Kazia Lombardo – Manager Insurance and Risk, La Trobe University
Kyle Pearson – Manager Treasury, University of New England
Chi Him Kong – Insurance Coordinator, University of Wollongong
Lucy Kenny – Insurance Manager, University of Queensland
Stephen Peake – Principal/CEO, Emmanuel College
Kristina Huntley – Risk, Audit and Insurance Advisor
Caroline Vu – Senior Analyst, Finance
Mario Moussa – Senior Risk Officer
Geoff Henderson, Chief Executive Officer (Chair)
Liz Gettens, Executive Assistant (Minutes)
Tobias Pfau, Chief Underwriting Officer
Simon Iliffe, Manager Risk Services
Greg Burton, Senior Risk Engineer
Christine Cummings, Manager Member Services
Diana Lawrie, Account Manager, Member Services
David Boreham, Technical Consultant
A query was raised in on whether the intention or expectations of the group has changed since the renaming of the group from Technical Committee to Member Reference Group. The group’s purpose has not changed. It remains focused on providing members with a voice to offer feedback to Unimutual’s management team and the Mutual’s Board, and on assisting in ensuring that products and services align with the needs of the membership. The group will continue to review all aspects of products and services, including protection wordings and coverage. A copy of the Terms of Reference will be re-issued to the group.
It was noted that Members need to be clearly informed of their ability to request an increase to the sublimit for controlled environment claims. A question was also raised as to whether the current basis of calculation for these claims could be reconsidered. Given the relatively low sublimit, the requirement for Members to repeat or redo research in order to obtain compensation can place a significant and onerous burden on them, particularly where the cost and effort involved outweigh the level of compensation available. The feedback is acknowledged and will be taken on board when the matter is reveiwed.
A question was raised regarding RMIA memberships and whether anyone had feedback on their courses, accreditations, or annual conference. RMIA events are found to be good value and well run. RMIA also facilitates Chapter meetings and events in each state, providing regular opportunities for networking and professional engagement at a local level. RMIA also currently has an Expression of Interest open for Members to participate in a mentoring program. The program is open to individuals willing to act as mentors, as well as those seeking to participate as mentees. The primary focus areas of the mentoring program are Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) and Business Continuity Planning (BCP).
Overall, participation in RMIA activities was encouraged, with benefits including:
The document is still in draft form and will be available shortly.
Unimutual have received claims including fire and water damage claims. All claims are currently with tolerance and appetite.
Unimutual has reached a resolution of the long-term ANU claim from 2020. The loss equated to the highest historical loss in the higher education and research sector and one of the top 5 largest losses in Australia. Unimutual succeeded in navigating the claim with Unimutual and reinsures paying the full loss.
A visit to reinsurers is occurring in May which will provide a better sense of the market and what may be expected for later in the year.
The feedback provided by the group was positive. It was noted that the form was useful, but some members may prefer to send an email notification rather than completing a claim form. It was suggested that the inclusion of a link in the form may encourage Members to complete a form notification. It is important for Unimutual to have as much detail as possible on the claim to assist with better classification and subsequently better data analytics.
The new building assets notification form is being updated and will be available shortly. Limits are the same, but some clarification was required.
The Data Collection Form questions are currently being reviewed to ensure the questions are relevant and fit for purpose. Looking at each question and determining if it is still relevant, and also if it is relevant for all Members or whether it can be limited to certain groups (e.g., Universities, Research Institutes, Residential Colleges).
All Members of the MRG indicated an interest in contributing to the review, the listing of questions and potential changes will be distributed to the group within the next few weeks.
The group was asked for their suggestions/ideas for webinar topics. Suggestions included learnings from past claims – case studies, the presentation that Simon, Greg and Glenn gave to UQ (PNF presentation) and also a webinar to address questions on placement agreements – what cover applies.
If there are any further suggestions, please email Member Services directly.
A volunteer to moderator this year’s member forum at conference was requested. Stephen Peake did a fantastic job at last year’s conference. The Member Forum will take place on the Wednesday afternoon at 4pm. Kazia Lombardo advised that she would be happy to take notes/minutes. Chi Him Kong and Stephen Peake agreed to co-moderate.
A communication will be distributed to Members attending the conference to contribute issues for discussion.
Upcoming AGM – 18th March at 2pm AEDT. Accommodating all time zones. Member representatives should have received documents last week; the proxy form is to be distributed tomorrow.
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If you have any issues that you would like raised at the next Member Reference Group meeting of if you are interested in joining the Member Reference Group, please email [email protected].
