Be awarded for excellence
The QBE sponsored 2022 Broker of the Year Awards are now open for nominations and there is a clear consensus among previous winners. Participating in the Broker of the Year award not only drives some very gratifying personal recognition, but also heightens business and career opportunities.
2021 Stephen Ball Broker of the Year award winner, Tony Venning, describes the awards as the most prestigious honour in the industry.
After establishing Crucial Insurance in Queensland in 2013, Tony said the nomination was a great way to reflect how his business was ‘punching above its weight’.
“We have a team of seven, with a base on the Sunshine Coast, but have clients across Australia, including listed companies. Being such a small team, it was a massive commitment to go through the process. Two of us did it – Alishia Oliver also won the Queensland Young Broker of the Year award. The feedback and recognition have gone a long way in adding to our credentials when we compete against larger brokers.’’
The 2019 Stephen Ball Broker of the Year, Clear Insurance’s Lisa Carter has used the recognition from her award to amplify the role of women in the industry. “I’m a mum of three girls and the eldest of four sisters.
I’m passionate about improving gender balance in our industry and challenging the status quo from transactional broking to specific risk advice.”
“A lot of great women don’t have the confidence to step up into a client-facing or management role, but I think we bring something extra to the client relationship as we are genetically nurturers and carers. Having said that, I have fantastic male colleagues in the industry and have also been mostly mentored and championed by men.”
“If you love what you do, you shouldn’t be afraid to put your hand up and be recognised. I think a key aspect of going through this process is that you need to be ready to give back to the industry and help create the future generation of advisers.”
The 2018 Broker of the Year winner Kim Gilbert, who is the founder of Zenith Insurance Services in WA, said the award reflects his long-held belief in helping everyone connected with his business to push their horizons.
“If you ‘talk the talk’ you need to ‘walk the walk’. This is a very rewarding process because the whole awards journey really benefited my staff. It made us reflect on what we’ve achieved and where we want to go. I was able to demonstrate that it doesn’t matter where you start in life, it’s the journey. I think the award was a validation of what we’ve always tried to do with our people and that’s foster their own development – with a focus on commonsense and communication skills that will always steer you right in the broking profession.
“I think senior people in broking have a responsibility to promote our industry and encourage people to reach the highest standards. To do that, we need to lead by example and that’s why I got involved in the awards. They also offer the ability to network with industry people and learn other perspectives.”
Do you know an outstanding insurance broking professional?
Submit your nomination to the 2022 NIBA Awards by completing the online form by Friday 22 April 2022.
NIBA would like to thank QBE for sponsoring the 2022 Broker of the Year awards.