Tony Morgan OAM: A Lifetime of Insurance Service

Sedgwick loss adjuster, ANZIIF Fellow and Lifetime member Tony Morgan has been awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) for service to the insurance sector.

Morgan is recognised not only for professional excellence, but for a career defined by leadership, education and quiet service to others.

For Morgan, the honour is as much about the contribution of the industry as it is about individual achievement. He says the award affirms the essential role of insurance. 

“What is particularly pleasing is the recognition that the service we provide as an industry is worthy of honour. Insurance is critical to the functioning of our society and our economy,” Morgan says. 

“It enables people and businesses to take sensible risks which would be difficult to take without the safety net our industry provides. And importantly, when disaster strikes, it helps people and businesses to recover from loss.”

Morgan is quick to acknowledge everyone making a difference in the profession. “We can all be proud of the work that we do, in the many different roles we have, to make our industry function well.”

When he reflects on his career, it is not accolades that come first to mind, but vocation. In 1973, driven by a youthful desire to forge his own path, he stepped away from his father’s insurance broking business and into loss adjusting; a decision that would define a lifetime of service.

“I sensed it was more than an occupation,” Morgan has said previously. “Looking back, I can say loss adjusting has been a vocation in the literal sense of the word.”

That sense of calling has underpinned a career marked by technical mastery, moral clarity and an enduring commitment to professional standards.

Over fifty years, Morgan has built a reputation as one of the region’s most respected loss adjusters, managing some of the largest and most complex property claims in Australia and New Zealand, while helping shape the profession itself.

Faith, mentorship and values

Morgan’s leadership philosophy has been shaped by faith, family and formative mentorship.

A practising Christian, he has often spoken about the influence of Jesus’ teachings on his approach to life and leadership, alongside the guidance of his father; an influence he says only deepened with time.

Equally formative were the six senior partners he encountered early in his career at what would become Sedgwick. Each brought different strengths and leadership styles, giving Morgan a masterclass in discernment.

He learned not to imitate just one model, but to extract the best from each. That emphasis on respect, example and service would later define his own leadership style.

Morgan says authority is never transactional. It is earned through integrity, consistency and the ability to bring out the best in others; particularly in moments of crisis.

Leadership in the aftermath of loss

Loss adjusting, at its core, is about entering situations of profound disruption. Morgan has often described arriving at claims sites amid devastation; factories reduced to rubble, tourism assets destroyed by cyclones, livelihoods hanging in the balance.

“The owners are often distraught, not knowing where or how to start,” he has observed. “But if things work as they should, recovery is not only possible, sometimes an even better outcome can be crafted.”

That belief in constructive resolution is reflected in Morgan’s approach to problem-solving.

One frequently cited example involved a multimillion-dollar crane struck by a ship at a Sydney container terminal.

Rather than defaulting to a lengthy and expensive replacement, Morgan helped design a solution that redeployed and upgraded existing assets across ports, reducing downtime, lowering costs and improving operational efficiency for all stakeholders.

It was a reminder that the best outcomes in insurance often come from creativity, collaboration and the courage to challenge linear thinking.

Unifying a profession

Beyond individual claims, Morgan has played a defining role in the professionalisation of loss adjusting across Australasia.

As President of the Chartered Institute of Loss Adjusters (Australasian Division) in the mid-1990s, he helped lead the complex unification of three separate institutions into what is now the Australasian Institute of Chartered Loss Adjusters (AICLA).

The challenge was not merely structural, but political. The question of how to preserve the credibility of a royal charter at a time when such symbols were politically contentious, threatened to derail years of effort.

Through persistence, diplomacy and a final high-level appeal, the path was cleared for a unified, chartered body that now represents the profession across the region.

It was a moment that encapsulated Morgan’s leadership style: patient, principled and quietly decisive.

Championing education and excellence

If there is one thread running consistently through Morgan’s career, it is education. He has long argued that professional credibility depends on structured learning, rigorous assessment and the continual development of both technical and human skills.

That belief translated into action through his instrumental role in developing the ANZIIF Diploma of Loss Adjusting, first launched in 1996.

Morgan authored multiple modules, served as principal subject matter expert for others, and later contributed to the transition of the program into online learning to ensure its relevance for new generations.

His service to ANZIIF has been equally substantial: board member for over a decade, President from 2012 to 2014, and contributor across multiple councils and committees.

Notably, he remains only the second loss adjuster to serve as ANZIIF President in the Institute’s long history.

In recognition of that service, Morgan was named an Honorary Lifetime Member in 2016, an honour that now sits alongside his Order of Australia Medal as recognition of sustained, sector-wide impact.

The art and future of loss adjusting

Today, Morgan continues to work with Sedgwick as National Executive Adjuster, while mentoring younger professionals and contributing to education beyond the insurance sector.

He is also the author or co-author of several foundational industry texts, including The Art of Loss Adjusting, recently updated to reflect contemporary practice.

As he looks ahead, Morgan remains optimistic. He welcomes technological advancement and the analytical sophistication it brings but is equally passionate about preserving what cannot be automated.

“Ongoing technological change, particularly with advances in AI, present both challenges and opportunities for loss adjusters,” he says.

“In my view, the opportunities outweigh the challenges. Exciting new tools continue to emerge that can enhance the way we do our work.”

He adds that while the science of loss adjusting has advanced, the art has become more important than ever; empathy, intuition and judgement remain central to achieving the best outcomes.”

It is that balance between rigour and humanity, leadership and service that defines Tony Morgan’s legacy.

The OAM recognises a lifetime of achievement, but for Morgan, the real reward has always been contribution. And in that, his influence will continue to be felt long after the medals are set aside.

Other 2026 Order of Australia insurance industry recipients include:

• Leona Murphy, Chair, Lenders’ mortgage insurer Helia, Chair RACQ chair, Independent Non-Executive Director, Liberty Financial Group, where she leads many board committees.
• Melanie Willis, QBE Australia Pacific chair David Chandler, appointed NSW Building Commissioner in 2019 and led the Building Commission established in 2023 until his retirement in 2024.
• Peter Edgar, principal and director of Edgar Insurance Brokers, now Gallagher, chair of the Cobram Community Enterprise and a former president of the local Kiwanis and lawn tennis clubs.
• David Chandler, appointed NSW Building Commissioner in 2019 and led the Building Commission established in 2023 until his retirement in 2024.