In most insurer-broker partnerships, broker influence operates within defined parameters: placement, service, and client access. One program runs differently, and this year it put $25,000 into a Victorian community still counting its bushfire claims.
The National Insurance Brokers Association (NIBA) Young Broker of the Year Awards requires its five state winners to collectively select a weather-affected community and direct a $25,000 Vero-funded grant to it. The insurer funds the outcome. It does not approve the selection.
This year, the five state winners chose the Harcourt Football Netball Club near Bendigo, a venue that has served as a community meeting and recovery space since the January 2026 Victorian bushfires. Grant selection is part of the state winners’ program activities, which also includes the Vero Young Brokers Alumni Experience, a three-day leadership program, according to NIBA.
The five brokers who made that call were Laith Parissi of Aon (NSW/ACT), Emily Booth of Aon (QLD), Alyssa Sanfilippo of Lockton Companies Australia (Vic/Tas), Thomas Lawrie of Astute Insurance Services (SA/NT), and Isabella Moran of Howden (WA).
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The distinction matters. The five brokers who chose Harcourt did not recommend a recipient for Vero to approve. They decided, and Vero funded the result.
For brokers assessing what substantive partnership looks like against what sponsorship looks like, that structural difference is the story. It is also embedded in a program that has run for 37 consecutive years – established in 1990, in the first year of the award, with Vero as sponsor throughout. The award honours Warren Tickle, a former Insurance Commissioner, whose early career was at Sun Alliance, now known as Vero.
Next year’s state winners will visit Harcourt as part of their own leadership program. The prior year’s grant went to Bloomfield in Far North Queensland, following flooding there.
The 2026 awards drew a record 96 nominations nationally, according to NIBA. The national winner will be announced at the convention gala dinner on October 20 at RACV Royal Pines on the Gold Coast.
Harcourt sits inside the footprint of the January 2026 Victorian bushfire catastrophe, declared by the Insurance Council of Australia (ICA) on January 16, 2026, across 18 local government areas. By August 2026, ICA director of mitigation and extreme weather response Liam Walter confirmed more than 4,860 claims had been lodged, totalling almost $600 million.
Federal Member for Bendigo Lisa Chesters (pictured right) described the club’s role since the fires: “From January’s harrowing bushfires and beyond, the Club has solidified itself as the heartbeat of this town, opening their doors and uplifting the community in a time of need. It has become far more than a sporting club – it has become the centre of the community’s recovery effort, providing a safe haven and meeting space for our people.”
Vero chief executive commercial & personal injury insurance Lisa Harrison (pictured left), who visited the area, said the fire’s effects remained visible. “Spending time in Harcourt, I’ve seen first-hand the devastating impact the fires had on homes, businesses, and much-loved community places, but I’ve also seen the resilience and strong community spirit that has carried people through. Whether improving safety at games and training or fixing a barbecue held together with tape and ties, we want to ensure locals keep walking through the Club gates every week,” she said.
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The grant funds a new barbecue, fresh netting, and safety poles at the club. The ICA held face-to-face consultation sessions at the Harcourt Leisure Centre in September 2026, the second round of on-the-ground insurer sessions for the community since the fires, with Australian Financial Complaints Authority (AFCA) representatives and financial counsellors from Anglicare Victoria also present.
For brokers with clients in the region, policyholders with unresolved claims can contact their insurer directly at any time.
