A broker with more than 60 years in the industry took the top individual honour at the ANZIIF New Zealand Insurance Industry Awards on Tuesday night. Vero and Marsh collected two of the most closely watched company titles.
Richard Russell of Gallagher received the ANZIIF Lifetime Achievement Award for more than six decades of service and his work on professional standards and broker education. He has long been involved in running the profession and was re-elected president of the Corporation of Insurance Brokers of New Zealand in 2000. Gallagher previously traded in New Zealand as Crombie Lockwood.
Anika Thomasson of Sedgwick New Zealand was named Young Insurance Professional of the Year from a field of 10 finalists, three of them from Marsh. The judges cited her technical skill, her leadership and her support for people new to the industry. The shortlist matters at a time when the sector faces a talent market squeezed at both the junior and senior ends.
Marsh New Zealand won Large Broking Company of the Year for the third year running, having also taken it in 2024 and 2025. Blanket Advice also retained its title, winning Small-Medium Broking Company of the Year ahead of Fundagroup Insurance Brokers and TWG Financial Services. Insurance Advisernet was named Broker Network of the Year, beating Community Broker Network New Zealand.
The new Financial Advice Provider/Authorised Body of the Year category went to RIVAL Wealth, which beat Invicta Financial and Resure. ANZIIF said it added the category because advice-led business models have become more important to customer outcomes.
Vero Insurance was named General Insurance Company of the Year from five finalists. They included its joint venture AA Insurance, last year’s winner, along with FMG, Tower and Aioi Nissay Dowa Insurance New Zealand.
Emergence Insurance won Underwriting Agency of the Year, taking the title from 2025 winner Delta. Partners Life was named Life Insurance Company of the Year ahead of Asteron Life and Fidelity Life. Fidelity Life’s claims team won Claims Team of the Year from eight finalists.
The remaining awards went to McLarens (Professional Services Firm of the Year), IVAA Contents Procurement (Service Provider to the Insurance Industry) and FreightInsure New Zealand (Insurtech Start-Up of the Year).
The broking results suggest size and consolidation haven’t decided who leads the market. Blanket Advice kept its title in a year when consolidators were busy: Steadfast’s Community Broker Network bought Folio’s New Zealand network and Howden acquired Omni Insurance Brokers. Insurance Advisernet’s network win, ahead of Community Broker Network, points the same way.
The new advice category reflects a wider shift in how brokers present their value. Several of the country’s largest broking operations argued this year that placement alone is no longer enough for commercial clients. Vero’s own SME research found that small businesses increasingly value practical risk advice alongside their cover.
For brokers placing business with Vero, the award comes during a period of change. Suncorp New Zealand’s gross written premium fell 4.8% in the year to June, partly because it exited a consumer book in the intermediated channel. It’s worth asking Vero’s business development team where its appetite now sits.
Emergence’s win puts a spotlight on a class many SME clients still don’t buy. The cyber specialist’s chief underwriter has said only 10% to 20% of SMEs in Australia and New Zealand currently buy cyber cover. That’s a gap most commercial books can still work on.
ANZIIF chief executive Katrina Shanks said the winners shared a focus on customers at the point they need help.
“What stands out about this year’s winners is their commitment to making a genuine difference for customers when it matters most,” Shanks said. She added that the winners’ work across innovation, advice, claims and leadership was helping to make New Zealand more resilient.
