Matthew McHutchison - Young Insurance Profile

Matthew McHutchison has a head for hard numbers. This is what led him to a career in insurance. But it’s the softer skills that have kept him at the top of his game.

As founder and managing director of IVAA Jewellery Claim Management in Brisbane, Matthew provides independent assessments to insurers and claimants. Services include jewellery validation, settlement recommendation and the allocation and fulfilment of jewellery claims. “We don’t take a commission or kick-back from any supplier and we don’t take a percentage of any savings,” he says. “We’re completely transparent, which I think is so important.”

Matthew never actually planned to start his own company. After graduating from Brisbane’s QUT in 2006 with a degree in business, he took on a logistics role with a jewellery wholesaler and soon gained a deep respect for the local jewellery industry, including the gemmologists and valuers who grade and appraise the precious stones, and the jewellers who craft beautiful pieces that hold such sentimental value for their owners.

Soon he saw an opportunity to combine his growing knowledge of the jewellery industry with his interest in insurance. Matthew joined Claims Advisory Services in 2008, where he helped insurance companies procure jewellery. When the business closed, he decided to go out on his own.

Starting a business takes a lot of courage at any age. Matthew was only 23 and had just started paying off a mortgage. “It was pretty rough in those first few months trying to learn the ropes quickly,” he says. “It had its ups and downs but we were really lucky to get clients in the early stage of the business.”

Just over five years on, Matthew loves the unique challenges of his niche market. “Jewellery is a high-risk commodity but it has a lot of complexity,” he explains. “A lot of insurance companies have limits on valuables such as jewellery, but it’s also something that holds quite a lot of sentimental value, so it’s difficult for an insurance company to strategically procure an item that has a lot of technical detail when their customer is sentimentally attached. It can be a very delicate area.”

This is where those softer skills come in. Matthew is passionate about communicating the benefits of allocating claims back into the Australian jewellery industry. “I believe in promoting ethical business practices,” he says. “By procuring, you’re not only providing benefits to the insurance company by reducing fraudulent claims and managing their spend, you’re also supporting the jewellery industry.”

Matthew says the trend toward overseas manufacturing can make it tough for many Australian jewellers to stay in business. “I get the warm and fuzzies when you see that we’re procuring more than 85 per cent of claims back to the jewellery industry. Before us, most insurance companies were struggling with 40 per cent if they were lucky. They were cash-settling the vast majority of their claims. I like to see the work flowing back to the trade wherever possible and the claimants are loving it, too.”

A father of two young children, Matthew says it can be challenging to balance work and valuable family time. He’s committed to finding the most efficient business practices so he can use his time wisely. “You do have to work hard or you’ll fall behind, but our company thrives on trying and testing new processes and measuring things and capturing valuable data,” he says. “It’s good to be able to monitor what claimants and insurance companies respond to and what can help improve their position.”

Although jewellery claims are a small component of the industry, Matthew keeps his eye on the broader insurance landscape. “I see a lot of changes happening,” he says. “I hear of drones being used for home assessments and the changes that happen when insurance companies buy each other out, which is quite interesting.”

Matthew also points to education as a growing requirement within the industry. “I think it’s going to become more important and I think that’s great. I see ANZIIF doing great things by promoting their courses in the industry. I did ANZIIF’s RPL [recognition of prior learning] for the loss-adjusting course a few years ago and it was really valuable.”

Fraud continues to be an ongoing challenge within jewellery claims and Matthew believes IVAA is playing a key role in reducing it. “Imitations will always be a challenge, “ he says. “Some people might claim on a fake Rolex watch and provide photos as evidence. It may not be the claimant who is dishonest, as they may have been misled. But with the reduction in cash settlements comes a reduction in fraudulent claims. We’re starting to make a difference in the insurance industry and in the jewellery industry and that’s a big motivator for me.”