now

An industry magazine for the insurance sector
Issue 35 – May 2015
The
changing
face
of
New Zealand
Adding diversity to business dynamic
In this issue
2 Six months on...
We’ve been concentrating on how we can
provide clarity and make it easier for you to
do business with us.
3Shorts
Think twice before texting. Dispute resolution
increase. What you need2know. Financial
advice review. Christchurch four years on.
5 Bringing new eyes to
bridging our cultures
Mai Chen puts the case for developing
cultural awareness in business.
10 Juggling dairy
pole position
Rod Oram looks at New Zealand’s situation as
European milk production quotas run out.
11 A fair playing field for
insurers and customers
The Fair Insurance Code 2015 aims high on
self-regulation and building public trust.
13 Two take one-company
approach
We profile Richard Davis and Glynn Howell in
their new roles focusing on key relationships.
15 Outlook far from sunny
Prevention and detection are your best
protection from a common Kiwi cancer.
17 A cappuccino with
that claim?
With help from NZI, a new addition to an
Auckland landmark casts off its untimely ashes.
Leadership
Six months on...
In this issue:
I’m excited to be leading NZI! It’s been more than six
months since I returned to New Zealand to take up the
helm of NZI’s broker-related business. Coming into the
business at such an eventful time has not been without its
challenges but I am certainly enjoying the role. The support
I’ve received since my return has been outstanding.
Since coming together as one company,
our focus has been on making it easier for
you to do business with us. Providing you
with one point of contact through our
branch network and offering one product
are the first steps toward achieving
that. While there is still more to do, I am
confident that throughout the year we
will continue to make real progress.
Since coming together as one company,
our focus has been on making it easier
for you to do business with us
Looking to the future we’re committed
to completing the Christchurch
earthquake claims which continue to be
a top priority for us. Helping customers
move on from the earthquakes is of
paramount importance and our Claims
teams, Loss Adjusters and Rebuild
partners are continuing to focus on
making this happen.
My return has come at a time where
the cyclical nature of our industry is
creating challenging market conditions
for us all. As many of you know,
we have always tried to maintain
appropriate disciplines to ensure
sustainable offerings for our customers
while remaining competitive. While I
understand current market dynamics,
my resolve is to ensure NZI remains
a sustainable long term and trusted
partner for you, and your customers.
As NZI and Lumley become one
company we’ll continue to keep you,
our brokers, at the centre of everything
we do. As a team we know we have
to work hard to keep your business
and to continue to grow the trusted
relationships that have been built
over time. Thank you again for your
continued support.
Regards
Travis Atkinson
Executive General Manager NZI
NZI CONNECT 2
Shorts
Texting behind the
wheel? Think again!
Dispute resolution set to become more
accessible for homeowners
Dispute resolution schemes that deal with insurance claim disputes
will become more accessible to homeowners if a new proposal,
announced by the Minister of Commerce and Consumer Affairs
Paul Goldsmith, is passed.
The proposal to increase the compensation cap for any property insurance
disputes from $200,000 to $350,000 means schemes will be able to consider
cases with discrepancies of up to $350,000. Currently disputes over $200,000
have to be referred to the High Court, meaning it is unaffordable for many.
Dispute resolution is a much cheaper and less formal alternative to the Court
system. The proposed change should enable faster and more effective resolution
of issues.
The New Zealand public had until Thursday, 9 April to provide their feedback. Any
changes will take effect mid 2015 and disputes dating back to August 2010 will
be able to take advantage of the increased cap.
We all know about the dangers
of drink driving, but when it
comes to driving while using
mobile phones the statistics
continue to be ignored, although
it’s been illegal since 2009.
A recent British study conducted by
Direct Line insurance has found that
drivers' reactions to hazards are on
average 50 per cent slower when using
a mobile phone, but that’s nothing
compared to what happens when
someone is texting behind the wheel.
According to the NZ Transport Agency,
if someone sends or receives a text
message while driving, they are 23 times
more likely to be involved in a crash!
The NZ Transport Agency and the New
Zealand Government have got together
to promote the danger of multi-tasking
while driving through this online test.
Find out how your multi-tasking ability is
at multi-tasker.co.nz
3 NZI CONNECT
Review of financial advice laws
In March, it was announced that the Financial Advisers Act 2008
(FA Act) and the Financial Service Providers (Registration and
Dispute Resolution) Act 2008 (FSP Act) would be reviewed over an
eighteen-month period.
The review is an opportunity to talk about what is working well and what could
work better for both financial advisers and consumers.
The Financial Markets Authority (FMA) has said this will help to determine
whether the current regulation is bringing about the right outcomes for New
Zealanders. They want to ensure that regulation is able to adapt to the changing
ways that consumers and investors access information and advice when making
decisions about financial products.
