June 2021


Read a roundup of activities around the AILA and NZILA chapters

 

New South Wales


by Nicholas Zambetti


This year is turning the corner for Covid-19 in Australia and with that comes a renewed sense of positivity among the AILA fraternity and the population at large.

I am pleased to advise that AILA NSW is back in business, and with a vengeance.

The 2021 event calendar is looking great with a raft of seminars in the planning and most are anticipated to be in-person events.

Our long-awaited, highly respected series of Twilight seminars is back, starting on 8 July with Justice Meagher reviewing some court of appeal cases of note.

The series will continue with another five seminars through to September 2021.  Many thanks to the Twilight seminar sub-committee, led by Paul O’Brien, for all the hard work in getting these organised, and to our long-standing, highly committed venue and refreshments sponsor Minter Ellison for again supporting AILA.

Life@ AILA is back this year with its signature event, as is the Ron Shorter Award.   We also plan to resume the popular YP networking events later in the year and hold the Luminaries dinner. 

Of particular note is the AILA National Conference on 20-22 October 2021 in Sydney. When this issue of Resolve is distributed, we will have launched the conference with a ‘save the date’ and opened ticket sales. 

At the time of writing, sponsorship interest has been very good and we look forward to welcoming new sponsors for the event, which promises to be the highlight of the AILA calendar of the last two years.

Sponsors, we welcome your business for this major event. These are some of the highlights of the 2021 National Conference:

  • The venue is Doltone House, Jones Bay Wharf, a world-class conference centre on the shores of Sydney Harbour looking out to the Harbour Bridge and city.
  • We start with an amazing cocktail function to the tunes of live jazz on the Wednesday evening.
  • The main conference day on Thursday will deliver on our promise of highly relevant topics and respected speakers. It is followed by a short but amazing large catamaran cruise to the conference dinner venue, the Luna Park Conference Centre, with one of the most breathtaking venues Sydney has to offer. The trip there takes in the sights of the Harbour Bridge and the Opera House – perfect for visitors and locals alike to be reminded of our lovely city’s beauty.
  • The conference dinner will have sumptuous food and entertainment as we network and let our hair down (after 18 months of Covid-19 disruptions), entertained by a renowned live band.
  • Friday will complete the plenary sessions, followed by the closing lunch, hosted by a winemaker with connections to the insurance industry.

It’s an exciting year for AILA NSW.

 

Victoria


by Andrea Petrocco


What an exciting time to be part of AILA. 

As we come out of our Covid fog, the first half of the year has seen us deliver some captivating webinars, including the AGILR, Storm Financial, building your own brand, Life@AILA and ASIC RG271.

We are excited to reconnect with members in our first face-to-face event in June where the insurance industry will come together to hear from Lead Ombudsman John Price and Ombudsman Chris Liamos, who will discuss fairness, vulnerable complainants and claims handling.

The second half of the year will be busy, as we deliver on a range of topics, including medical negligence; the good, the bad and the ugly of mediation; GICOP 2020 Part 2; a broker’s perspective; Life@AILA; amendments in the financial sector reforms; and e-trials.

Plus there’s a networking breakfast, an opportunity for Young Professionals to get together for a fun night out, and other events in planning.

While we continue with our events planning, if you would like us to arrange a topic that interests you, please let us know at office@aila.com.au.

Get to know your AILA Vic committee

You may have seen them moderating or presenting webinars and wondered who they are. 

Over the next few issues, you can get to know the committee, what they do in their day jobs, and, more importantly, their answer to ‘Why do you love being on the committee?’  This issue we profile Peter Hopkins and Hayley Daniel.

Peter Hopkins is general insurer AIG’s General Counsel Australia and Commercial Counsel Asia-Pacific. Peter started his legal career in claims including insurance litigation in private practice in Melbourne and later worked as a solicitor in reinsurance disputes in London. He moved to AIG’s legal team in Australia in September 2007. Peter and his team are responsible for all legal and regulatory matters affecting AIG, including company secretarial, regulatory affairs, reinsurance, product wordings and general commercial advice.

Why I love being on the committee: “The breadth of [talent] available on the committee provides for great interaction and results in the stellar program that AILA produces. Committee membership is a great way of keeping up to date with current issues facing the insurance industry.”    

