IAG won three awards at last week’s Australian Insurance Industry Awards in Sydney.

Subsidiary company CGU was named large general insurance company of the year, while IAG Group MD and CEO Mike Wilkins was crowned industry leader of the year.

IAG was also recognised as women’s employer of the year.

IAG Commercial Insurance CEO Ben Bessell says CGU’s win is pleasing after a relatively tough year in insurance markets and following major changes in the business, such as integrating the Lumley operation.

“This is not just one year’s work – it’s the culmination of a hugely successful business transformation to build on CGU’s long history in the Australian general insurance market,” he said.

Other winners at the awards, hosted by the Australian and New Zealand Institute of Insurance and Finance (ANZIIF), included Marsh as large broker of the year and AIA Australia as life insurance company of the year.
 
Actuarial business Finity was recognised for the fifth time, winning professional services firm of the year.

Brooklyn Underwriting won best underwriting agency for the fourth consecutive year, and Allianz Australia took the innovation prize for a return-to-work program based on behavioural psychology.   

Former JLT Chairman Steve Ball, who died in May, was posthumously honoured with the ANZIIF lifetime achievement award. Katherine Ashby, a senior product technical manager at BT Financial Group, won the inaugural young insurance professional award.
 
Other award winners were:

• Small broker: Consult Insurance Solutions
• Medium broker: GSA Insurance Brokers
• Small-medium general insurer: Hospitality Employers Mutual
• Youth development employer: BT Financial Group
• Service provider to the industry: Recoveries Corporation Group.