Views from the finance industry, consumers and other stakeholders are being
sought to ensure feedback from the widest possible range of sources.
The review will start in May with a consultation period seeking feedback, so this is
an opportunity to have your say.
Shorts
Kiwis need2know their Sum Insured
Specified Sum Insured policies have become the norm for Kiwi
homeowners over the past 18 months, so just how are things going?
It’s been 18 months since the home insurance market began the move to Sum Insured
policies and now is a good time to reflect on how effective we have been as an
industry in communicating the changes and educating the marketplace.
As our broker partners working with IAG’s need2know campaign, you all did a great
job helping people understand the change back in 2013, but there’s still more work
to do. Customers need to be actively encouraged to adequately insure their homes so
they are covered no matter what the event.
During their first year of sum insurance, 12 per cent of NZI customers have actively
increased their sum insured either at renewal time or as a mid-term adjustment, with
the average increase being 23.5 per cent.
The average sum insured of NZI homes is $2,630 per square metre, but 6 per cent of
our customers have a sum insured value of less than $1,600 per square metre. While
some insurers are offering special products or product extensions that, in certain
circumstances, exempt customers from being limited to their maximum specified
sum insured, real care is needed to ensure this does not promote underinsurance by
confusing the market.
Together we need to continue to educate customers about underinsurance and its
implications in order to move forward.
Earthquake claims progress and cash settlements
There continues to be strong progress in concluding insurance claims related to the Canterbury earthquakes.
As at the end of April, nearly 90 per cent
of all commercial claims had been settled
and three quarters of all residential claims.
cash settled more than 4,300 customer
claims and the overwhelming feedback
has been positive.
In total close to 35,000 claims have
been settled as part of IAG’s Canterbury
Recovery Programme and it remains IAG’s
target to have provided certainty to all
customers with outstanding earthquake
related claims by the end of this year.
IAG wants to ensure customers
receive a fair and timely settlement
of claims and believes that a cash
settlement provides a number of
benefits. These include:
Cash settlement of claims is a solution
that has been the focus of media
attention of late. Across IAG’s Canterbury
Recovery Programme IAG has already
``Option to sell or retain home/ land
and rebuild at a different location.
``Option to sell or retain home/ land
and buy an existing house at
another location.
``Option to reinstate home in own
time frame.
the layout, design or construction of
their home.
IAG’s managed rebuild programme is
focused heavily on completing the claims
currently in construction. Any new claims
going into the programme will be on a
case-by-case basis that will need to be
discussed with claims managers. NZI
Commercial
Total
``Ability to manage their own works
using their own builders or contractors.
``Ability to make additional changes to
NZI completed claims
Domestic
73.8%
89.1%
80.7%
NZI CONNECT 4
Diversity and inclusion
Bringing
new
eyes
to bridging
our cultures
Mai Chen, prominent lawyer and advocate for Asian
representation in business, spoke to IAG about the
changing face of Auckland and the importance of
understanding Asian cultures in order to do business
with them.
5 NZI CONNECT
Diversity and inclusion
“Auckland has become a new country.”
Looking with new eyes
A strong opening line from Mai Chen at
last month’s seminar on Asian cultural
awareness for IAG people, hosted by
NZI. But the face of Auckland has indeed
changed, and it’s one that looks very
different to its regional cousins.
Mai has set up a Superdiversity
Centre for Law, Policy and Business in
partnership with Chen Palmer (where
she is the managing partner) and the
University of Auckland School of Law
(where she an Adjunct Professor of Law).
So what’s changed and just how
different is Auckland these days? In
short, the ethnicity of the population
has changed; the population includes
more people who were born overseas
and they’re younger, with more Maori,
Pasifika and Asians.
She told the IAG seminar: “A diverse
city is defined as one where a quarter
or more of the population is born
overseas. When you consider that
44 per cent of Aucklanders are born
overseas it makes us not only diverse,
but ‘super diverse’. The only city in
the OECD with a higher proportion
is Toronto. This has big implications
for business – it’s a case of ignore it
at your peril.”
According to the 2013 Census, just over
1.4 million people live in Auckland. That’s
an increase of 8.5 per cent since the
2006 Census. Auckland is home to 33.4
per cent of New Zealand’s population –
more than a third of the country residing
in one city. Auckland’s significance,
therefore, can’t be understated.
In terms of ethnicities, Auckland is a
melting pot. It’s been said it’s more
diverse than London or Sydney, with
more than 40 per cent of the population
made up of different ethnicities.
