The Australian and New Zealand Institute of Insurance and Finance (ANZIIF) has announced the contenders for the Australian Insurance Industry Awards.

Now in its 18th year, ANZIIF will reveal the Awards winners on August 25 at The Star Event Centre in Sydney, with more than 600 people expected to attend. Tickets to the black tie event, which will feature commentary from The Chaser and The War in Waste TV star Craig Reucassel, are available here.

CEO Prue Willsford congratulated this year’s finalists who she says have all “demonstrated outstanding professionalism and excellence in their submissions”.

“We are celebrating how our industry has continued to support the customer, community, and its people and the extraordinary achievements that have helped our industry thrive,” Ms Willsford said.

The Awards are decided by a panel of industry judges who read and score each submission under supervision of an independent auditor. Two categories – Excellence in Environmental, Social and Governance Change and General Insurance Claims Team of the Year have been introduced for the first time.

Here are this year's finalists in each category:

Small Broking Company of the Year: Austbrokers Coast to Coast, Clear Insurance

Medium Broking Company of the Year: Austbrokers Countrywide, Centrewest Insurance Brokers, Scott Winton Insurance Brokers

Large Broking Company of the Year: Aon, Gallagher, Honan, Insurance Advisernet, Marsh

Authorised Representative Network of the Year: Insurance Advisernet, McLardy McShane Partners

Underwriting Agency of the Year: CHU Underwriting Agencies, ProRisk, Strata Unit Underwriters, Underwriting Agencies of Australia

Small-Medium General Insurance Company of the Year: Adica Insurance, Ansvar Insurance, Royal Automobile Club of Tasmania (RACT)

Large General Insurance Company of the Year: Allianz, CGU Insurance, Hollard Insurance Company, QBE Australia Pacific, Suncorp Group

General Insurance Claims Team of the Year: CGU Strategic Broker Claims Teams, Southern Cross Travel Insurance, Vero

Life Insurance Company of the Year: AIA Australia, TAL, MetLife Australia

Insurtech Start-up of the Year: Advisr.Me, Credit Clear, Mitti Insurance

Professional Services Firm of the Year: Barry.Nilsson, DLA Piper Australia, Finity, Hall & Wilcox, MinterEllison, Wotton + Kearney

Service Provider to the Insurance Industry: ARC Projects, Bay Building Group, Construct Services, DXC Technology, Gallagher Bassett, IVAA, MJM Corporate Risk Services, Recoveriescorp

Excellence in Workplace Diversity and Inclusion: AIG Australia, Allianz, Hollard, Honan, Marsh, MetLife

Excellence in Environmental, Social and Governance Change: Honan, IAG, QBE, Swiss Re

Young Insurance Professional of the Year: Sedgwick Chartered Loss Adjuster Robert Dang, ProRisk Claims Team Leader Bianca Parussolo, Honan Client and Operations Lead Monique Reibelt, Teacher Health Fund Head of Data and Analytics Jon Shen.

The ANZIIF Lifetime Achievement Award and Insurance Leader of the Year will be announced on August 25.