A Melbourne broker has won this year’s Australian and New Zealand Institute of Insurance and Finance (ANZIIF) TurksLegal Claims Scholarship.

Instrat Insurance Brokers Client Manager Kevin Nhan wins an $8000 package including attendance at the Claims Conference and Insurance Services Expo in Anaheim, California, next March.

He submitted an “outstanding” essay on claims administration, addressing the obligations of insurers and insureds in light of a 2007 High Court judgement involving the duty of utmost good faith.

“Kevin tackled a topic that is a feature of all types of insurance, although its exact scope of operation and power are still unknown some 30 years after its introduction into law,” TurksLegal partner and scholarship judge Paul Angus said.

“It is an important subject, given the duty of utmost good faith involves mutual obligations upon both the insurer and the insured, and it endures throughout the life of the policy.”

There were a record number of entries for the scholarship, which is in its seventh year.

The runner-up is Suncorp EM Queensland CTP Claims Sharyn Sullivan, who wins registration for next year’s ANZIIF Claims Convention.

“We were very impressed with the high calibre and number of entries in this year’s scholarship and are encouraged to see that professionals working in the general insurance industry in Australia are among the world’s best,” ANZIIF CEO Prue Willsford said.