The 2013 Census data indicates the New
Zealand population comprises:
Those Aucklanders born overseas are
actively connected to their place of
origin, most sending remittances home.
So how do we access new markets via
these new Auckland communities?
Referencing Marcel Proust, Mai Chen
said the most important thing was not
new lands, but new eyes. Businesses
needed to look at their plans and
examine their current strategies with
new eyes – a bit like putting yourself in
someone else’s shoes.
“To click into the hearts and minds of
immigrants, businesses need to first
understand them.
“Most immigrants to New Zealand
educate themselves, are proud of their
family, work hard and succeed financially.
They want to be served by people who
look like them, and when they buy things
often gut instinct and other intangible
aspects are important. They often need
a lot of help when they arrive.”
For businesses like IAG it’s about
changing the definition of talent. Mai
Chen describes it as recruiting people
with additionality, i.e. culture and
language, as well as the other skills and
expertise to do the job.
In terms of ethnicities, Auckland is
a melting pot. It’s been said it’s more
diverse than London or Sydney.
``74 per cent European
``15 per cent Maori
``12 per cent Asian
``7 per cent Pacific peoples
``1 per cent Middle Eastern/Latin
American/African.
Looking specifically at Auckland, these
numbers change markedly.
Mai Chen’s Top 10
Here are her top 10 reflections on embedding cultural diversity in business.
1. Asian customers are more comfortable getting services from people who
look like them.
2. Have staff capable of consulting with migrant clients as to what products
they want.
3. Change the definition of talent to include culture alongside capability.
``59.3 per cent European
4. Invest in culture training for staff.
``10.7 per cent Maori
5. Invest in training in subconscious bias.
``23.1 per cent Asian
6. Aim to develop a critical mass, i.e. minorities leading minorities.
``14.6 per cent Pacific peoples
7. Examine sponsorship – are you reaching the markets you want to? Support
ethnic minorities by supporting events that make them proud.
``1.9 per cent Middle Eastern/Latin
American/African.
This means almost one in four people
living in the Auckland region identified
with one or more Asian ethnic group
(compared with one in five in 2006).
8. Examine corporate hosting – many immigrants are high net worth individuals
and it’s worth getting to know them.
9. Speak out against discrimination.
10.Learn about the migrant experience and help them where they most need it.
NZI CONNECT 6
Diversity and inclusion
“People must be competent and able
to do their job, but also capable in
cultural matters.” She refers to these
people as ‘bridges’.
“IAG needs people who are capable of
bridging the Pakeha culture and Maori
and Pasifika cultures, with the growing
migrant population. They need an
understanding of New Zealand culture
along with a grasp of what’s going on
in their home country back in Asia, for
example,” she said.
“I tell people to be sympathetic to
immigrants, to help them to be proud
of who they are and rescue them when
they are being attacked. If you help
people when they need it most, they’ll
remember it. If you can win their hearts
and minds, you’ll win their business.”
Diversity and Inclusion
Action Group
Meet Mai Chen
Mai Chen is Managing Partner of Chen Palmer
Public and Employment Law Specialists and Adjunct
Professor in Commercial and Public Law at The
University of Auckland School of Law. A Top 10
finalist for 2014 New Zealander of the Year, she
recently founded New Zealand Asian Leaders (see
box). She was the inaugural Chair of New Zealand
Global Women and also helped establish the
Pasifika Leadership Academy at BEST Pacific Institute
of Education, led by Beatrice Faumuina.
Mai Chen is the best-selling author of Public Law Toolbox published by
LexisNexis in March 2012, with an updated version recently released. She won
the supreme Judges Panel Award and the Professional Excellence Award at the
New Zealand Chinese Business Elite Awards in 2012. In 2013 Mai Chen won
the Business and Entrepreneur Women of Influence Award and also launched
willtolive.co.nz, a site that makes it easy to make a will.
Her academic achievements include a First Class Law Honours degree from
Otago University and a Masters degree from Harvard Law School. She is a Fellow
of the New Zealand Institute of Management and an Honorary Associate of AUT.
www.chenpalmer.com
7 NZI CONNECT
In September 2013, IAG formed its New
Zealand Diversity and Inclusion Action
Group (DIAG) to put in place initiatives
supporting gender, age and ethnic
diversity. The group is chaired by NZI’s
General Manager Commercial Sales,
John Chandler, and its role is to help
identify the New Zealand challenges
requiring focus and action.
Currently the group has three main
focus areas: flexible work practices,
inclusive leadership and developing
a strategy for doing business within
Asian communities.
Mai Chen’s session was organised as
part of developing such a strategy at
IAG New Zealand. John Chandler says
its purpose was to provide some insight
into Asian cultures in New Zealand and
the importance of cultural awareness in
the IAG business.
