Insurance Council of New Zealand, Te Kahui Inihua o Aotearoa (ICNZ) CEO Tim Grafton has announced he will leave following next year’s Annual General Meeting in April. 

Mr Grafton, who was appointed in November 2012, came into the role overseeing the industry’s response to the Canterbury earthquakes and shifting responsibilities for private insurers.   

He says the prominent priority of his tenure focused on achieving a “customer-centric approach” when dealing with high catastrophe claims.  

“We now act as agents for the EQC in managing claims and customers, that’s a huge leap forward from what it was a decade ago when that process saw a lot of duplication and overlapping responsibilities,” Mr Grafton tells insuranceNEWS.com.au  

“By streamlining the process, the customer has one single point of accountability and responsibility, and private insurance has been critical for improving how insurers manage catastrophes. 

“We’ve seen this year for instance, the ability to make very significant progress in the settlement of claims from the two major weather events earlier this year. 

“Ultimately the trust and confidence of consumers in insurance comes down to the way in which we deal with customers, to honour their claims and the promise of insurance.”  

During his time as CEO, the industry has been battered by change and challenges from rising natural catastrophe losses, including Cyclone Gabrielle and the North Island floods, combining for more than $NZ3.5 billion ($3.22 billion) in insured losses.   

“The Canterbury Earthquake series was a huge piece of work, which consumed most of my time for the first few years in this role, and then we had the [Kaikoura] earthquake in 2016 which was another major event,” Mr Grafton said.  

“This year has been incredibly busy to responding to the weather events, which are by far the largest ever insured loss this country’s ever seen from extreme weather events. 

“There’s also been a massive amount of regulatory and legislative change that we have had to respond to, as well on behalf of our members.” 

Mr Grafton, who calls for continued dialogue with the Government on insurance-related issues, says it has completed a “fairly comprehensive review” of the industry. Still, he says more is needed to address future consequences, including climate change.  

“We just had the Bank of New Zealand release an omnibus review of the insurance prudential supervision act, which we’ll be responding to,” Mr Grafton said.  

“In the conduct area, a major change for the conduct of financial institutions is requiring our members to develop their conduct program, putting the customer on behalf of their decision making. 

“If you look ahead, there will always be big challenges, and one of the biggest ones is climate change and severe weather events. 

“The task that lies ahead for central and local government is to ensure that New Zealand is more resilient to these events.”  

He also highlights a focus for his successor on the “flavour of the month issue” of artificial intelligence and its applicability to reinsurance.  

“I think it’s still early days with insurers taking a cautious approach and having human oversight of AI,” Mr Grafton said.  

“But it has the capacity to be relevant to make significant changes to the sector, which makes it another big area for change that lies ahead.”  

Mr Grafton, who will also continue as Vice-President of the Global Federation of Insurance Associations until his departure, says he is looking to manage his workload after a strenuous couple of years.   

“I certainly do want to have more work life balance,” Mr Grafton said. “I’ve been working intensely over these last several years. 

“I want to be active and contribute where I can, so I’ll just have to see what develops over the next few months and see what opportunities right.”  

ICNZ President Toni Ferrier credited Mr Grafton’s work in leading the body and helping modernise NZ’s insurance legislation and regulation. 

“The ICNZ Board are grateful for the contribution that Tim has made to the industry over many years and will be looking to recruit a new CEO who will be as committed to the future of Aotearoa New Zealand, the community and the general insurance sector as Tim has been,” Ms Ferrier said.