TurksLegal and the Australian and New Zealand Institute of Insurance and Finance (ANZIIF) are pleased to announce the winner of the 2017 ANZIIF TurksLegal Claims Scholarship is Fiona Fong, Senior Claims Consultant at Marsh.

Announced this morning at ANZIIF’s annual General Insurance Breakfast in Sydney, Fiona submitted the winning entry on the topic of Cyber claims – ‘Are insurers ready to handle cyber claims?’

As the winner, Fiona receives a package valued up to AU$8,000 including return travel, accommodation, AU$500 spending money and registration to the 2018 Claims Conference and Insurance Services Expo to be held in Orlando, Florida. Alternatively, Fiona can choose to receive $5,000 cash and registration to attend the 2018 ANZIIF Claims Convention in Australia including return flights and accommodation.

The runner-up prize, registration to the 2018 ANZIIF Claims Convention in Australia including travel and accommodation, was awarded to Krishna Prasad Venkata, Account Executive at Richard Oliver Underwriting Managers, for his entry on the topic of automation.

‘This year’s winning entry was a reminder of just how much general insurance claims has changed in the 10 years since the ANZIIF TurksLegal Claims Scholarship has been going. It is very pleasing to see the continued interest in the discussion of ideas around the ever changing issues facing claims professionals in Australia. The winning paper and the runner up tackled topics in the form of cyber claims and automation that weren’t really even on the radar when we started the scholarship in 2008, but in 2017 are key issues facing the industry.’

‘Fiona’s winning paper was a practical and well-reasoned look at the things the industry could do to build claims capability for the emerging area of cyber claims. Krishna’s paper discussed the issues regarding automation of claims and the new insurance market entrants such as Lemonade,’ said Paul Angus, General Insurance Partner at TurksLegal and member of the Scholarship’s judging panel.

‘We congratulate Fiona on winning the ANZIIF TurksLegal Claims Scholarship. Now in its 10th year, this Scholarship provides industry professionals an opportunity to develop thought leadership content and be exposed to further professional development opportunities within the industry. We hope Fiona has a rich experience networking with insurance professionals at her chosen professional development event,’ says ANZIIF Chief Executive Officer, Prue Willsford.