Headquarters:
NZI Centre, 1 Fanshawe Street, Auckland CBD, Auckland 1010
Year founded:
1859
Number of employees:
600+
Phone:
13 18 13
Email:
claims@vero.com.au
Website:
nzi.co.nz
LinkedIn:
nz.linkedin.com/company/nzi
“We prioritise embracing cutting-edge technologies, creative problem solving and continuous improvement to enhance our premium funding solutions and provide exceptional value to our clients”
Brett Bastow, IQumulate Premium FundinG
Leadership
Meg Warner is executive manager, NZI Claims, leading the New Zealand claims team with a clear focus on delivering exceptional outcomes for brokers and their clients. Having previously worked as a broker, she brings a deep, firsthand understanding of the broker role and the importance of trust, clarity and follow-through when it matters most.
With a strong belief that claims performance defines an insurer’s reputation, Warner is passionate about creating claims experiences that are fair, responsive and easy for brokers and clients to navigate. This broker-led perspective shapes how the NZI claims team partners with the market, ensuring brokers choose the firm with confidence, knowing that when a claim arises, it will deliver the best possible experience for their clients.
Executive Manager, NZI Claims
Meg Warner
Stuart Flyger is manager, specialist claims at IAG. He leads the specialist financial lines, casualty and marine claims teams, managing complex and high-value matters with a focus on consistent, fair and commercially sound outcomes. He combines deep technical expertise with a practical, customer-focused approach to strengthen relationships and improve understanding of liability.
Passionate about capability uplift, Flyger developed NZI’s highly regarded Broker Advance education program, a series of CPD-rated lectures that use real-life claims examples to translate complex liability concepts and coverage issues into practical insights that support stronger decision-making and improved customer outcomes.
Manager, Specialist Claims
Stuart Flyger
Andrea Horan is manager, broker claims operations & partnerships, leading a large, high-performing claims function and overseeing leaders and teams that deliver customer-focused outcomes across commercial and personal insurance. With a career spanning nearly 30 years in the insurance industry, she is known for driving operational excellence, strengthening broker partnerships through the claims experience and leading through complex change.
She is passionate about developing people, fostering a strong performance culture and improving customer experiences. Horan brings a strategic and collaborative approach to delivering consistent, high-quality claims service across New Zealand.
Manager, Broker Claims Operations and Partnerships
Andrea Horan
Rikki Simpson is manager, claims partnerships and support at IAG New Zealand, working within broker and specialist claims. He leads the function that supports broker claims performance and enables alignment across claims, the business division and broker partners.
Simpson leads a team of claims relationship managers who work closely with claims teams, business stakeholders and brokers to address issues, improve ways of working and support a consistently excellent claims service experience. With more than 21 years of experience in claims, he focuses on connecting operational delivery with broader business priorities, supporting performance, embedding change and ensuring teams are equipped to deliver effective outcomes for customers and brokers.
Manager, Claims Partnerships and Support
Rikki Simpson
John Archer is manager, technical claims within NZ broker and specialist claims at IAG New Zealand. A life member of NZILA and recipient of the ANZIIF Lifetime Achievement Award, he brings exceptional depth of expertise to complex and high-value claims.
Known for his strong customer empathy, Archer is highly regarded for his claims negotiation and dispute resolution skills, consistently delivering fair and timely outcomes in challenging environments. He leads high-performing teams with a focus on efficiency, quality and customer-centric claims handling.
Manager, Technical Claims
John Archer
Stevens & Associates Lawyers is a leading and trusted employment law firm based in Sydney known for delivering high-quality legal expertise in the area of employment law and industrial relations across Australia, alongside a proven track record of effectively and swiftly resolving a variety of workplace law issues.
In the past year, the firm’s growth has been notable. It has:
• experienced a 213% growth in the number of client matters, increasing from 149 client matters in the 2022 financial year to 390 client matters in the 2023 financial year
• improved its online visibility, leading to over 50 online enquiries each month and a conversion rate of client leads of up to 40%
• significantly expanded the breadth and type of matters that it advises on day to day, which has increased the firm’s skillsets, diversity and resilience
• expanded its community outreach by collaborating with local Sydney venues for client seminars and continuing active participation in a Sydney small/family business group
Stevens & Associates Lawyers has adapted to digital trends by implementing an effective strategy with SEO and web design, resulting in a structural shift that has seen increased representation of employees where the firm previously mainly advised employers.
The firm’s recognition as a “Fast Firm” attests to its momentum in the employment law space.
“IQumulate is on a technology journey, and we’re just getting started”
Wayne Tower,
IQumulate Premium Funding
Marina Christopoulos is a highly experienced professional with more than 30 years in the banking and insurance industries. Throughout her career, she has developed deep expertise across sales, underwriting, claims, project delivery and relationship management. Christopoulos is recognised for her collaborative approach, strategic thinking, and commitment to building lasting client and stakeholder relationships. She is passionate about achieving fair and balanced outcomes for customers while driving positive business results. Her broad industry knowledge, combined with her dedication to service excellence, has enabled her to contribute successfully across a wide range of roles and initiatives throughout her career.