“We were delighted to have someone
of Mai’s calibre speak with our people.
The aim of the session was to help staff
understand the need to develop cultural
awareness, to hear Mai’s personal
journey and challenges, and to gain an
awareness of Asian cultures and how
they work in New Zealand,” he says.
Diversity and inclusion
“Mai certainly gave us food for
thought and practical tips on how
we can move forward with our goal
to increase ethnic diversity at NZI and
across IAG New Zealand.”
New Zealand? Where did they go for
information? What or who made them
aware of insurance? What media did
they read and how has this changed
over time?
Implications for brokers
Investing in culture training for staff
is important, as is the ability to have
conversations in languages other
than English. In a recent New Zealand
Herald article, ANZ’s Managing Director
for Retail and Business Banking,
Fred Ohlsson, said the bank had 600
multilingual staff who, between them,
can serve customers in 77 languages in
addition to English.
Like many other Kiwi businesses, brokers
may find they are dealing with more and
more immigrant clients. To best serve
these clients it’s important to understand
them. Getting to grips with this is an
important first step, yet finding the
answers can be difficult.
Mai Chen advocates getting to know a
new market or demographic by speaking
with people from within. If you want to
target Chinese customers, find a trusted
Chinese advisor you can speak with. Ask
your Chinese staff for their insights.
Ask them for their story: What was it
like for them when they first arrived in
Insurance is a fundamental and
important product for immigrants,
whether they’re business owners or not.
However, it can be intimidating to wade
through long application forms full of
jargon – something underwriters can
help to improve as well.
Businesses need to look at their plans
and examine their current strategies
with new eyes – a bit like putting
yourself in someone else’s shoes.
New Zealand Asian Leaders
NZI sponsors New Zealand Asian
Leaders, which connects top Asian
New Zealand CEOs and emerging
leaders with New Zealand companies
doing business in Asia. The aim is to
maximise New Zealand’s successful
business interface with Asia by
supporting current or potential Asian
leaders in New Zealand.
Its website says the organisation
was set up because the leadership
and governance of New Zealand
businesses do not reflect the way
New Zealand wants to do business
with Asia. There are relatively few
Asian leaders in senior management
and on boards of companies doing
business in Asia, despite the fact
that many companies are looking for
more Asian talent.
The organisation tries to reduce this
gap by connecting one with the
other. It identifies and profiles Asian
New Zealanders with top leadership
skills so that their skills can be used to
help Kiwi businesses succeed in doing
business in Asia.
www.nzasianleaders.com NZI
NZI CONNECT 8
The gas torch stood in the engineers shop
down by the old loading dock.
By the look on its face it was patently clear
it was ready to do its block.
‘Bah!’ it fumed with a serpentine hiss
as it watched the workers clock off.
‘When they leave for the night, I’ll light myself up,
and blow this dump clear to Bangkok.’
Bad’s not going anywhere.
Neither are we.
9 NZI CONNECT
Economy
Juggling dairy pole position
Fonterra faces a formidable new competitor in global milk supply – the European Union
(EU). International business journalist and commentator Rod Oram backgrounds the end
of quotas and the impact on prices.
From 1 April the EU’s production quota
system was history. And even before
then, its best producers had been scaling
up production, which rose four per cent
in the year to last June.
This was one of the reasons the delicate
balance between global supply and
demand was disturbed last year, plunging
international dairy prices and Fonterra’s
forecast payout for this season.
It’s a remarkable turnaround from the
1980s and 1990s when European dairy
farmers were notorious for subsidies,
high costs and inadequate practices. To
protect them, the then EEC introduced
quotas to curb milk supply.
Europe could overtake New Zealand as
the world’s largest exporter, with the
United States third but catching up.
Since then, however, international milk
prices have risen sharply with demand
from new markets such as China, while
European prices flatlined until recent years.
Now production costs of the best farms
in the EU, United States and New Zealand
are broadly similar, though their practices
differ. Highly efficient European and
US farms are usually feedlots with food
brought to housed cows, while our cows
forage for most of their feed in paddocks.
Free to farm
The best European farmers were already
availing themselves of quotas, which
have been raised one per cent a year
since 2009. Also, when international
milk prices spiked in 2007 and 2013
they could afford to pay penalties for
exceeding quotas.
But with quotas ending, they’re free
to farm as their business models allow.
Some countries are deploying national
strategies, e.g. Ireland aims to lift
production by 50 per cent.
European milk exports could double by
2024, forecasts German dairy sector
research organisation IFCN. It says
Europe could overtake New Zealand as
the world’s largest exporter, with the
United States third but catching up.
