Many industry stakeholders would agree that the engine room of an insurance company is its claims department. The Claims Leaders Summit Australia will look at the challenges and opportunities facing insurers and their stakeholders in this critical area.
The theme of the Summit - in Sydney on May 14 - is Transforming Claims Leadership: Shaping the Future with Technology, Collaboration & Innovation. Ambrose Construct Group, the insurance repair and restoration firm, is the Event Partner.
Darren Trott (pictured above), the firm’s executive general manager of business development, is a keynote speaker. He said given the clear leadership focus of this event he wanted to find a relevant topic area that would engage attendees around this theme.
“I'm going to discuss the Top Ten Claims Leadership Challenges for 2025 and beyond, from my perspective, and offer some suggestions and ideas on how we might address those,” said Trott, who has 40 years of insurance experience.
Trott didn’t want to give away too much but agreed to share one big industry concern on his top 10 list.
“We've got an aging workforce,” he said. “There are people like me who have come up through the ranks and have considerable claims experience across different companies and different lines of business.”
However, there are currently more experienced and senior people like Trott who are soon to retire or leaving the industry, he said, than new recruits coming in. Data and anecdotal evidence from across the industry supports his view.
“The depth of claims experience, the claims gene pool, is starting to get more shallow,” said Trott.
The Ambrose leader has some ideas about how to change this.
“It is often said that most people working in the insurance industry just fell into it and they didn’t make a conscious choice to have a career in insurance,” he said. “So the question is, how do we highlight what we do in claims management and make it a career choice?”
Trott said industry professionals need to get in front of school children, involve themselves in careers nights and help promote the recruitment efforts the Australian and New Zealand Institute of Insurance and Finance (ANZIIF) is already undertaking.
He suggested that they also need to change the way they talk about their industry and capture the excitement and importance of an insurance career in claims.
“When people ask me about my career and I describe some of the opportunities I've been involved with, they go: ‘Wow! Are you part of the government’s disaster response?’”
Trott said he might answer, “Not exactly.” He’d then describe how he could be involved in a large factory fire that’s made the news.
“If they asked, ‘So you’re a firefighter?’ I’ll say, ‘no, not quite.’”
When Trott ultimately reveals that he works in claims management in the insurance industry he says people are usually very surprised. They often say, said Trott, that they have never thought about a career in insurance claims like that.
Trott described his industry start four decades ago after attending university to study for a business degree he didn’t complete, while working full time.
“Then I fell into the insurance industry,” he said.
After that, his career took off. He listed some of his responsibilities over the years.
“I've had responsibility for liability class actions in France, Australia and Japan and I’ve been on the ground following catastrophic floods, fires and storm events across the country.”
He’s also attended interesting events all over the world.
“I've represented the Asia-Pacific region at a global claims leaders think-tank event in New York,” said Trott.
He’s taken work trips to London, Paris, Hong Kong, the Middle East and Singapore.
“Never once did I dream this could be achieved after just falling into the insurance industry,” said Trott.
