A federal parliamentary inquiry into the affordability and availability of small business insurance is ongoing as Willis, a WTW business, moves to deepen its presence in the Australian SME market through an education-based partnership with the Victorian Chamber of Commerce and Industry – a strategy that aligns with what regulators and industry bodies have publicly identified as a structural market need. The Victorian Chamber announced on July 10, 2026, that Zest Insurance would become a partner of its THRIVE program and an Advance member of the Committee for Melbourne, with the alliance designed to give Victorian businesses access to expert-led webinars, practical resources, and tools focused on insurance and risk management.
Zest Insurance entered the Australian market less than 13 months ago. Willis launched Zest in June 2025 as a fully digital platform tailored for Australian SMEs, targeting a domestic market valued at more than $9 billion in gross written premium that had been slower to adopt digital insurance solutions than global counterparts. James Baum, head of Pacific at WTW, said at the time that with 97% of Australian businesses having 20 or fewer employees, the platform was “poised to serve a vast and growing segment of the market.”
Brent Lehmann, Willis’s head of commercial and affinity for the Pacific region, said Zest was built to make insurance more accessible and efficient for small business operators through a single digital channel supported by broker expertise, addressing a sector that had traditionally relied on manual or legacy processes. The Victorian Chamber partnership extends that digital-first strategy into face-to-face and education-led engagement – a channel that research suggests is critical at the moment businesses are most exposed.
Howden Pacific chief executive Matt Bacon told the Australian Financial Review (AFR) in July 2025 that approximately 70% of Australian businesses are underinsured, with property and asset values typically short by an average of 30%, driven largely by outdated valuations that have not kept pace with post-pandemic construction and replacement cost inflation.
Vero’s 2026 SME Insurance Index, released in March and based on a survey of more than 1,500 businesses, found that 75% of small businesses take an ad hoc approach to risk management, and that approximately 47% reported a revenue decline over the preceding 12 months. Six in 10 smaller businesses also reported premium increases in the past year, with many cutting discretionary costs – including, in some cases, insurance coverage – under financial pressure.
A National Insurance Brokers Association of Australia (NIBA) research report from October 2025 concluded that those findings highlighted "an urgent need for education about critical risks of underinsurance," noting that most businesses did not fully understand the consequences of being underinsured.
Sally Curtain, chief executive of the Victorian Chamber, said the operating environment had made access to professional advice more critical. “Running a business has never been more complex, which is why access to trusted advice and practical information is so important. Aligning with Zest Insurance through our THRIVE program will help Victorian businesses better understand risk, make informed business decisions, and build confidence for the future,” Curtain said.
The education model underpinning the alliance has independent support. Appearing before the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Corporations and Financial Services in May 2026, NIBA chief executive Richard Klipin cited internal research showing that 95% of broker clients consider their broker critical to resolving claims, and that 98% of claims handled with broker support reach a successful outcome. “When small businesses and not-for-profits have access to brokers, they receive better advice, more appropriate insurance coverage, superior claims outcomes, and greater confidence in the protection of their assets and livelihoods,” Klipin said. That data gives commercial context to an education-led distribution model: businesses with a stronger understanding of their coverage are more likely to seek professional advice and, by extension, produce better claims outcomes – a dynamic that benefits both the insured and the insurer.
In its submissions to the same parliamentary inquiry, the Insurance Council of Australia (ICA) called for the establishment of programs to help SME owners understand risk management and insurability, noting that Australia’s 2.5 million small businesses employ nearly half the private sector workforce yet face rising pressure from extreme weather, inflation, and regulatory complexity. The ICA’s own submission confirmed that average public liability insurance premiums had risen by between 55% and 60% since 2019, outpacing general inflation. At the core of NIBA’s 12 recommendations to the inquiry is a legislative classification issue: small businesses purchasing commercial lines including public liability, professional indemnity, cyber, and business interruption are not classified as retail clients under the Corporations Act, leaving them with materially weaker protections than when buying home or motor cover.
The first event under the alliance is a webinar on August 11, 2026, titled “The hidden insurance gaps driving unexpected business costs,” which will examine how rising rents, energy costs, wages, and compliance requirements increase risk exposure in ways that often become apparent only at the point of claim. The session will be led by Natasha Golden, head of Zest Insurance, and Nicola Mason, a Willis claims specialist whose role spans advocacy from lodgement through to settlement.
“At Zest Insurance, we are committed to strengthening the resilience of Australian small businesses through meaningful and practical initiatives, including in-person educational events, ongoing member engagement, and valuable insurance insights, helping businesses protect what matters most while staying focused on growth,” Golden said. Victorian Chamber members may attend at no cost; non-members may register for $25 (GST inclusive). Further events and resources are planned throughout the year.
