Generation i Council

The Generation i Council meets to discuss issues affecting young professionals in insurance and to assist ANZIIF to best meet the needs of the next generation of insurance leaders.

• Jessica Wisniewski

  Chair

  
  Jessica Wisniewski

  ANZIIF (Snr Assoc) CIP
  Manager, Insurance Literacy & Engagement
  IAG

  Renowned for being both a talented entrepreneur as well as an intrapreneur, Jess has a passion for Human Centred Design, social change and disruptive innovation.
  
  Jess has a wealth of experience ranging from developing a large successful outdoor fitness company which included being a coach and mentor to thousands of individuals; her medical background as a nurse and her corporate career.
  
  Through her personal injury and general insurance experience Jess learnt the importance of empathy in the insurance industry.  Jess continually leads the way in not only high quality customer experiences, but also innovation to be a driving positive change across insurance businesses as well as wider communities.
• Ben Church

  
  Ben Church

  Sales and Development Manager - Regional/Rural
  Allianz Australia Insurance Ltd

  Ben completed his bachelor of Agricultural Economics at University of Sydney in 2012 before commencing his insurance career in 2013 as a graduate at Allianz Australia. Ben started his career working in Allianz's Technical division, assisting in the product and portfolio management areas.
  
  Driven by a passion for creating customer centric solutions and providing superior customer service, Ben transitioned into the Allianz Broker and Agency division in late 2015, where he is now Sales and Development  Manager, working in Allianz's Regional and Rural business. In this role, he has delivered significant growth in Allianz's Regional and Rural footprint and implemented a variety of product and process improvements designed to provide improved coverage and customer experiences.
  
  What drew him to insurance, particularly in the agricultural space, was the challenge of designing insurance solutions for historically difficult risks. "Agriculture is the most volatile industry in Australia and I am passionate about doing more to address the inherent  production and price risks that exist for our agricultural customers, so that we might contribute to a more sustainable and prosperous agricultural industry."
  
  Ben is also highly passionate about  all things technology and the opportunity for the insurance industry to leverage technology to build improved products and easier to navigate platforms for our customers.
  
  
  
  

• Jarrod De Pont

  
  Jarrod De Pont

  BA/BCom
  ANZIIF (Senior Assoc)
  Broker
  Crombie Lockwood (NZ) Limited

  Jarrod has been in the New Zealand insurance market since 2003. Working for Vero Insurance in Auckland, Jarrod gained experience through their National Sales and Claims teams, as well as commercial underwriting in Vero’s Tauranga office. 
  
  In early 2012, Jarrod left Vero to travel, and in early 2013, returned back into the New Zealand market working for Crombie Lockwood as a commercial broker. He is an ANZIIF Senior Associate and also graduated from the University of Auckland with a BA/BCom in 2009.

• Ezmari El Ali

  
  Ezmari El Ali

  Regulatory Compliance Consultant
  Chubb Insurance

  Ezmari is a passionate insurance professional with a strong focus on insurance law and regulation. She started her insurance career at Hollard Insurance in 2013, while completing her university studies in Law and Business and Commerce. She also completed her ASIC RG 146 Tier 1 Compliance qualification with ANZIIF in 2015 and her Graduate Diploma of Legal Practice at the College of Law in 2016, before being admitted as a Solicitor in the Supreme Court of New South Wales in April 2016. 

  Ezmari worked at Hollard for over five years primarily in Compliance roles. She was an active participant in Hollard’s Diversity Council, having been awarded the Diversity Council’s Young Hollard Employee of the Year Award in 2016. From June 2018 until late 2019, Ezmari worked as a Regulatory Counsel at Chubb Insurance. Her role had a strong focus on the changing regulatory environment following the Hayne Royal Commission and ensuring insurance products provided good customer value. 

  Ezmari is currently working as a Lawyer at IAG, focusing on Regulatory Engagement and Investigations. She continues to seek opportunities to support initiatives which advance gender equality, the empowerment of women, and the development of young professionals.

