New South Wales

By Dan Robinson, President

The Twilight Seminar series is in progress.

On 10 July, we heard about topical issues in marine insurance law and, on 24 July, the Financial Accountability Regime and its implications for the Australian insurance industry).

The sixth and final event in the Twilight Seminar series on 7 August is on topical issues in tort law. You can book tickets at the AILA website.

The Young Professionals, together with the Lloyd’s Development Group, are again holding their popular mock trial in the Banco Court of the NSW Supreme Court on 14 August. This year, Justice Richard Cavanagh will preside. Tickets will be available from the AILA website soon.

I hope to see many NSW members at the National Conference on the Gold Coast, starting on 11 September. The conference has a great program and I look forward to connecting with colleagues and clients at the event.

Tasmania

by Kate Stockford

On 24 May AILA and NIBA joined forces for the first time in Tasmania and presented the first General Insurance Masterclass. 

The event’s four one-hour educational sessions, plus lunch and a networking drinks session, were designed specifically with brokers and lawyers in mind to present their perspectives on the same issue. We had an amazing turn out – it was a sell-out event with 102 people in the room.

We were fortunate to have AILA National President Melanie Quixley and NIBA Board Director Stella Pruscino both travel to Hobart to be part of the day. A big thanks to the sub-committee of AILA and NIBA members, and the sponsors.

A YP (and young at hearts) event on 26 July celebrated the new financial year and aimed to drum up interest for the Workers’ Compensation Masterclass.

The 2024 masterclass is the 10th time we have presented it in varying forms, continuing throughout the Covid-19 pandemic years. It is Tasmania’s stand out event and last year broke all previous attendance records. 

The sponsorship prospectus will be launched soon and we have already had sponsors approach AILA Tasmania about the event. Registrations are via the AILA website and we look forward to another wonderful day on 30 August.

Queensland

By Sarah Tuhtan, President

AILA Queensland is excited that preparations for the AILA 2024 National Conference on the Gold Coast, Sunny Side Up, are in full swing.

The sub-committee has finalised the program, which promises to be a fantastic experience for all attendees. Register via the conference website. The conference program is here.

Queensland has been busy hosting topical webinars relevant to both legal and industry audiences. The webinar “Mastering pleadings: Best practices and pitfalls” was a huge success, attracting a record number of 167 attendees.

On 18 July, we hosted “Show me the policy! How can third parties access an insurer’s policy?” This practical topic was presented by barrister Jason Wang.

Stay tuned for updates on social activities and games that we’re preparing to make the national conference an unforgettable experience.

Western Australia

By Angie Gimisis, President

AILA WA has had a busy program of events.

A July sundowner panel discussion on permanent impairment assessments saw three occupational physicians from Beam Medicolegal discuss why insurers, employers and workers often have conflicting impairment assessments.

Dr Rehaan Shah, Dr Chris Easton and Dr Nel Gillett explained why assessments were open to interpretation, what evidence was required to support a position and how a patient’s history affected their impairment rating.
     
In June, Emily Thompson from 360 Medico Legal, discussed how to manage your mental health in the face of adversity and an ever-changing environment and workplace. In the seminar we learnt tools and techniques to help manage stress levels when it all gets too much.

In May, Maria Kozak, Managing Principal, Workforce Strategies, Mercer Marsh Benefits, discussed the emergence of broker consultants in workers’ compensation claims. 

She said there was a shift from the traditional insurance broker model to trusted risk advisers. There was also a shift in the role of the workers’ compensation broker consultant from “estimate basher” to people risk adviser. 

Maria gave a brief overview of the various types of workers’ compensation premium models, highlighted some requirements of the new WorkCover WA Broker Standards and Principles, and explained how the collaborative claims process works. Attendees also gained insights into how broker consultants can help legal providers in their role.

In April, Federal Court Justice Michael Feutrill presented a great seminar on the complex topic of “Into a hornet’s nest – indemnity claims for historical institutional child abuse”, which focused on Uniting Church in Australia Property Trust (NSW) v Allianz Australia Insurance Ltd (Liability Judgement) [2023] FCA 190. We thank Justice Feutrill for presenting on such an interesting topic.

In March, Rod Whithear, CEO of the Insurance Commission of WA, discussed claims harvesting legislation and provided an update from the commission. This was a well-attended event and we thank Rod for his insight and observations.

In February, WA District Court Principal Registrar Dr Brenda McGivern discussed civil actions in the District Court and evolving and effective practices. She explained the need for parties to be at a point where they can have meaningful discussions before they engage in pre-trial mediation conferences.

WA’s first webinar for 2024 is scheduled for 14 August when AILA committee member Dan Coster, from Coster Lawyers, will talk about managing party/party cost claims.

More seminars are in the pipeline for October and November. The committee traditionally has hosted breakfast seminars, but we will move to more sundowners as they are generally better attended.

A Friday evening 8 November high tea social event is planned with a keynote speaker yet to be confirmed. It will be the first AILA WA high tea since F2F events were curtailed by the Covid-19 pandemic.

I’d like to thank retiring committee member Jono Ross, from Grange Insurance, for his great work, particularly in the Young Professionals space.

I welcome his replacement, Tiana Sarolea, from Gilchrist Connell, who also will actively focus on YP events.