Winner 2023

Nathan McLellan, Vice President First Party Claims, Asia Pacific, Liberty Specialty Markets – “The importance of clarifying LEG2 and LEG3 during the transition to clean energy”. Download now.

Finalists 2023

  • Trudie Moeller, Regional Director, Asia Pacific, CCi (with Sam Barker, Special Counsel WK) – “Consideration of the opportunity to implement best practice for information requests relating to the time element of an insurance claim following a physical damage event to support the progress and success of the claim for parties”. Download now.
  • Patrick Martin, Property & Casualty Graduate, Chubb (with Tully Anders, Special Counsel, WK) – “Using AI to manage risks in the rapid transition to renewables”, and
  • Sumeet Bhardwaj, Senior Engineering Adjuster, Integra Technical Services (with Doug Heard, Special Counsel WK) – “‘Adjusting’ the government buy-back schemes

Promoting industry thought leadership in the Property, Energy & Infrastructure insurance market

The WK Turning Point Competition calls for publishable industry ideas that will explore and lead the next generation of thinking in the Property, Energy & Infrastructure space through the lens of an insurance ‘turning point’ market issue.

We are throwing out a challenge to the insurance industry’s most creative and progressive thinkers in the Property, Energy & Infrastructure space to explore where the market is going and how they see changes in industry and technology impacting these specific insurance sectors. We’re looking for innovative ideas that can be expressed in a published white paper. There are great prizes to be won, and of course excellent personal profiling opportunities.

Entries for the 2022 WK Turning Point Competition are open from 30 August – 11 November 2022.

Entrants submit a short outline, limited to 300 words, proposing a Turning Point white paper.

The outlines will be judged by a panel who will select five finalists, based on the most novel and progressive proposals.

The five finalists will then each be paired with a senior WK Property, Energy & Infrastructure lawyer. These pairs will then have nearly five months to co-author a 2,000 word white paper on the nominated topic.

The five finalist papers will be assessed by the judging panel, with the winner announced on 18 July 2023. All finalist white papers will be published in 2023 and promoted widely in the international insurance market.

Winner: The winner will get a trip to a key industry event, such as the Lillehammer Energy conference in Norway, PICS in London, the Asia Pacific Energy Conference or the Asia Power Forum in Singapore, to the value of AUD10,000 (to be claimed in FY24).

Finalists: The finalists will each receive travel vouchers in their jurisdiction to the value of AUD1,000 (to be claimed in FY24).

The Turning Point Competition is open to anyone working in the insurance industry who is actively involved in the Property, Energy & Infrastructure market, with a focus on underwriting and claims professionals, adjusters and forensic experts. Wotton Kearney partners and staff are ineligible.

Applications open:          30 August 2022

Applications close:         COB 11 November 2022

Finalists announced:      8 December 2022

White paper deadline:    31 May 2023

Winner announced:        18 July 2023

The winner and finalists will be selected by a three-person judging panel made up of:

Peter Kelaher, Country President, Australia and New Zealand, Chubb

Peter Kelaher has executive operating responsibility for Chubb’s general insurance business in Australia and New Zealand – spanning commercial P&C, traditional and specialty personal lines, and accident and health insurance. He originally joined Chubb in 2008 as a financial lines underwriter and has also served as senior vice president and P&C head for Australia and New Zealand.

Fraser McLachlan, CEO and Founder, GCube Underwriting

As the CEO and Founder of GCube Underwriting, Fraser is responsible for driving strategy and business development, and overseeing the company’s international development. This included steering GCube Underwriting to its acquisition by Tokio Marine HCC in 2020. Fraser specialises in renewables and pioneered the development of offshore wind insurance in the UK and Europe.

Adam Chylek, Head of Property, Energy & Infrastructure, Wotton Kearney

Adam Chylek leads WK’s national Property, Energy & Infrastructure practice and is widely acknowledged as an expert in market management on major losses with parties located both locally and offshore. He is the ‘go-to’ adviser for many of WK’s Australian, European and North American insurer and reinsurer clients operating in the Mining, Energy and Power sectors. He also manages the Catastrophe Response Team, which is deployed to roles throughout the region.

The judging panel will select the winner and finalists at their discretion but considering the following criteria:

  • the merit of the white paper topic;
  • the significance of the issue to the insurance industry; and
  • the quality of the white paper outline.

If for any reason the finalist is unable to co-author the proposed white paper, the judging panel will award the finalist position to the next best qualified proposal.

The five finalists will be contacted in writing and announced on 25 November 2022. The competition results will be promoted on WK’s website, LinkedIn and through other communications activities.

The winner will be contacted in writing and announced on 18 July 2023. The competition results will be promoted on WK’s website, LinkedIn and through other communications activities.

The winner and finalists give permission for Wotton Kearney to publicise the recipient’s name, company and position title as part of the announcement and related communications.

