Vero has won the Gold Mansfield Award for overall excellence in claims handling for a second straight year.

The insurer took out the top award from a field of finalists that also included Allianz Australia, Berkshire Hathaway Specialty Insurance, NTI and Zurich Insurance Australia.

Vero Head of Commercial Property and Specialty Claims Luke Whenman says the insurer, which also won the SME Property and Casualty category, has continued to make improvements over the past year, building on a platform of fairness and transparency.

“Receiving these awards are great indicators that the improvements are being recognised and appreciated, especially during these challenging times,” he said.

The awards, which are in their fifth year, are named after the English Lord Chief Justice who introduced the concept of utmost good faith to insurance – a concept that is written into Australian law.

“The Mansfields were again very hard fought this year and it was great to see some new faces both in the finalists and winners,” LMI Group Executive Chairman Allan Manning said today.

Companies’ claims performances are collated from feedback provided in a survey via LMI’s Claims Comparison website. The results are “graded” to allow for differences in the size of client portfolios.

Survey results are coupled with supporting data from the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) and the Australian Financial Complaints Authority.

This year’s awards, sponsored by Steadfast and icare, were announced during an online presentation due to COVID-19 social distancing measures.

Category winners and finalists were:

Personal Lines

Winner: Allianz Australia. Other finalists: Auto & General Services, RAA Insurance, RACV Insurance.

SME Property and Casualty

Winner: Vero. Other finalists: Ansvar Insurance, Hollard Commercial Insurance, IAG.

Corporate Property and Casualty

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

Specialty

Winner: NTI. Other finalists: GT Insurance, Liberty Specialty Markets, Woodina Underwriting Agency.