Congratulations to Derek Martin, Head of APA Claims at Munich Re on winning the WK Turning Point Competition for 2024/25!

The 2024/25 competition challenged the insurance industry’s most creative and progressive thinkers to develop a white paper through the lens of an insurance ‘turning point’ market issue in the Property, Energy & Infrastructure sector. Derek impressed the judging panel with his submission on ‘Rethinking the Approach to SRCC and Political Violence in the Global Environment of Rising Geopolitical Uncertainty – the Reinsurance Perspective’. 

Derek’s paper argues that insurers should reconsider covering strikes, riots, and civil commotion (SRCC) under standard property policies due to rising geopolitical risks. It highlights historical exclusions, growing ambiguity in coverage, and suggests shifting SRCC risks to specialist political violence markets for clearer and more sustainable insurance outcomes. Derek was supported by Matthew Foglia, Special Counsel at Wotton Kearney (Sydney).   

The high calibre of submissions this year made the decision challenging, as each paper offered thoughtful, original insight across a diversity of ideas, outlined below:  

  • A Balancing Act: The Risks of Reducing Insurance for Australia’s Fossil Fuel Sector Amid ESG Pressures, written by Jillian Pancott, Director at Sedgwick, and supported by Rachel White, Special Counsel at Wotton Kearney (Sydney).   
  • One size does not fit all: Rethinking business interruption cover for commodity-driven industries, written by Sophie Henderson, Partner at Sedgwick, and supported by Dena Paterson, Special Counsel at Wotton Kearney (Sydney).   
  • Evolution of power and energy insurance claims handling in the age of Artificial Intelligence, written by Andrew Bott, Executive Loss Adjuster at Chubb, and supported by Audrey Wong, Senior Associate at Wotton Kearney (Singapore). 

Derek will receive A$10,000 towards a key industry conference of his choice. Each finalist will receive travel vouchers in their jurisdiction to the value of A$2,500. 

Adam Chylek, Partner at Wotton Kearney was joined on the judging panel by Peter Kelaher, Division President for Continental Europe, Middle East and North Africa at Chubb, and Steve Gibbs, Head of Claims for Asia-Pacific at AIG.  

Stay tuned for further updates, as we share these excellent papers and provide details for the next edition of Turning Point 2025/26.