Divya Pahwa from Meridian Lawyers has won the Australian Insurance Law Association’s (AILA) Ron Shorter Memorial Award NSW public speaking competition.

She wins a trip to the AILA conference in Melbourne in October, where she will compete against a Victorian winner in a “state of origin speak-off”.

Ms Pahwa took the state prize after giving a 15-minute speech on medical malpractice insurance in Sydney last week.

AILA this year extended the competition for young insurance professionals to Victoria. It has been running in NSW since 2012.

Applications for the Victorian contest are open until Friday. The winner receives a $500 Westfield voucher and a trophy.

Entrants aged 35 or younger must submit a 250-word summary outlining why they would benefit from public speaking coaching, and a brief description of the topic they would choose if selected. Up to 20 people will be picked to attend a public speaking workshop with Polaris Coaching in June.

They will then make two-minute presentations, and three finalists will be selected to attend a second coaching session in July.

The state final will be on July 30 at the offices of law firm Colin Biggers & Paisley (CBP).

Ron Shorter, a practice manager at CBP, was devising a public speaking competition for young insurance professionals at the time of his death in 2012.

The NSW chapter of AILA introduced the award in his honour later that year.

Victorian applications can be sent to Cheryl Asquith at caa@cbp.com.au.