  
  

• Brodie English

  
  Brodie English

  ANZIIF (Snr Assoc) CIP
  Underwriter
  QBE Insurance (Australia)

  Commenced insurance career in 2008 with QBE as a business support officer in our Harrington Street office in 'The Rocks' Sydney aligned to the International Broker division, after settling into the role I began ANZIIF studies to enhance my career prospects. Within 12 months of commencing my studies I moved into an Assistant Underwriting role within the Australian Intermediaries division and after completing my Certificate IV in General Insurance and moving on to the Diploma I was promoted to an Underwriting position within the same division.

  In mid 2013 I completed the 3 month Mentor program (as a mentee) and found the experience to be extremely valuable and have encouraged many of my colleagues to participate.

  I have since completed my Diploma of General Insurance with the Institute and due to commence further tertiary studies through the Deakin University Masters of Insurance and Risk Management Program.

  Studying with the Institute has provided the necessary tools and recognition to advance my career in the industry without which I would not be where I am today and as such my reason for joining the Generation I Council is to help support and influence the next generation of industry entrants.

• Marianne Faith Li

  
  Marianne Faith Li

  ANZIIF Fellow
  Acting Senior Client Relationship Executive
  Catholic Church Insurance

  Marianne started her Insurance Career in 2011 with Verisure National Insurance Brokers as an Account Executive Assistant. During her time at the Brokerage, she obtained her ANZIIF Senior Associate with both ANZIIF Diploma’s in General Insurance and also Diploma in Insurance Broking. Her time at the Brokerage led her to become a Senior Broker and Risk Advisor. 

  In 2014 she was nominated and then awarded the Insight Australia Group’s CGU Norm Dwyer Award of Excellence for Young Insurance Professionals. In 2015 she worked with ANZIIF in the development of a course and became a Course Content Provider for one of ANZIIF’s Business Skills Unit. In 2016, she achieved her ANZIIF Fellow Status. She currently works at Catholic Church Insurance as the Acting Senior Client Relationship Executive. 

• Fiona Fong

  
  Fiona Fong

  Senior Claims Advocate
  Marsh Pty Ltd

  Fiona is currently a Senior Claims Advocate at Marsh Pty Ltd – specialising in handling major loss, complex and non-routine claims.
  
  Prior to joining Marsh, Fiona worked as a lawyer in the insurance litigation and dispute resolution group for a national law firm. Since joining Marsh, Fiona has been involved in providing a range of claims management services to major corporate clients from a diverse range of industries. Fiona’s background as a lawyer enables her to draw upon her practical experience and technical capabilities to ensure that appropriate strategies are being implemented to achieve the best outcome for her clients.
  
  In addition to her role as a Senior Claims Advocate, Fiona is also a member of the founding committee and co-chair of the Marsh Young Professionals Colleague Resource Group in Australia.
  
  Fiona is also passionate about cyber claims and in 2017 won the ANZIIF Turkslegal scholarship with her essay on ‘Navigating Cyber Claims in an Evolving Landscape’ where she devised a six-step process to assist other colleagues to build experience in this area, particularly in circumstances where claims handlers in Australia currently do not have as much exposure to cyber claims compared to other more mature markets such as the United States and UK.
  
  Fiona is currently admitted as a Solicitor of the High Court of Australia and a Solicitors of the Supreme Court of New South Wales. She is also a Senior Associate of ANZIIF.”
  
  

• Tim Kasem

  
  Tim Kasem

  LLB BBus
  ANZIIF (Aff)
  Account Manager - Liability
  Proclaim Pty Ltd

  Tim Kasem completed his Bachelor of Law and Bachelor of Business degree in 2011. Whilst undertaking his university studies, he worked as a Legal Clerk primarily in the area of Workers Compensation and Public Liability. After graduating from university, Tim commenced his legal traineeship at the College of Law and was then admitted as a Solicitor in the Supreme Court of Victoria in August 2012. 

  In March 2013, Tim joined Ansvar Insurance Limited’s Liability Claims Team as a Claims Consultant. Tim administers a mixed portfolio of liability matters ranging from Personal Accident, General Public Liability, Employment Practices Liability and Professional Indemnity claims. 

