition, in a field he knew nothing about, as vice-captain of the first ever Australian sudoku team that travelled to India to compete at the World Sudoku Championships.

AILA Victoria welcomed three new committee members, Matt Ellis, from Norton Rose Fulbright; Andrea Petrocco, from IAG; and Noa Zur, from Lander & Rogers. A warm welcome to them.

Thanks to the outgoing committee for all the hard work during the past year and, in particular, to those stepping down. Without the committee's hard work and passion, AILA Victoria would not be as successful as it is.

A special thanks to Raff Pisano, the outgoing president. Raff is an inspiration. Her vision, passion and dedication have culminated in a successful period under her leadership, leaving the branch with a strong foundation to continue activities into 2018 and beyond. Thank you Raff.

AILA Victoria continued its Basics & Beyond seminar series on 26 April with a well-attended, topical seminar presented by Lucy Terracall, partner, and Daniel Heywood, chartered accountant & forensic accounting specialist, both from  Clayton Utz. The topic was: Cyber policy triggers and the reality of Australia's notifiable data breaches scheme.

Thomson Geer hosted a seminar titled Procedural fairness - Nothing is written on 2 May, presented by Stanley Drummond, of Thomson Geer, and Phillip Battye, of HWL Ebsworth. Ombudsman Katy Adams, from the Financial Ombudsman Service, chaired the event.

The seminar continued the initiative that began last year to include life insurance topics, with more planned in 2018.

The Victorian final of the Ron Shorter Memorial Award is on 19 July. Applications closed on 4 May and excitement is mounting.

Through the committee's hard work, the branch already has a full seminar schedule and looks forward to an action-packed year as it continues to roll out its program, including an annual networking event in October.

Western Australia

The WA chapter has been busy planning for the national conference at the Perth Convention and Exhibition Centre on 31 October-2 November this year.

It's shaping up to be quite an event and one you won't want to miss.

WA events in the first quarter of 2018 have been very successful. In particular, the Australian General Insurance Law Review was a sell out.

Jehan-Phillipe Wood, Jenny Thornton, Geoff Hancy and Mark Williams educated and entertained attendees with a mixed bag of cases bringing something for everyone and finishing with the sad story of Mr and Mrs Moore's once-in-a-lifetime cruise experience that left them with a little less "cruise" and a lot more "experience" than they bargained for.

The WA committee is particularly keen to increase engagement with young professionals. There are a lot of fresh new faces on the committee this year and it has ramped up the YP program, which is very popular and provides excellent networking opportunities for those new to the industry.

WA participated in the Ron Shorter Award for the first time last year and it was a fantastic event. Registrations have closed for this year's program and there has been a great response from prospective participants. .

Queensland

AILA Queensland has had a busy first half of the year.

The General Insurance Law Review seminar on 27 February was a very valuable summary of insurance cases that made 2016 memorable.

 Julie Darley, Joanna Burton, Paul Baxter, Ken Horsley and Jacinta Long informed and entertained the near-capacity crowd from breakfast until lunch.

In March, the Tomorrow's Leader Today seminar with Blake Solly, South Sydney Rabbitohs CEO, was an afternoon of tremendous insight.

On 2 May, a fire claims seminar, hosted by Wotten + Kearney, was sold out (see article in this issue). 

In June, there is a celebration for 35 years of AILA. In keeping with the Qld lifestyle, the event will be a long lunch at Brisbane's Breakfast Creek Hotel. The committee aims to have a collection of past AILA Qld presidents to join the celebrations.

On July 20, the all-day Insurance Law Intensive will be at the Victoria Park Golf Course conference facilities due to the overwhelmingly positive response received last year. The intensive covers insurance law and industry topics.

Several events are ‘on the boil' for young professionals, which will be revealed as the year progresses.