Losing our pole position after decades
leading global exports was inevitable.
International dairy trade remains a tiny
fraction of the global industry, with 94
per cent of milk consumed in its own
country. These days though, world
supply grows by more than the entire
New Zealand industry every year to
meet escalating demand.
Fonterra is adjusting to the limits on
New Zealand growth by developing
what it calls milk pools in other parts
of the world, such as its farms in China
and its joint venture in Europe with
Dutch cheesemaker A-ware.
In IFCN’s rankings Fonterra is the second
largest processor of milk in the world
and will likely remain among the biggest
for some years.
But of the top 20 companies by volume,
it ranks only 15th in terms of revenue per
litre of milk intake. Fighting its way up
the value chain is its biggest challenge.
Hopefully, losing the title of the world’s
largest exporter by volume will shift its
focus to working on value instead. NZI
NZI CONNECT 10
Industry standards
A fair playing field for
insurers and customers
A new Fair Insurance Code commits the general insurance industry to higher standards
of service in its dealings with consumers and small to medium-sized enterprises.
The Insurance Council of New Zealand
(ICNZ) released a revised Fair Insurance
Code in February and it will come into
play from 1 January 2016. The code
is binding on council members, which
include IAG New Zealand Limited (NZI
is a business division of IAG).
The ICNZ says the key changes include:
``communicating more effectively with
the insured, particularly concerning
upfront disclosure of key information
``committing to act reasonably when
faced with non-disclosure of relevant
information by the insured
``introducing best-practice time frames
for communicating with the insured at
claim time
11 NZI CONNECT
``training staff and agents about
the code so they can also fulfil
their responsibilities.
NZI's Executive General Manager Travis
Atkinson, describes the revised code
as a strong anchor for the insurance
industry’s reputation.
He says the current code has helped
guide ICNZ members in their actions
through some challenging times, but
the earthquakes in Canterbury and some
of the circumstances related to claims
there reinforced the need for a review.
“It’s something IAG as a whole has
strongly supported and we feel the
ICNZ has done a good job,” he says.
Many enhancements to the code
reflect practices already in place,
but some require systems work so
that the obligations are applied and
communicated consistently.
“Complying consistently with the
standards in the code will help provide
reassurance for customers and greater
levels of trust. These are things that
are important for building positive
ongoing relationships.”
NZI will consider possible implications
for brokers as a result of the revised
code and communicate these before
the code’s implementation date.
ICNZ Chief Executive Tim Grafton says
the Fair Insurance Code sets a high
benchmark for self-regulation.
Industry standards
What is the Fair Insurance Code?
The code is a high-level set of responsibilities that the insurer and insured
have toward each other. It briefly outlines complaint procedures and covers all
general insurance products (except marine insurance), but not life or health
insurance products.
You can find out more or download the code from the ICNZ website:
www.icnz.org.nz/for-consumers/your-rights/fair-insurance-code/
Time frames contained in the code include:
The ICNZ, which is the body representing general insurers, is responsible for
developing the code. The council’s 30 members write more than 95 per cent of
New Zealand’s general insurance business.
``a claim or complaint is to be
acknowledged within five days
``a determination on the claim or
complaint is to be made within 10
days, unless complexities arise or
information is required from third
parties, which may take longer. In this
case, insureds will be updated at least
once every 20 business days, or agreed
interval, until the claim is resolved.
The new code addresses issues arising
from the Canterbury experience; the
previous code did not take catastrophe
situations into account.
“Insurers in Canterbury took the
initiative to establish a vulnerability
index to prioritise the most vulnerable in
the recovery process. A requirement to
prioritise the vulnerable has also been
included as a mandatory requirement for
insurers,” says Tim Grafton.
Complying consistently with the
standards in the code will help provide
reassurance for customers and greater
levels of trust.
Issues around non-disclosure were
identified as a concern from submissions
to the code review. Currently, insurers
can 'avoid' a policy if the insured fails
to tell an insurer something important,
however innocently it may have
happened. The code now makes it a
requirement to respond reasonably to
non-disclosure issues.
The ICNZ has established a Code
Compliance Committee, comprising
a majority of independent experts,
to investigate any significant code
breaches. The focus will be on putting
things right for the insured and sanctions
for major breaches, with the number
of breaches reported publicly to add a
further level of accountability.
In reviewing the code, the ICNZ received
submissions from organisations and
members of the public, while an
independent peer reviewer had access
to all submissions, as well as drafts of
the amended code throughout the
process. NZI
NZI CONNECT 12
People matters
Two take one-company approach
Getting the right people in key senior roles has been a pivotal part of bringing together
the best of NZI and Lumley. Connect catches up with Richard Davis and Glynn Howell,
who are settling into new positions in high-focus areas.
