For the first time, the field includes a joint nomination: Lisa Carter of Clear Insurance and Kate Greaves of Goldsworthy General Insurance Services, recognised together for their participation in the Dancing CEOs challenge run by Women's Legal Service Queensland (WLSQ).
The other finalists are Benji Klipin of Aon, acknowledged for leading workplace inclusion, fundraising, blood donation, and cultural awareness programs among colleagues; and Paul Davenport of Affinity Insurance Brokers, recognised for developing safety standards, training programs, and community support structures for riding schools, camps, and rural organisations.
The joint finalist entry raises a specific question. NIBA’s published eligibility criteria refer throughout to “a NIBA Member” in singular, with no provision for joint entries. The award is described as recognising “a NIBA Member who has made an outstanding contribution to their community.” NIBA has not published an explanation of how or why the joint nomination was accepted this cycle, nor whether it signals a change to the eligibility framework – a question brokers considering future nominations have a practical interest in.
NIBA president Nick Cook said: “What unites these finalists is a willingness to give their time and energy where it matters most, quietly and without expectation of thanks. That instinct to give back to the community sits at the very heart of what it means to be a broker, and I’m proud to see it recognised through this award.”
The winner will be announced at the NIBA Convention from October 18 to 20 at the RACV Royal Pines on the Gold Coast.
The thematic alignment across the three entries is an observation rather than a stated NIBA strategy, but each maps onto a documented challenge in the current market.
The Dancing CEOs campaign targets a social harm that intersects directly with broker client experience. WLSQ CEO Nadia Bromley noted that on the first day the service opened in January 2025, it received 424 calls for help but could answer fewer than a quarter of them on the same day. WLSQ assists about 14,000 women every year.
Carter and Greaves are aiming to push Dancing CEOs’ 2026 fundraising past $1 million, against the campaign’s stated target of $500,000. The 2025 event raised $877,690.
Their motivation draws from their professional work. “We’ve both got clients who’ve needed this support over the years and it’s nice to be able to give back to a charity where you know the money’s actually going to help families in need,” Greaves said.
Klipin’s inclusion work at Aon sits within a sector that has started treating diversity and inclusion as a measurable business priority. Aon was named an Excellence Awardee for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion at the Insurance Business Australia Awards 2025.
At the broader Australian workforce level, the Diversity Council of Australia’s Inclusion@Work Index 2025-2026 found that 62% of workers reported their organisation is taking action on diversity and inclusion, up from 56% in the previous report. Three in four workers – 76% – supported or strongly supported their organisation taking such action. Men in diversity and inclusion-active organisations reported a job satisfaction rate of 57%, compared with 31% in organisations not active on inclusion.
Davenport’s rural community work connects to a structural problem that the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) has quantified. Its March 2026 Insurance Climate Vulnerability Assessment (CVA) found that around 20% of households in regional centres and 25% in rural areas are currently uninsured, compared with approximately 11% in capital cities. Under both stress scenarios, the protection gap could grow to over 40% in rural areas by 2050.
NIBA CEO Richard Klipin has linked community engagement directly to the broker value proposition. Speaking about NIBA’s 2025 Gala Lunch Series, which introduced local charity partnerships across five capital cities, Klipin said: “This is a unique opportunity to give back to the communities that support us. Aligning the NIBA Gala Lunches with a local charity extends broking values of care and service to the broader community.”
The award arrives at a moment when the broader sector is under pressure.
In 2024-25, the Australian Financial Complaints Authority (AFCA) received 34,231 general insurance complaints – a 17% increase from 2023–24, mainly driven by a surge in complaints about add-on insurance.
Brokers occupy a distinct position within that complaint environment. General insurance broker complaints increased to 788 in 2024-25, representing around 0.8% of total complaints, with much of that increase linked to historic add-on insurance matters.
That gap is consistent with findings from NIBA’s February 2026 consumer research report, Complexity to Clarity: The Broker Advantage, produced with Insurance Advisernet and CoreData. The report found that 95% of clients view brokers as critical to claims resolution, 98% report their claims have been successfully resolved, 84% trust brokers to act in their best interests, and 91% say brokers helped them achieve better business outcomes. The same report found that 67% of businesses went to a broker because their risks were growing more complex – the most common reason given.
That context frames why community engagement matters commercially, not just reputationally. The broker relationship begins before complexity arrives and is built through presence in the communities where clients live and work. Brokers visible in those communities – through domestic and family violence fundraising, inclusion campaigns, or rural safety programs – develop credibility that precedes any policy transaction.
Peter O’Leary, vice president of relationship management and marketing, Asia-Pacific, at Liberty, said: “Each of these finalists has made a real and lasting difference in their communities, and it’s a privilege to help recognise them. Congratulations to Lisa, Kate, Benji, and Paul. We wish them all the very best as we count down to the winner announcement in October.”
