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NIBA Awards

NIBA’s awards are a prestigious and highly regarded program celebrating the best of broking, underwriting and insuring in Australia. The program has been highlighting industry excellence for more than 30 years.

Broker of the Year Award

Each year, NIBA invites the insurance industry to nominate impressive senior brokers who shine in their professional capacity.

The Broker of the Year award recognises a high performing broker in each of the five NIBA regions (NSW/ACT, Qld, SA/NT, Vic/Tas and WA).

State/territory recipients of this award go on to compete for the Stephen Ball Memorial Award for Insurance Broker of the Year, a highly prestigious national award that honours the late Stephen Ball and his tremendous contribution to the insurance broking industry, as a former JLT Australia Chairman and NIBA President.

The winner of the Stephen Ball Memorial Award is announced during the annual NIBA Convention and receives a professional development prize valued in the region of $20,000.

NIBA is grateful for QBE’s sponsorship and involvement with the annual Broker of the Year awards and the national Stephen Ball Memorial Award for Broker of the Year.

2020 Stephen Ball Memorial Award winner

NIBA would like to congratulate the 2020 winner of the Stephen Ball Memorial Award
Shelley Hymas, Phoenix Insurance Brokers

Eligibility

Nominees must meet the following conditions:
• Must be a member of NIBA and hold the designation of QPIB (Qualified Practising Insurance Broker).
• Must have spent a minimum of 3 of the last 5 years living in Australia.
• Individuals may only be nominated once. The number of nominations received per nominee bears no weight in their selection.
• Entrants must be available to travel to Sydney for a two-day selection interview for the national judging process (scheduled for August). They should also be able to attend the NIBA Convention. Airfares and accommodation costs are met by the sponsor.
• Nominees are only eligible for the prize if they intend to continue working within the broking industry for the 12 months from the date they are presented with the award.

Criteria

Nominees will be judged on the following criteria, based on their past achievements, but more specifically on their achievements in the year immediately prior to receiving the award:

1. Being an inspirational role model for the broking community:

  • Demonstrate professionalism and integrity
  • Commitment to his/her personal development
  • Contributions towards the team in which he/she works
  • Commitment to the development and promotion of the insurance broking profession

2. Demonstrated excellence in broking practice:

  • Technical competence in insurance
  • Strength of client and underwriter relationships
  • Quality of quotation slips / renewal information
  • Underwriting submissions - claims history
  • Policy wording / endorsements

3. Significant contribution to the broking community:

  • How the community has benefited as a whole from the nominee’s communal and volunteer activities
How to nominate

1. Who can nominate:

  • Anyone in the insurance industry can nominate a broker. This is your opportunity to recognise and reward someone who makes you proud to be working in the insurance industry and who you believe makes our industry a better place to work.
  • Anonymous and self-nominations are not accepted.
  • Previous winners will not be eligible for the award, but past entrants to the award are able to re-enter.
  • Individuals can be nominated in only one state or territory, for example a person who has recently moved interstate will be eligible for consideration in only one location. Selection panels may choose to contact the nominee for them to determine which jurisdiction is most appropriate.

2. Nomination process:

    NIBA is no longer accepting nominations for the 2021 NIBA Awards.

  • Nominator to complete online nomination form, by providing five reasons why they consider the nominee to be worthy of winning the Award.
  • NIBA will contact each nominee by email and advise that they have been nominated for the award. If the nominee chooses to participate in the process, they will need to provide the following:
    • Current CV including copies of their qualifications
    • 2 x referees - One from a client and another from an underwriter (please include their name, company, position, phone number and email)
  • Upon receiving their CV, the nomination will be reviewed by NIBA and nominees will be advised if they are successful in moving onto the interview stage.
  • The successful candidates will be required to attend an interview with the state selection committee. The date to be confirmed. They will also receive a complimentary ticket to their state event in May or July.
  • State winners will be required to attend a national selection interview in Sydney, dates to be confirmed, and the annual NIBA Convention, where the overall winner is announced.
  • All costs for attendance are met by the sponsor including airfare, registration and accommodation.
  • Submissions should be emailed to awards@niba.com.au. All documentation submitted will be retained by NIBA.
  • Queries should be directed to Fiorenza Zito, National Sponsorship and Events Manager at awards@niba.com.au

Nominate a Broker

Young Professional Broker of the Year Award

Each year NIBA celebrates the achievement and contribution of an outstanding member, under the age of 35, through the Young Professional Broker of the Year Award at state/territory level and the Warren Tickle Memorial Award at national level. In association with Vero, the award represents the pinnacle of achievement for the nation’s young broker community.

Awarded to a young professional who has exhibited an outstanding level of professionalism and integrity, the national award began in 1990 in honour of Warren Tickle, a former Insurance Commissioner and insurance lecturer. He was the Commissioner responsible for the implementation of the Insurance (Agents & Brokers) Act 1984. Warren’s early insurance career was at Sun Alliance, today known as Vero, the sponsor of this award.

The winner of the Warren Tickle Memorial Award is selected from five finalists who are chosen as the Young Professional Broker of the Year in their state/territory: NSW/ACT; Vic/Tas; SA/NT; WA and Qld. The state winners attend a two-day personal development workshop in Sydney and attend the annual NIBA Convention where the national winner is announced. All costs for attendance are met by the sponsor including airfares, registration and accommodation.

Entries are assessed by the state/territory judging panel throughout March and April and finalists are announced at regional events in May and July. All state/territory finalists are eligible for the Warren Tickle Memorial Award.

