Vero has escorted award-winning young brokers on a four-day trip to Northampton, located 480km north of Perth on WA’s coral coast, in its latest expedition to support Australian towns hardest hit by natural catastrophes.

Past and present winners of the Young Professional Broker of the Year award were joined by Vero representatives in Northampton, a small rural town on the edge of the wheat belt which was in the path of tropical cyclone Seroja when it struck early last year.

“This experience reminded us of the many good things our industry does and challenged the young brokers on how to effectively give back to their communities,” Vero Commercial Insurance EGM Michael Miller said.

The spring 2022 cohort volunteered at the annual Northampton show, a local event attracting over 3000 visitors, helping to set up stands, direct car park traffic, sell raffle tickets, install security fencing and more.

Vero’s Young Brokers Alumni Program donated $20,000 to local primary school St Mary’s towards the resurfacing of a basketball court and playground and made a donation to fund a school camp. It also contributed $5000 to restore the Remembrance Garden of a community centre for Aboriginal residents in the district.

The ‘Destination West Coast’ expedition witnessed how those funds were being used toward rebuilding the community after Seroja left a trail of destruction, making landfall at Kalbarri and causing significant damage in nearby Northampton.

The “give back” expeditions are now an annual feature after beginning in 2019, and aim to foster strong bonds and provide access to mentoring and professional development. State winners work together to select a community or a local charity affected by a major weather-related event and present the case to a panel of senior Vero executives, seeking funding.

Head of Distribution Anthony Pagano says Vero looks forward to bringing the 2023 NIBA Young Broker of the Year state winners on another experience to support impacted communities.

“Charity work and fundraising to support communities affected by severe weather events have become an integral part of the Warren Tickle Award Program,” he said.

Previously, winners visited the southeast NSW town of Cobargo which was struck by bushfire. Vero, which has sponsored the award for over 30 years, contributed around $35,000 to support infrastructure and community-led projects.

Will Thompson from Thompson Insurance in Queensland was this year’s Warren Tickle Award recipient.