Richard Davis
of the business to ensure consistent
service delivery for broker groups.
Just as well Richard Davis is a giant
of a man, because he’s taken on a
mammoth job. It stretches the length
of New Zealand and the breadth of
the new NZI.
The team covers a range of
activity, from developing strategic
partnerships to helping resolve
broker concerns. Richard says the
benefit to brokers lies in having a
single team working with brokers on
growth targets and strategies, and
handling queries about agreements,
commissions and pricing.
As National Broker Relationship
Manager in the Intermediated
business blend of NZI and Lumley,
Richard leads the Key Partners team,
which manages strategic relationships
with broker partners.
Currently a team of three with Key
Partner Relationship Manager Brigitte
Windsor and Key Partner Specialist
Genna Pomfret, he’s confident of
recruiting soon to further boost the
team’s strength.
Throughout various roles with Lumley,
Crombie Lockwood and IAG in
Wellington and Auckland, Richard’s
30 years of insurance industry
experience have centred on sales
via intermediated businesses. He’s
relishing this next step with a bigger
and broader brief.
NZI General Manager Commercial
Sales John Chandler, was pleased to
secure Richard’s services for such a
crucial role.
“The beauty of Key Partners, given
the scale of the NZI business, is that
we’re here for brokers and we’re
available to brokers.
Bites of Richard
``He stands 6 ft 4 “and a bit”.
``After two adult children, he and
wife Faye now spend time on the
“furry children” – cat Taane and
miniature Schnauzer Manahau.
``On a scale of 1 to Lydia Ko, how’s
your golf? A complex answer that
boiled down to: “I’m better at
the 19th!”
hard to miss. And his task is equally
high profile – ensuring the Key Partners
model that impressed at Lumley is
adapted successfully to the new
operation at NZI.
“Richard brings his vast experience in
relationships and different roles across
our industry. It’s exciting to have him
on board to help us make the Key
Partners team a success,” he says.
Adds Richard: “We’ve got an
opportunity to reignite our relationships.
I’m really excited to be part of a wider
NZI team that’s been reinvigorated with
our two companies coming together in
this way.”
With Breaker-like height, booming
voice and ready laugh, Richard is
John Chandler describes the Key Partners
team as the glue pulling together parts
13 NZI CONNECT
“We’re looking to reinforce the good
work at local level and with strategic
relationships nationally, and build
strength in how we deal with brokers
and operate internally.”
Richard says his team’s view extends
across the company, and they’re
working with key people to achieve
mutually beneficial outcomes for NZI
and broker partners.
“Because we see the bigger picture
in relation to brokers, we’re keen
to reflect that view within the
business. For example, ensuring
system and product roll-outs, or
communication timings take brokers
into consideration.”
Richard has a simple message to
brokers during this time of change
and a difficult market: Keep talking
with us. “The ultimate aim is that
you, our broker partners, feel we’re
earning the right to do business with
you and your customers.”
People matters
Glynn Howell
With New Zealand recently gripped by
World Cup Cricket, you couldn’t blame
Glynn Howell if he twitched to be out
in the middle with the Black Caps.
NZI’s new Southern Regional
Commercial Sales Manager is a
former first-class wicketkeeper. While
a professional playing career eluded
him, he represented New Zealand in
Under-19s and Academy levels in the
1990s and later played a few games
for Canterbury and Wellington.
Glynn juggled sports and study at
Christchurch Boys’ High School
and completed an Education and
Psychology degree at the Victoria
University of Wellington.
Since starting in February, Glynn has
been busy meeting broker partners,
helped by retiring Christchurch Branch
Manager Ross Mackenzie and newly
appointed Dunedin Branch Manager
Donna Gale.
Glynn says the regional commercial sales
managers will drive the focus around
NZI’s external approach to the market.
Business development managers (BDMs)
in the branches will focus on relationship
management, working closely with our
local underwriting teams.
“As our market is changing, we want
our people working closely with broker
partners to deliver a solution-oriented
St Andrews Street offices this month,
while his own Christchurch team will
work from a single site in early May.
“It’s coming together and we’re
focused on what we want to be – an
externally focused operation which is
the advocate for our brokers within
our business.”
Regional recap
Our other regional commercial sales
managers are:
``Hamilton – Jeremy Bold
``Wellington – Scott MacDonald
``Auckland – to be appointed.
But cricket gave way to the real
world, or as Glynn puts it: “There’s a
time in sport when performance has
to outweigh talent, and that didn’t
quite happen.”
Performance hasn’t been an issue in
his subsequent career though.
