The Australian and New Zealand Institute of Insurance and Finance (ANZIIF) and the National Insurance Brokers Association (NIBA) have struck an agreement that will see NIBA College cease to exist.

As insuranceNEWS.com.au reported in a Breaking News bulletin last Wednesday, NIBA has appointed ANZIIF as its preferred supplier of broker education.

The deal also includes a commitment to produce a “major piece of industry research” on the skills needs of the broking industry.

The study, including an industry survey, is expected to start in the first quarter of next year.

The agreement has been timed to coincide with the launch of ANZIIF “skills units”, which CEO Prue Willsford calls a “major reform of industry education”.

ANZIIF and NIBA had been in talks since March to address their respective roles in broker education.

The agreement is a big win for ANZIIF, but also for insurance broking.

There was growing criticism that it made no sense for the two industry bodies to compete with each other in the broker education market.

NIBA also faced the argument it could be a training provider or an industry lobby – but not both.

“At the end of the day, there was a strong view that our focus should be on industry representation, and that was at the forefront of our thinking,” Mr Booth told insuranceNEWS.com.au.

The agreement is open-ended but will be formally reviewed every two years.

The “industry-led” deal followed input from a broker education forum comprising representatives of Aon Risk Solutions, Austbrokers, Insurance House Group, Marsh, MGA Insurance Brokers and Steadfast.

Also see ANALYSIS