Insurance Industry Memberships

Insurance Advisernet was created to allow smaller independent insurance brokers to compete with the larger, national and international brokers by making them a part of a national buying group, whilst maintaining their local presence and independence.

Insurance Advisernet was established in 2006 as a joint venture between Insurance Advisernet Australia (IAA) and New Zealandinvestors. In April 2010 IAA acquired a majority shareholding in New Zealand, providing us with the membership of Austbrokers (a public listed company in Australia). The Austbrokers Group, including Insurance Advisernet, has over $2bn of client premiums under management.

The Insurance Brokers Association of New Zealand Inc. (IBANZ) is New Zealand’s professional body that represents the interests of fire and general insurance brokers, risk managers and consumers in New Zealand.

IBANZ is the voice of the industry, advising members, government, consumer groups and other stakeholders on key insurance issues. The organization also provides training, technical advice, guidance on regulation and business support.

The Institute has been around for over 120 years in one form or another, making it one of the oldest and most respected professional associations in the region.

The Victorian Insurance Institute was formed in July 1884 and was followed by the New South Wales Insurance in August of the same year.  In 1911, the Western Australia Insurance Institute came into existence and the South Australia Insurance Institute did so in 1913.

Across the Tasman, the Insurance Institute of New Zealand (IINZ) formed 1937 through the merger of the Insurance Officers Guild of New Zealand (formed 1920) and the Faculty of Insurance (formed 1933).

The federalist Institute model had been proposed originally in Australia in 1887, but it was not until 1919 that the state Institutes formed ‘The Incorporated Australian Insurance Institute’ (the word Incorporated was dropped in 1964).

In October 2000, members of both the AII and IINZ voted to merge the two professional associations and the new name of the Australian and New Zealand Institute of Insurance and Finance was adopted.  The Australian state-based Institutes, who continued to operate, followed suit in the next twelve months, becoming fully affiliated with the new body.

2004 marked 120 years since the first Institute was established and 2006 saw the Institute celebrate five years as the leading provider of insurance and financial services education, training and professional services in Australia, New Zealand and the Asia Pacific.