From his first insurance job as an
account broker at Aon Risk Services
in Wellington, Glynn learned the
ropes initially in the domestic area,
then in commercial broking.
Following a period out of insurance,
he returned as an account manager
for Lumley, was promoted to sales
manager and then branch manager
for the Wellington and Nelson/
Marlborough region.
His position in NZI’s remodelled
sales structure has now brought the
Christchurch boy home to see his
city rebuild.
“It’s been interesting and emotional
coming home. I grew up in
Christchurch with memories formed
over two fantastic decades. Now
those places where the best moments
occurred are simply gone.
“But Christchurch is resilient and it’s
going to be amazing.”
Glynn Howell (centre) with some of his Christchurch
Commercial Sales team, from left: Kerrie Lawrence,
Russell Southam, Peter Fridd, Richard Singleton,
Kirstin Dempster and Mal Shaw.
approach. By moving some of the
workflow off our BDMs, we’re
enabling them to be more externally
focused on broker relationships.”
Glynn says a key emphasis is moving
forward as one company, with staff
looking forward to various office
and system changes that will help to
cement this approach.
Donna Gale’s Dunedin team will be
the first to come together in the new
Pieces of Glynn
``Married to architect and
project manager Donna for
nine years this month, their
“baby” is a Dalmatian called
Sonny Bill.
``Just finished a 20-year
senior cricket career with
100-plus caps for Wellington’s
Onslow Cricket Club and is
a Level 2 coach.
``A diehard Crusaders supporter,
despite marriage to a
Hurricanes fan. NZI
NZI CONNECT 14
Health and wellness
Outlook
far from
sunny
15 NZI CONNECT
Health and wellness
March was Melanoma Awareness Month in New Zealand where we have one of the
highest rates of melanoma skin cancer in the world. However, there are some simple steps
we can take to protect ourselves and our families.
Slip, slop, slap and wrap. Slip on a
T-shirt, slop on some sunscreen, slap on
a hat and wrap on some sunnies.
It’s familiar advice, but look around
sportsgrounds, beaches and work sites
and you’ll see that some of us still aren’t
doing enough to protect ourselves
from the sun – and from the ultraviolet
radiation that can cause so much damage.
Exposure to ultraviolet (UV) radiation
from the sun and tanning beds is the
major contributing cause of melanoma
skin cancer.
Skin cancer is by far the most common
cancer affecting New Zealanders and
melanoma is the most serious of the
common skin cancer types because it’s
more likely than the others to result in
death. Ministry of Health figures show
that in 2011 there were 359 deaths from
melanoma – almost one death for every
day of the year.
enough to protect themselves. Results
released over the summer from a survey
by skincare giant Nivea showed 78
per cent of Kiwis acknowledged they
needed to be more sun smart.
Melanoma
359
lives lost
Road toll
284
lives lost*
Despite the grim statistics and regular
campaigns to raise awareness, New
Zealanders admit they’re not doing
Melanoma New Zealand chief executive
Linda Flay says New Zealanders need to
take melanoma skin cancer seriously.
“We have one of the highest incidence
rates in the world. More people die of
melanoma than on the roads,” she says.
Avoiding exposure to UV radiation by
following ‘sun smart’ advice every day is
one of the best ways to protect yourself
and your family. Teach children (and any
adults that need reminding) that they
can’t see or feel UV radiation, so they
need to follow the ‘slip, slop, slap and
wrap’ advice whenever they’re outdoors
between 10am and 4pm, even if it
doesn’t look sunny or feel hot.
Melanoma New Zealand also
recommends seeking shade in the heat of
the day and choosing a broad spectrum
sunscreen SPF 30+, making sure to put
enough on and reapply every two hours.
Apart from prevention, the most
important protection against melanoma
skin cancers is spotting them early so
they can be treated.
Know your ABCs
Spotting a melanoma early could save your life. Get to know your skin,
check it regularly and watch out for any changes. Melanomas can look very
different, but there are some common characteristics to watch for.
Here are five signs you need to get your skin checked by a doctor:
A Asymmetrical An asymmetrical shape
B Border An irregular border
C Colour More than one colour
D Diameter Greater than 6mm
E Evolving Any changes in size, colour or elevation
* Road toll and deaths from melanoma in 2011 – Ministry of Transport; Ministry of Health
Not all melanomas develop from
moles and while most are black or
brown, they can also be skin-coloured,
pink, red, purple, blue or white.
When checking your skin, don’t forget
to enlist help for the areas you can’t
see – the back is a common site for
melanomas on men and in women
the most common site is the legs.
