Insurtech Australia (IA) and The Hollard Insurance Co Australia (Hollard) were pleased to present our latest event: ‘Partnering: The Good, the Bad and The Ugly’. The panel, sponsored by Hollard, focused on the importance of partnering well and investing in solid relationships to align interest, cater to open dialogue and to flex the boundaries for successful business partnerships.
Over 100 attendees registered for the evening’s panel session moderated by Vanessa Dobson, Director and Co-Founder of IA and new to the role of Senior Underwriter Consultant, Vice President, Life & Health Products at Swiss Re.
Vanessa rallied a strong panel line-up including Jamie Smith, CIO of Hollard, Alistair Harold, Founder and CEO at Grappler, Alistair McElligott, Founder and CEO at Entsia and Bayne Carpenter, Chief Revenue Officer from Open. The group discussed the clear benefits of partnering with the right businesses at the right time and making allowances for direction, strategic thinking and understanding your partner – all aspects to ensuring a good partnership will prosper. Jamie Smith highlighted the importance of each partner being clear on the “end game” so as to avoid unnecessary pitfalls and attempting to retro-fit solutions.
Not unlike the theme of the 1966 age-old film, obviously challenges arise but it is to overcome the ‘ugly’ and emerge stronger with a greater depth of understanding and trust that enables growth and change for new ideas to flow. Alistair McElligott commented that “Hollard wanted to find a better way to compete with larger insurers and this created a great opportunity to explore all options…”. Each of the panel members highlighted the challenge of the difference in pace between them and how that requires both acknowledgement and attention. As each entity evolves and transforms, frank discussion is required between the partners – which is where deep investment in personal relationships can be enormously helpful.
Alistair Harold shared that Grappler was attracted to Hollard’s “problem to solve” mindset, and welcomed the flexibility Hollard extended as Grappler developed its MVP in the early stage of their relationship. Jamie raised several examples of Hollard’s partnership initiatives aimed at “giving something a go”. The transformation of systems and requirement for change, proved the importance of strength in alignment, discipline and a healthy appetite for competition. Bayne Carpenter agreed that “there must be a level of trust to rely on skill-sets and an alignment of values that each organisation brings to the partnership”.
The evening allowed our IA Members and Partners the opportunity to gain raw insights into the inner workings of a large insurer plus showcase Entsia, Grappler and Open who are consistently working towards innovative outcomes and process efficiencies. As a result of their partnership, each business has broadened their market reach, mentioning the importance of partnering in the early stage of business to gain a deep understanding of the customer base as well as acquisition of new customers. Bayne Carpenter stated that Open gained much from partnering with Hollard, including the expertise and mentorship provided to Open, increased confidence to progress with ideas, capital and introductions to other opportunities. Jamie Smith added that these partnerships helped Hollard “decide that we can partner” with external parties and be aligned with its risk appetite.
Hollard fosters solid partnerships with a range of businesses and aims to better understand its own insurance challenges and serve its broad customer segments. Later this year, Hollard will host a ‘reverse’ pitch event engaging with a select group of IA Members to approach a challenge statement. IA Members will have the opportunity to identify and address problem areas and co-develop solutions for these common insurance problems. For more information on this opportunity please keep an eye out in our next newsletter.
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Thank You.
