The annual Wotton + Kearney APIG Scholarship supports the development of young professionals practising in professional indemnity and financial lines insurance in Australia.
For 9 years, the annual Australian W+K APIG Scholarship has recognised outstanding contribution and talent in our industry and connected the successful candidate with a lifetime educational experience aimed at enhancing their professional career. The scholarship takes the form of AUD9,500 towards attending an international conference of your choice with direct relevance to your career. Funded by Wotton + Kearney, past scholarship winners have attended the international PIF Conference at Cambridge University in the UK and taken part in a hosted visit of Lloyd’s in London.
Applications for the 2023 scholarship are now open! Full details including a link to our Information Pack and Entry Form are below.
Scholarship details
AUD9,500 funding towards attending an international conference of your choice directly related to professional indemnity insurance or your specialist product area, comprising of:
§ AUD2,000 funding towards a single conference ticket
§ AUD4,000 towards return economy airfares and transfers to attend the conference, and
§ AUD3,500 towards accommodation and spending.
Entry criteria
§ Current APIG members under the age of 36 years as of the submission close date
§ Actively involved in Professional Indemnity / Financial Lines insurance in Australia
§ Approval from your company / employer to attend your nominated conference
§ Members of the APIG National Committee and employees of Wotton + Kearney are not eligible.
How to apply
Eligible candidates are required to provide a written submission (max 500 words) or short video (max 3 minutes) addressing:
§ your current role and its focus
§ what you see is a major issue for your area of insurance and how it could be resolved, and
§ in a few words, what makes you proud to work in the financial lines insurance industry in Australia.
Our past winners
2023 Winner – Ben McCallum of WTW
APIG and Wotton + Kearney are pleased to announce that Ben McCallum, Senior Claims Advisor FINEX at Willis Tower Watson, has won the 2023 W+K APIG Scholarship. The judging panel was particularly impressed Ben's video submission which looks at the imposition of cyber exclusions in PI and D&O policies. Ben explores real-life cyber breach scenarios to demonstrate how litigation and regulatory action resulting from recent data breaches have revealed potential gaps in coverage for third-party claims. He also speaks about the importance of brokers and insurers examining these exclusions and developing tailored market solutions to address potential coverage gaps.
Watch Ben’s submission here.
2022 Winner
APIG and Wotton + Kearney are pleased to announce that Ben Hine, Vice President and Claims Expert at Swiss Re Corporate Solutions, has won the 2022 W+K APIG Scholarship. Ben's excellent video submission on "Fighting climate change and bolstering energy security through financial lines insurance risk transfer" impressed the judging panel for showing real thought leadership on a topic not often associated with the financial lines industry.
Ben's suggestions include financial lines insurers collaborating with government to create a green risk fund to help create risk transfer and drive product innovation and know-how for both insureds and insurers, while also creating positive environmental outcomes. You can watch Ben’s submission video here.
2021 Winner
APIG and Wotton + Kearney are delighted to announce that Raymond Loh, Senior Claims Specialist, International Financial Lines at AXA XL, has won the 2021 Australian W+K APIG Scholarship. Raymond’s submission was selected from a record number of applications this year and his very impressive video submission considering issues arising from insurers having different commercial interests in D&O insurance towers and proposing resolutions such as super limit layers and standardised excess wordings. The interesting topic, thought provoking resolutions, clear and carefully worded delivery all within the stipulated time limit was ultimately what swayed the judging panel. Congratulations to Raymond who will receive a credit towards attending an international conference of his choice directly related to professional indemnity insurance.
Watch Raymond’s video here.
2020 Winner
APIG and Wotton + Kearney are delighted to announce that Nikolce Stojcevski, Senior Underwriter - Financial Institutions at Berkshire Hathaway Specialty Insurance, has won the 2020 Australian W+K APIG Scholarship. Nik’s submission was selected from a high calibre of entrants for his well-considered views on the SME insurance market, and how consolidating data across the industry can have a positive impact on the ability of small to medium diversified financial services such as financial planners and mortgage brokers to attain adequate professional liability insurance. Congratulations to Nik who will receive a credit towards attending an international conference of his choice directly related to professional indemnity insurance.
Read Nikolce’s paper here.
2019 Winner
APIG and Wotton + Kearney are delighted to announce that Kelvin Hui, Senior Account Manager - Professional Risks at Proclaim has won the 2019 W+K APIG Scholarship. Kelvin’s submission was selected by the judging panel for his forward-thinking solution of what can be done to make PI Insurance within the construction space more viable and the positive ramifications for PI insurers in doing so. He also demonstrated an active role in facilitating numerous industry seminars discussing domestic construction issues. Congratulations to Kelvin who will attend the 2020 PIF Conference at Cambridge University in the UK on 6-8 July 2020.
Read Kelvin’s paper here.
2018 Winner
Wotton + Kearney and the APIG National Committee are pleased to announce that James Skiba, Senior Claims Officer at DUAL Australia has won the 2018 W+K APIG Scholarship. James's submission was selected by the judging panel for his topical analysis on how the rise in Securities Class Actions will impact on D&O insurance policies, and the need for reforms to continuous disclosure obligations and litigation funding to maintain shareholder rights in a manner which doesn't restrict corporate activity or access to adequate insurance cover. He also demonstrated a pro-active role as a young insurance professional engaging in industry training and skill development. Congratulations to James who will attend the 2019 PIF Conference at Robinson College, Cambridge University on 8-10 July 2019.
Review James' paper here.
2017 Winner
Wotton + Kearney and the APIG National Committee are delighted to announce that Mitchell Spurr, Complex Claims Examiner at AIG has won the 2017 W+K APIG Scholarship. Mitchell's thought provoking views on the increasing exposure of directors to potential claims relating to climate change, secured him the win amongst a very competitive pool of over 20 submissions. Congratulations to Mitchell who will travel to the UK in July 2018 to attend the Professional Indemnity Forum Conference to be held at Robinson College, Cambridge University, and visit the Lloyd's insurance market in London as part of the Scholarship prize.
Review Mitchell's paper here and a brief summary of his trip here
2016 Winner
Michael Forster from Suncorp Group has won the W+K APIG Scholarship for 2016, which will see Michael travelling to the Professional Indemnity Forum Conference in Oxford England in July 2017 and visit the Lloyd's insurance market in London. From a number of very strong submissions, Michael's application was selected for his unique approach on integrating technology and different management techniques to the financial lines industry - reflecting recent updates to Sherlock Holmes.
Review Michael's insightful paper here.
2015 Winner
APIG and Wotton + Kearney are delighted to announce that Kristine Salgado of Willis Australia has won the inaugural W+K APIG Scholarship. Kristine's application was selected because of her thought provoking account of the way forward for the insurance industry and her contribution to financial lines insurance at such a young age.
As part of the scholarship, Kristine will travel to the Professional Indemnity Forum Conference in Oxford England in July 2016 and visit the Lloyd's insurance market in London.
Review Kristine's excellent paper here and her summary of the conference attendance and experience here.
APIG thanks Wotton + Kearney for its generous support.