As part of its strategy to encourage general insurance brokers to help customers adapt to the impact of climate change, Zurich Financial Services Australia (Zurich) has established the national Zurich Climate Ready Broker Award.
The Climate Ready Broker Award recognises a broker who demonstrates leadership in the area of managing climate risks for their customers.
The inaugural winner of the award, which is to be an annual event, was named at the National Insurance Brokers Association (NIBA) Convention in Sydney today.
The winner is Peter Farrar, a director of RJ Vaughan & Monaghan Insurance Brokers, in Hornsby, NSW.
Presenting Mr Farrar with the award, Zurich Chief Executive Mr David Smith said, “With the increase and ferocity of weather-related disasters, such as the Victorian bush fires, more and more brokers are helping their customers understand the risks of climate change.
“Zurich established the Climate Ready Broker Award to reward brokers who are making a proactive approach to increase their customers’ resilience to severe weather events,” he said.
Mr Smith added, “Zurich and NIBA recently undertook a national survey to ask brokers their thoughts on climate change. The results clearly show that brokers are looking to insurers to assist them better understand climate change so they can help their customers. That is why Zurich established the award and is shortly launching climate change training for key brokers.”
Mr Smith said Mr Farrar won the award for:
- providing insurance solutions for customers to help cope with the hazards of climate
- engaging customers in discussions on climate change
- adding cover or adjusted policies to help customers cope with climate change risk
- helping customers to identify and manage risks.
As part of his prize, Mr Farrar will have access to Climate Risk, one of Australia’s leading climate change consultancies, which will spend one day providing advice specific to climate-related risks to a select group of Mr Farrar’s customers.
Mr Farrar participated in the pilot Zurich Climate Change Broker Training at the end of 2008. Vaughan & Monaghan Insurance Brokers was founded in 1923 and is one of Australia’s oldest independent Insurance Brokers.
The Climate Ready Broker Award is another example of how Zurich globally is committed to helping our customers adapt to the impacts of climate change, including developing new products and services, as well as engaging with global experts and universities to bring a multi-disciplinary approach to this issue.
