Vero has taken out the Gold Mansfield for claims excellence for a fourth straight year, with the award presented in Sydney last night.

The Suncorp-owned insurer entered the running for the overall accolade after winning the SME Property and Casualty category.

The Personal Lines award was presented to Budget Direct, Zurich Australia took out Corporate Property and Casualty, and Specialty was won by transport and logistics insurer NTI. Winners of the various categories contend for the Gold Mansfield.

The awards, now in their seventh year, are named in honour of the British Lord Chief Justice who introduced the industry to the principle of utmost good faith some 250 years ago. 

LMI Executive Chairman Allan Manning says the judging this year involved 755 ratings for 242 insurer brands.

“It was pleasing to see that more of the claims ratings went up during the past 12 months than went down, a reversal of what occurred last year,” he said. “In fact, 114 ratings increased while only 73 went down. The maximum increase was 1.5 stars and the biggest drop was 1 full star.”

The event, held at the Establishment, also included the presentation of a Purple Mansfield, which recognises a company or individual that has gone above and beyond and provided a service that has made a real difference to a client or a community.

The award went to Nick Albrecht from Allianz.

The Mansfield Awards this year were dedicated to former Australian Insurance Law Association WA president Greg Pynt who died suddenly this month in Perth.

Dr Manning said Mr Pynt was a former key note speaker at the Mansfields and a “champion of the principle of utmost good faith”.

The Mansfield Awards, held as a not-for-profit event, are sponsored by Steadfast Claims Solutions and icare. Proceeds go to the Amal Mulia Orphanage in Bengkulu, Sumatra, near the site of the claim that led to the decision giving rise to the utmost good faith principle. 

Category winners and finalists were:

Personal lines

Winner: Budget Direct. Other finalists: Allianz, Hollard, Insurance Australia Limited, QBE.

SME Property and Casualty

Winner: Vero. Other finalists: Allianz, CGU, Hollard, QBE.

Corporate Property and Casualty

Winner: Zurich. Other finalists: Berkshire Hathaway Specialty Insurance, FM Global/AFM, HDI Global Specialty, Liberty Specialty Markets.

Specialty Finalists

Winner: NTI. Other finalists: EBM RentCover, GT Insurance, Interruption Underwriting Agencies.