  1. The Competition

Information on how to enter this competition, any forms, prizes and rules for redeeming prizes form part of these terms and conditions. By submitting an entry in the competition, a person (Entrant) agrees to be bound by these terms and conditions.

An entry which does not comply with these terms and conditions is invalid. Incomplete, indecipherable or illegible entries will be deemed invalid. The organiser, Wotton Kearney (WK), may verify the validity of submissions and may disqualify an Entrant for any reason at WK’s sole discretion.

The competition is in two stages:

  • Entrants submit a Submission, from which the Judging Panel selects five finalists; and
  • each of the five finalists co-author with a person nominated by WK, a white paper from which the Judging Panel selects a winner.

The Wotton Kearney Turning Point Competition has been established to promote international thought leadership across key sectors – mining, power generation, gas and renewables – but via the lens of risk and insurance.

The annual prize aims to inspire the leading professionals across the industry to submit novel and inspired thinking in a publishable format to challenge how the customary world of transactional insurance products will need to evolve to meet accelerated change in the technologies and industries that insurers are underwriting.

The winner will receive promotion of their final Turning Point white paper to WK’s wide international database, with a focus on underwriters, claims professionals, brokers, adjusters and forensic experts. They also receive funding to attend a conference specifically relevant to their career anywhere in the world the following year.

The Competition is a game of skill only. Chance plays no part in determining the winner.

  1. Organiser and Competition Period

The Competition is being organized and held by Wotton Kearney of 26/85 Castlereagh Street, Sydney, New South Wales. The period for initial submissions commences on 30 August 2022 at 9am AEST and concludes on 11 November 2022 at 5pm AEST (Competition Period). The period for finalists to co-author their white paper commences on 25 November 2022 at 9am AEST and concludes on 31 May 2023 at 5pm AEST (white paper period).

All entries must be received before the end of the Competition Period and the white paper period, respectively. Entries are deemed to be received at the time of receipt by WK, not the time of submission by the Entrant. WK is not responsible for failure to receive any entry, whether for any cause beyond its control or otherwise.

  1. Prize Package

The winner will receive AUD10,000 towards attending their approved nominated key industry event or conference, to be claimed in FY23 (the Prize). The four “non-winning” finalists will each receive travel vouchers in their nominated jurisdiction to the value of AUD1,000, to be claimed in FY23 (each a Minor Prize). Promotional distribution of the submissions by WK cannot be valued and WK does not guarantee its occurrence.

The Prize will be provided to the winner once their nominated conference is approved by the Judging Panel and agreed on by the winner’s employer in terms of travel dates and leave.

Each Minor Prize will be provided to the other four finalists after announcement of the winner.

  1. Conference Approval

The Prize recipient must select a global conference or event of their choice related to the Property, Energy & Infrastructure industries – for example, the Lillehammer Energy conference in Norway, PICS in London or the Asia Power Forum in Singapore.

The nominated conference is to be approved by the Judging Panel and agreed in writing by the winner’s employer in terms of travel dates or leave required. Approval of the nominated conference by the Judging Panel is in the Judging Panel’s reasonable discretion.

  1. Eligibility Criteria

To be eligible, Entrants must:

  • be actively involved in the Property, Energy & Infrastructure market, with a focus on underwriting and claims professionals, adjusters and forensic experts;
  • not be an employee at WK;
  • own all rights in their submission; and
  • have approval from their employer to travel and attend the nominated conference, including any leave required.
  1. Submission Requirements

To be considered for the Prize and Minor Prizes, all Entrants must:

  • complete the online application form via the competition website page, including their personal and contact details, position, company, and acknowledgement that the Entrant will be able to travel to their nominated conference in the following financial year.
  • submit an original written submission of 300 words or less (a Submission) in Word or PDF format, outlining a proposal for a white paper that addresses:
    • A major insurance turning point issue for the Property, Energy & Infrastructure insurance market, its implications and what the industry should be doing now.
  • be uploaded via the WK Turning Point Competition website page (https://www.wottonkearney.com/wk-turning-point-competition-2022/) no later than 5.00pm (AEST) on Friday, 11 November 2022.

Each of the five finalist Entrants must:

  • co-author with a nominated WK employee an original written white paper of up to 2,000 words in Word format and industry publishable form, based on the Submission, which shall be submitted to the delivery address as notified by WK by no later than 5:00pm (AEST) on Wednesday, 31 May 2023.

WK and the Judging Panel accept no liability for late, lost or misdirected entries.

Only one Submission is permitted per Entrant.

Each Submission must be the original work of the Entrant, only. By entering into the Competition, the Entrant agrees that they are authorised by their employer to participate in the Competition and to:

  • license and assign to WK the rights in the Submission and white paper; and
  • be reasonably available to co-author the white paper in collaboration with the nominated person by WK.

WK does not guarantee the availability of the nominated employee and may at its discretion nominate a substitute employee to co-author the white paper. Without limiting the foregoing, WK will use reasonable commercial endeavours so that each nominated co-author WK employee is available to each of the corresponding finalist Entrants for at least two hours per week for the white paper period.

