Insurance representatives at the Prime Minister’s 2020 Summit have helped come up with some of the Government’s “big ideas”, according to Australian and New Zealand Institute of Insurance and Finance CEO Joan Fitzpatrick.

She says she was particularly pleased to be involved in the formulation of a plan to develop a financial literacy program for secondary students, which was tabled in Prime Minister Kevin Rudd’s initial report.

In her stream – Future Directions for the Australian Economy, in which Suncorp CEO John Mulcahy also participated – Ms Fitzpatrick raised the objective that by 2020 every young adult in Australia know how to budget and manage income and expenses, how to manage debt, the advantages of saving and how to choose a mortgage.

She says she also raised the issue of human capital, how to address the shrinking talent pool and how the insurance industry can capitalise on that pool.

“I was disappointed that there wasn’t a better focus around a skilled migration strategy,” she told insuranceNEWS.com.au.

Federalism, regulation and regulatory reform, improving productivity, workers’ compensation and the fire services levy and state taxes on insurance were also addressed.