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New York beckons for future leader

RGA Reinsurance senior claims consultant Renee Knapp has won the 2008 Investment and Financial Services Association (IFSA)/Deloitte Future Leaders Award.

Ms Knapp has won a round the world trip and a study tour to New York, where she will meet with Deloitte’s international insurance experts.

She competed against 21 candidates to become one of five finalists for the award. The finalists contributed papers on investment, national savings, global markets and financial advice.

Ms Knapp’s winning paper on life insurance discussed the social and economic impact of underinsurance. She proposed a 10-point action plan for the industry to follow in order to close the “protection gap”.

This includes the need for insurers to offer simplification and innovation in its product lines, establishing life and disability insurance awareness months, and lobbying for government action to address the underinsurance crisis.

IFSA CEO Richard Gilbert says the paper will help contribute to the association’s life insurance awareness campaign, which encourages Australians to “become more engaged in decisions about life insurance”.