The Insurance Council of Australia (ICA) has appointed Adica Insurance chief executive and managing director Dean Cullen as a non-executive director, adding an executive with experience across broker, banking and direct insurance channels to its board.
Cullen takes up the role from September 14 after around three decades in insurance. He has led Adica since July 2020, with previous senior positions at QBE Insurance, National Australia Bank and ANZ, working across personal and commercial lines.
His intermediary background includes a period as QBE’s general manager of specialty, covering aviation, marine, construction, warranty and professional lines. The role formed part of QBE’s intermediary distribution business, giving Cullen experience in a channel that continues to account for a substantial share of the Australian general insurance market.
Brokers handled $35.6 billion in gross written premium in the year to June 2025, equivalent to about 46% of Australia’s $77.9 billion general insurance market. The intermediated segment grew at a compound annual rate of 6.1% over the previous decade, slightly ahead of the wider market’s 5.7%, underscoring the continuing weight of broker-distributed insurance.
That distribution experience comes as the Insurance Council works through changes that could affect both insurers and the intermediaries placing commercial cover.
The council is progressing a rewrite of the General Insurance Code of Practice, with a redrafted version expected to be lodged with the Australian Securities and Investments Commission later this year. Proposed changes cover claims handling, vulnerability and financial hardship, while the treatment of several commercial insurance classes has also drawn scrutiny.
The National Insurance Brokers Association (NIBA) has raised concerns that the current redraft could place common commercial covers outside the Code, including business interruption, professional indemnity, management liability, cyber and industrial special risks. The debate has put the scope of commercial insurance protections under closer attention.
The broking sector is also reviewing its own standards, with the proposed 2027 Insurance Brokers Code of Practice covering areas including remuneration disclosure, renewal communications and conflict-of-interest requirements.
Outside Adica, Cullen chairs Rural Financial Counselling Service Victoria – Gippsland, which supports farmers and small rural businesses experiencing or at risk of financial hardship.
His appointment gives the Insurance Council board another director with experience across both intermediated and direct distribution as insurers and brokers work through changes to the standards governing commercial cover and customer outcomes.