“The best chance of survival is to
detect melanoma early before it has a
chance to spread to other areas of the
body. If you find something new, or a
spot that is changing or looks different
to other spots on your skin, then get it
checked out,” says Linda Flay. NZI
NZI CONNECT 16
Claims case
A cappuccino with that claim?
After fire scuppered the
opening of a new cafe in
one of the country’s most
popular parks, NZI played
its part in the community
response to getting this
eagerly-awaited asset
back on track.
When the brand new cafe in Auckland’s
Cornwall Park was destroyed by arson
last October, it was just weeks out from
opening and on the eve of summer
when park attendance is at its peak.
With the well-loved Cornwall Park
Kiosk closed for refurbishment, the
new cafe was the Cornwall Park Trust
Board’s trump card for a projected busy
summer, particularly as it was hoped
proceeds would help fund essential
park maintenance.
The iconic park attracts four million
visitors a year, and the cafe was
overwhelmingly the most requested
improvement in visitor site surveys.
The cafe contractor, N. Cole Ltd, was
insured by NZI and its quantity surveyor
John Sangster, is complimentary of the
insurer’s role in keeping things moving.
“NZI accepted the claim and came to
the party very quickly, which has allowed
us to get on with the rebuild,” he says.
“The claims process has been very
straightforward. The assessor has
projected the interests of all the parties
extremely well. He’s liaised with NZI,
they’ve listened and things have
progressed well.”
When it became apparent the cause of
the blaze was arson, NZI accepted the
claim and arranged for the site to be
cleared promptly, not only because bad
weather was forecast, but also because
of the site’s location in a busy urban park.
17 NZI CONNECT
What’s in a name?
The Director of the Cornwall Park
Trust Board Michael Ayrton, says NZI
and its assessor have been supportive
throughout what can only be described
as a devastating event.
“The loss of the cafe a week out from
opening was a huge shock to the Trust
Board as well as the many visitors to
the park who were looking forward to
it. NZI agreed in principle to the rebuild
with our contractors prior to Christmas,
meaning reconstruction is now well
under way.”
Cornwall Park is named after the Duke
and Duchess of Cornwall and York
(later King George V and Queen Mary
of England). During the royal visit to
Australia and New Zealand in 1901
Sir John Logan Campbell was asked
to be honorary Mayor of Auckland. It
was during this visit that he took the
opportunity to gift the park to the
people of New Zealand and asked that
it be called Cornwall Park.
Sir John Logan Campbell is buried on
the summit of One Tree Hill alongside
the obelisk in the adjoining One Tree
Hill Domain. NZI
“The claim is due to be finalised shortly
and we are thankful for NZI's assistance
during a very trying time,” he adds.
The cafe will provide seating for around
50 people and a function room.
Source: www.cornwallpark.co.nz
NZI accepted the claim and came to the
party very quickly, which has allowed
us to get on with the rebuild.
Staying safe in
severe storms
Be prepared... here’s what you can do.
`` Prepare a household emergency plan and a stock of basic survival items
such as canned food, drinking water, candles and spare batteries for your torch and radio to listen
to local weather updates.
`` Keep your gutters clean and trim branches.
During heavy rain, blocked gutters can result in water getting into your roof, seeping through your
ceiling and causing damage to the walls, flooring and furniture. You should also trim trees and
any overhanging branches to prevent damage.
`` Secure loose items outside.
Loose items left in your garden or on your deck can take flight in high winds and cause damage
to people and properties. Secure or store away any loose items around the home such as outdoor
chairs, sun umbrellas and trampolines.
`` Check your insurance policies and other important documents.
Make sure cover for your home, contents, vehicles and other valuables is current and adequate.
Pack all important documents such as passports, birth certificates and emergency contacts into
a waterproof wallet and keep it handy.
`` Make sure you’ve got a full tank of gas.
If power is cut, you may not get a chance to fill up.
`` Withdraw some cash.
ATM machines may not be working, so make sure you have some spare money to hand.
`` Remember pets and livestock.
If you live on a farm, take care to move livestock away from floodwaters, landslides and power
lines and into a safe paddock. Remember to bring pets inside and take them with you if you need
to leave your home.
Visit www.getthru.govt.nz the ‘Get Thru
Get Ready’ website for more comprehensive
information from the New Zealand Ministry
of Civil Defence and Emergency.
NZI CONNECT 18
The chair was a chair that was sick of being sat on.
Not a trustworthy one for a fat cat to nap on.
But here it was beneath the eager electrician,
as he reached to wire the new office addition.
‘Stand tall’ said the chair as the sparky grabbed wires,
‘then I’ll drop, and you’ll pull, and we’ll spark up some fires.’
NZ5569/13 03/15
Bad’s not going anywhere.
Neither are we.