Hayley Daniel is an associate at Avant Law, the legal provider of Avant Mutual, Australia’s largest medical defence organisation. With a strong background in insurance litigation, Hayley specialises in medical negligence claims where she advises and acts on behalf of the insurer and medical practitioners in defending litigated proceedings. She otherwise assists doctors wherever legal issues arise during their provision of professional services. This often includes providing advice and advocacy in regulatory investigations, coronial inquests, criminal matters, Medicare audits and privacy complaints.

Why I love being on the committee: “It’s a fantastic opportunity to connect with the industry’s best and brightest – it’s incredible to see the passion and drive of committee members who have a genuine love for insurance law.”

 

South Australia


By Scott Duell


As we approach the end of the financial year, we adjust to what is becoming our new normal – whatever that ever-evolving normal may be.

The SA committee was finally able to host the traditional Year in Review in March, our first face-to-face event in more than 12 months. It was again presented by Justice Mark Livesey. We sincerely thank His Honour for his time and efforts, and his continued support of AILA. The sell-out attendance demonstrated how much the ability to network and connect with friends, colleagues and peers has been missed in this Covid-19 world.

A few additional obstacles with venues and capacities mean some planned events have been pushed back further into the year and even into the new financial year.

To round out the 20/21 financial year, we will continue the Breakfast Briefing series, and get an update on Covid-19 business interruption claims in Australia and abroad. We’ll host a social event as part of the YP program, which we expect will be well received.

On a personal note, we bid a (temporary) farewell to Zoe Dempster, from Gilchrist Connell, who is taking maternity leave. We sincerely thank Zoe for her contributions and for persevering as she came on board as Covid hit early last year.

Last, and certainly by no means least, we are excited to welcome two new members to the committee: Ashleigh Allen, from Gilchrist Connell, and Trudi-Ann Mercurio, from Minter Ellison.

Welcome to you both – we look forward to working with you.

 

Tasmania


by Kate Stockford


The Tasmanian committee started the year on a positive note.

There were wonderful attendances at both our seminar on legislative reform and alternatives to litigation for historical abuse claims, and our local version of the Annual General Insurance Law in Review, held face to face and streamed live.

The first social networking function for the year, held in conjunction with YIPs, was a great success with a good turnout from the industry in particular.

Next on the agenda is a discussion about concussion and a financial services presentation about what happens after your licence application. 

Both will be presented by webinar because the content is relevant to everyone across Australia. Please join up if you have an interest in one or both of those fields.

Future planning is happening for more educational and social events, and we hope AILA might hold its first-ever event in Tasmania’s north rather than Hobart in September.

We look forward to continuing on this successful track for the rest of 2021.

 

Western Australia


by Justine Siavelis 


The WA committee held the Annual General Insurance Law Review in a face-to-face format this year with many people turning out to hear Jenny Thornton, Bettina Mangan, Keith Thomas and Mark Birbeck fill us in on the cases that matter.

Huge thanks to the presenters and those who prepared the case notes. As always, it was a great event and wonderful to socialise with our colleagues.

Just before the latest snap lockdown, the WA committee held a successful breakfast seminar on the long-awaited changes to the work health and safety laws, with Maria Saraceni, from Francis Burt Chambers, and Liam O’Connor, from the Australian Institute of Health and Safety, giving us their take. It was a great introduction to the AIHS and an opportunity to partner with another industry organisation.

Next event is Hugh O’Sullivan, from McCabe Curwood, giving us an insurance view of the Australian Consumer Law.

 

Queensland


by Jack Fairweather


The AILA Queensland Young Professionals subcommittee is proud and excited to announce the rollout of Qld’s inaugural AILA Mentoring Program.

There was great uptake from mentors and mentees with a strong caucus of 13 experienced, notable industry figures generously offering to mentor young professionals through the program.

Thirteen YPs are now lucky to be receiving mentoring. The program officially started in April and runs for 12 months.

Special thanks to the mentors and mentees involved for enthusiastically joining the program and to the subcommittee members (Chau Donnan, Alex Canavan, Berren Hamilton, Brendan Lloyd and Taylor Croydon) for devoting their time to ensuring the program is a success.

We look forward to reporting back in April 2022 about the success of the program’s inaugural year.

 
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Resolve is the official publication of the Australian Insurance Law Association and
the New Zealand Insurance Law Association.