The winner of the Warren Tickle Memorial Award receives a tailored personal and professional development experience to the approximate value of $10,000. Previous winners’ prize has included a trip to London to experience the international broking market.

2020 Warren Tickle Memorial Award winner

NIBA would like to congratulate the 2020 winner of the Warren Tickle Memorial Award
Kate Martin, Marsh

Eligibility

Nominees must meet the following conditions:

  • Must be an individual member of NIBA and hold the designation of Associate or QPIB/QFSR.
  • Must hold a full Diploma of Insurance Broking or other Tertiary Qualifications.
  • Must have spent a minimum of 3 out of the last 5 years broking in Australia.
  • Must be under 35 years of age as at 31 December in the year they are entering.
  • Individuals may only be nominated once. The number of nominations received per nominee bears no weight in their selection.
  • Entrants must be available to travel to Sydney for a two-day personal development workshop and national judging. They should also be available to attend the 2021 NIBA Convention. Airfares and accommodation costs are met by the sponsor.
  • Nominees are only eligible for the travel component of the prize if they intend to continue working within the broking industry for the 12 months from the date they are presented with the award.
Criteria

Nominees will be judged on the following criteria, based on their past achievements, but more specifically on their achievements in the year immediately prior to receiving the award:

1. Being an inspirational role model for the broking community:

  • Demonstrate professionalism and integrity
  • Commitment to his/her personal development
  • Contributions towards the team in which he/she works
  • Commitment to the development and promotion of the insurance broking profession

2. Demonstrated excellence in broking practice:

  • Technical competence in insurance
  • Strength of client and underwriter relationships
  • Quality of quotation slips / renewal information
  • Underwriting submissions - claims history
  • Policy wording / endorsements

3. Significant contribution to the broking community:

  • How the community has benefited as a whole from the nominee’s communal and volunteer activities
How to nominate

1. Who can nominate:

  • Anyone in the insurance industry can nominate a young broker. This is your opportunity to recognise and reward someone who makes you proud to be working in the insurance broking industry and who you believe makes our industry a better place to work.
  • Anonymous and self-nominations are not accepted.
  • Previous winners will not be eligible for the award, but past entrants to the award are able to re-enter.
  • Individuals can be nominated in only one state or territory, for example a person who has recently moved interstate will be eligible for consideration in only one location. Selection panels may choose to contact the nominee for them to determine which jurisdiction is most appropriate.

2. Nomination process:

    NIBA is no longer accepting nominations for the 2021 NIBA Awards.

  • Nominator to complete online nomination form, by providing five reasons why they consider the nominee to be worthy of winning the Award.
  • NIBA will contact each nominee by email and advise that they have been nominated for the award. If the nominee chooses to participate in the process, they will need to provide the following:
    • Current CV including copies of their qualifications
    • 2 x client references
    • 2 x underwriter references
    • Personal statement (max 500 words) outlining notable achievements and how they feel they meet the award criteria
  • Upon receipt of these documents, the nominations will be reviewed by NIBA and nominees will be advised if they are a finalist in their state.
  • Finalists will be required to attend an interview with the state selection committee. The date to be confirmed. They will also receive a complimentary ticket to their state event in May or July.
  • State/Territory winners will be required to attend a national selection interview in Sydney, dates to be confirmed, and the annual NIBA Convention, where the overall winner is announced.
  • All costs for attendance are met by the sponsor including airfare, registration and accommodation.
  • Submissions should be emailed to awards@niba.com.au. All documentation submitted will be retained by NIBA.
  • Queries should be directed to Fiorenza Zito, National Sponsorship and Events Manager at awards@niba.com.au

Nominate a Young Professional

Lex McKeown Trophy

The Lex McKeown Trophy is awarded to a long-standing NIBA member who has provided outstanding service to the Association and made a significant contribution to the broking profession. It is awarded at the discretion of the NIBA President in consultation with the NIBA Board of Directors and Chief Executive Officer.

2020 Lex McKeown Trophy winner

NIBA would like to congratulate the 2020 winner of the Lex McKeown Trophy
Graham Stevens, Director of Edgewise Insurance Brokers and NIBA

General Insurer of the Year and Underwriting Agency of the Year awards

First presented in 1998, the NIBA General Insurer of the Year Award is considered Australia’s most prestigious industry award for insurers. This is because it is voted on by you, brokers.

For many years, NIBA simply asked the questions “who was the best insurance company in the past 12 months?”. More recently, with the help of market research firm Nielsen, the overall broker experience, across a range of important product and service quality criteria, has been assessed to determine a winner.

Hundreds of brokers participate annually in the Broker Market Survey, and it’s the combined results of all these questions that ultimately determines the General Insurer of the Year.

The winner is announced at the NIBA Convention, and the recipient has the right to use NIBA General Insurer of the Year branding in its marketing and promotional activities.

In 2020, NIBA acknowledged the fact that brokers deal with several underwriting agencies, or managing general agents, as well as dealing with APRA authorised insurance companies operating in the Australian market.

The underwriting agencies are often specialist operations, offering cover in a specific area of risk, with specialist expertise to offer in that area of insurance. Insurance companies mostly offer a broader range of cover, and in some cases offer cover in most areas of general insurance.

Therefore, it was decided, from that point forward, NIBA would award an Underwriting Agency of the Year, and a General Insurance Company of the Year.

2020 Underwriting Agency of the Year

NIBA would like to congratulate the 2020 Underwriting Agency of the Year
GT Insurance

2020 General Insurer of the Year

NIBA would like to congratulate the 2020 General Insurer of the Year
Berkley Insurance Australia