All details of Entrants will be held in accordance with the Privacy Act 1988 and WK’s Privacy Policy, which can be viewed at https://www.wottonkearney.com/privacy/. Any personal information of the Entrant will only be used for the purpose of the Competition. WK will not, without the Entrant’s consent, disclose or permit access to the Entrant’s personal information other than for the purpose of the Competition.

  1. Judging Panel

The successful candidate will be selected by an independent three-person Judging Panel made up of:

  • Peter Kelaher, Country President, Australia and New Zealand, Chubb
  • Fraser McLachlan, CEO and Founder, GCube Underwriting
  • Adam Chylek, Head of Property, Energy & Infrastructure, Wotton Kearney
  1. Judging Criteria

The Judging Panel will select the winner and finalists based on the skill and originality of the entry, assessed at the Judging Panel’s discretion but considering the following criteria:

  • the merit of the white paper topic;
  • the significance of the turning point issue to the insurance industry; and
  • the quality of the Submission and the white paper.

The Judging Panel’s decisions are final and no correspondence will be entered into.

If for any reason the finalist is unable or unwilling to co-author the proposed white paper, the Judging Panel will award the finalist position to the next best qualified proposal. All entries will be judged individually on their merit and anonymised for the Judging Panel’s assessment at the time of judging.

  1. Prize Finalists’ Obligation

Entrants acknowledge that:

  • the winner and finalists’ names, company and position – along with the details of their WK co-authors – will be publicised by WK as part of the competition announcements and related communications.
  • each of the five final white papers will be published by WK and distributed to their international Property, Energy & Infrastructure market distribution list, and promoted via other industry media.
  • the Prize and each Minor Prize is non-transferable and cannot be exchanged for any other benefit.
  1. Announcement of Winner

The five finalists will be contacted in writing and announced on 25 November 2022. The final winner will be contacted in writing and announced on 18 July 2023.

The competition results will be promoted on WK’s website, LinkedIn and through other communications activities.

The finalists, winner, and their current employers, give permission for WK to publicise the recipient’s name, company and position title as part of the competition announcement and related communications.

  1. Liabilities and warranties
  • WK, or members of the Judging Panel, are not liable for any loss or damage to property or persons including, but not limited to, direct or consequential loss and loss from personal injury as a result of participation in the activities from the Competition or its prizes.
  • Liability for any tax on benefits provided to winners and finalists are the sole responsibility of the successful applicants.
  • Each Entrant warrants to WK in respect of each Submission and white paper that:
    • the Submission and white paper does not infringe the rights of any third party and all efforts have been taken to avoid any such infringement;
    • the Entrant is the author of the Submission;
    • the Entrant owns the copyright in the Submission and is entitled to submit the work as a part of and for the purposes of this
  1. Copyright

Entrants license to WK on a non-exclusive, royalty-free, perpetual, irrevocable and worldwide basis and consent to inclusion of all copyright works comprised in the Submission for the purposes of WK’s promotional and other activities including those at clauses 9 and 10.

Finalist Entrants hereby assign their share of the copyright in each white paper to WK on creation of the work and as a condition of accepting the Prize or any Minor Prize, effective on the acceptance of the Prize or Minor Prize.

WK will include the name of each of the joint authors, their respective employers and job title(s) in the copyright notice of each white paper. WK will consult with each finalist and take into account each finalist’s reasonable views on all editorial decisions regarding the white paper but will have the final say on editorial and publishing matters at its sole discretion.

  1. Key Dates for the 2022 Competition
  • Applications open: 30 August 2022
  • Applications close: COB 11 November 2022
  • Finalists announced: 25 November 2022
  • White paper deadline: 31 May 2023
  • Winner announced: 18 July 2023
  1. Information and Application Form

For more information, including access to the online application and submission upload form, visit:

https://www.wottonkearney.com/wk-turning-point-competition-2022/

  1. Miscellaneous

As a condition of entry, each Entrant must sign any legal documentation as, and in the form, required by WK, including but not limited to a copyright assignment, a legal release and indemnity.

If the Competition is not able to be run as planned due to any event beyond WK’s reasonable control, WK may cancel, terminate, modify or suspend the Competition.

Failure by WK to enforce any of its rights at any stage does not constitute a wavier of those rights.

Enter now!

In 300 words or less, outline your proposal for a white paper that addresses a major insurance turning point issue for the Property, Energy & Infrastructure insurance market, its implications and what the industry should be doing now.

    Title*

    Full name*

    Email*

    Phone (optional)

    Company*

    Attach file* [ File format: (Word or PDF) ]

    Entrant's declaration

    If my entry is successful, I give my permission for Wotton Kearney to publish the proposed white paper and publicise my name, company and position. I confirm I am willing to participate in promotional activities.

    *Required fields