  Tim enjoys having the ability to make direct contact with the Client’s and Brokers that he deals with to bring an effective and efficient claims service. He aspires to grow and have a fulfilling career in insurance particularly to provide risk solutions to his client base. 

  Tim says: 

  ‘Young professionals working in insurance have great potential to explore the many difference facets of the insurance industry. The business of insurance requires people from many difference disciplines and walks of life which means we have a goldfield of knowledge to learn from’. 

• Linh Nguyen

  
  Linh Nguyen

  National Manager, Prize Indemnity & Entertainment
  Sedgwick

  Linh Nguyen completed her Bachelor of Commerce and Bachelor of Medical Science in 2016. Whilst undertaking her university studies, she worked in a range of industries including health as Personal Trainer and Medical as an Optical Dispenser. Prior to joining the Insurance Industry, Linh was still completing her Master of Optometry and working as a Corporate Sales Trainer. In early 2017, armed with a love for Sales and a desire to apply her tertiary learnings, Linh made a decisive career change which saw her join Sedgwick (formerly Cunningham Lindsey’s)  Business Development Team, where she quickly became involved in a range of Marketing and Account Management processes within the business. She began looking after prize indemnity and entertainment nationally later in the year, which has fast expanded globally. 
  
  Currently, Linh is the National Manager, Prize Indemnity & Entertainment at Sedgwick. Linh has worked on promotional events featuring insured prizes with an overall prize pool of over $100 million. These have included major sporting events, casinos, radio networks, motor companies, food manufacturers, TV channels, leagues clubs and shopping centres.
  
  Linh’s background enables her to draw upon her practical customer service experiences and technical aptitudes to provide a range of claims management services to suit a diverse set of corporate clients.
  
  In 2019, Linh completed her Diploma of Loss Adjusting and is now an Associate member of AICLA.
  
  Linh is excited to be a member of the ANZIIF Generation I Council and hopes to highlight the versatility of Insurance as a profession and the diverse range of skills possessed within.

• Rhys Pearce

  
  Rhys Pearce

  ANZIIF (Snr Assoc) CIP
  Relationship Manager
  MGIB

  Having previously worked in several industry sectors including hospitality, manufacturing, import, wholesale and distribution, Rhys began his insurance career in 2009 with CGU Insurance.
  
  With working experience in claims handling and underwriting of Commercial, Rural and Domestic Insurance he then pursued a Business Development Manager role - working with all products including corporate lines, distributed by CGU.
  
  In 2015 Rhys stepped into an Insurance Broking role and is now enjoying the challenge of developing customised risk management and risk transfer solutions for his clients.

• Courtney Rothall

  
  Courtney Rothall

  Senior Associate
  MinterEllison

  Courtney is a Senior Associate in the Insurance and Corporate Risk team at MinterEllison.
   
  Courtney has extensive experience in providing indemnity and liability advice to general insurers and self-insured clients predominantly in the areas of public liability, product liability and property damage claims. Courtney has acted for insurers in defending personal injury and property damage liability claims as well as defending professional indemnity claims and assisting insurers with complex claims management. In Courtney’s current role she works primarily with WorkSafe Victoria with respect to serious injury applications and common law damages claims.
  
  Courtney delivers strong commercial outcomes for her clients through her willingness to learn and understand their organisational needs and requirements. In addition to developing strong client relationships she is an active member of the Melbourne insurance community with a passion for advancing the involvement and voice of women within the insurance industry. Courtney is a committee member of Women in Insurance (Victoria), a not for profit organisation which assists women from across the industry to come together to exchange knowledge and help each other thrive.

  
  
• Kara Taylor

  
  Kara Taylor

  ANZIIF (Senior Assoc)
  Team Manager
  ACC

  Kara is Senior Customer Service Professional with experience in General Insurance, Claims Management, Underwriting, Operational Leadership, Account Management and sales. Kara’s current role as an Improvement delivery lead within DI has allowed her to fully utilise her 10 years insurance experience to drive multiple process improvements across the business. 

  Kara is self-motivated and results driven. She has the ability to work under pressure and still achieve successful outcomes for customers.  Kara is a team player and consciously works hard to ensure the company’s success.