Claims Relationship Manager
Marina Christopoulos
Courtney Mills is the NSW/ACT claims relationship manager within commercial property and specialty claims at Vero, where she has worked for three years. She builds strong broker relationships, promotes best-practice claims service, and supports complex and escalated matters. With 19 years of industry experience, Mills has worked across property, commercial and heavy motor, contract works, ISR, corporate travel, accident and health, recoveries, and investigations, bringing a detail-oriented and collaborative approach to delivering effective claims outcomes.
Claims Relationship Manager
Courtney Mills
Frank Hillerich has more than 20 years of insurance industry experience across customer service, property claims, assessing and claims leadership. Since joining Vero in 2017, he has supported brokers across Western Australia, South Australia and the Northern Territory, drawing on his extensive claims expertise to build strong broker relationships, promote best-practice claims service, and assist with complex and escalated matters.
Claims Relationship Manager
Frank Hillerich
Stephen McMillan first entered the financial services Industry when he joined GE Capital as a finance analyst in 2008, from which he progressed through roles working both onshore and offshore. From there, he moved into Pacific Premium Funding as a financial planning and analysis leader in 2012 and was a key resource in the evolution of the business, first with the successful sale to Macquarie Pacific Funding and then the following progression into IQumulate Premium Funding, where he is now the commercial manager.
As commercial manager, McMillan leads a team that is responsible for commercial analysis and business support, identifying and reporting improvement initiatives, and the securitization and treasury functions of the business.
Commercial Manager
Stephen McMillan
One culmination of these efforts has been the real-world, needs-based IQEdge solution. A one-stop online quoting tool designed for both the Australian and New Zealand markets, IQEdge delivers quotes in under 60 seconds. Plus, the solution offers quote comparison and quote versioning capabilities, enabling users to review vital historical and financial data in a single page view.
IQEdge can streamline and automate application processing, underwriting document verification and payment collection, cutting the need for manual labour and minimising processing errors. A digital “self-service” platform, IQEdge, reduces the need for customer and administrative support. Meanwhile, borrowers can access their accounts, make payments and manage their policies independently and through sales and support teams, which are always available for further assistance.
“We’ve created a quality platform that simplifies the quoting process yet amplifies the customer experience,” says Gordon. “It’s a real game changer.” IQumulate offers an online digital quoting tool to clients. The best-in-market solution enables IQumulate to tailor funding offerings to brokers that align with their prefered distribution channel.
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What does IQumulate have in mind for the future?
“IQumulate is on a technology journey, and we’re just getting started,” says Wayne Tower, CEO. “Through continuous engagement with our clients, partners, marketplace and industry, we will listen to the needs as they arise and position our business to be agile and respond to changes as they occur.
“Faster decision-making innovations such as AI-powered decision support systems can expedite the underwriting and approval process, leading to quicker responses to clients. This can improve client satisfaction and potentially attract more business, with the potential to allow IQumulate to capture a larger market share, whilst continuing to deliver service excellence to clients.”
“As forward-thinkers with a digital and ‘do it better’ mindset, we collectively and proactively look to learn and improve on our customer experience for our clients, paving the way for successful business outcomes for our clients and our business in the coming years ahead.
“We’re excited for the future and look forward to what’s on the horizon.”
Stephen McMillan first entered the financial services Industry when he joined GE Capital as a finance analyst in 2008, from which he progressed through roles working both onshore and offshore. From there, he moved into Pacific Premium Funding as a financial planning and analysis leader in 2012 and was a key resource in the evolution of the business, first with the successful sale to Macquarie Pacific Funding and then the following progression into IQumulate Premium Funding, where he is now the commercial manager.
As commercial manager, McMillan leads a team that is responsible for commercial analysis and business support, identifying and reporting improvement initiatives, and the securitization and treasury functions of the business.
Product Manager
Claire Watson
Stephen McMillan first entered the financial services Industry when he joined GE Capital as a finance analyst in 2008, from which he progressed through roles working both onshore and offshore. From there, he moved into Pacific Premium Funding as a financial planning and analysis leader in 2012 and was a key resource in the evolution of the business, first with the successful sale to Macquarie Pacific Funding and then the following progression into IQumulate Premium Funding, where he is now the commercial manager.
As commercial manager, McMillan leads a team that is responsible for commercial analysis and business support, identifying and reporting improvement initiatives, and the securitization and treasury functions of the business.
Commercial Manager
Stephen McMillan
“These initiatives are about removing friction, improving speed to decision and supporting better outcomes across the claims journey”
Meg Warner, NZI
“It’s a simple but powerful way to deliver peace of mind at the point it matters most”
Meg Warner, NZI
Ivan Verescuk
Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director
Shaun O’Brien
Head of Underwriting
Emily Walker
Head of Strata and Development
Rex Oakman
Head of Operations and Risk
Sandy Newton
Head of Underwriting
Andrew Mitchell
Manager – NSW
Michael Prokopis
Manager – Southern Region
Pam Chhabra
Manager – Residential Strata
Jeffrey Valdivia
Manager – Commercial Strata
Adam Basaldella
Manager – Claims
When the unexpected happens and a business is disrupted, they need quick decisions and clear answers. For brokers, being able to respond straight away makes all the difference.
That’s where NZI focuses – giving brokers the confidence and authority to act early, so customers can get back on their feet sooner.
As New Zealand’s leading business insurer, NZI pays more than $2.4 million in claims every business day*, with emergency payments made within 24 hours where needed. Getting customers operating again sits at the heart of why NZI was named one of IB-IBNZ’s 5-Star Claims winners for 2026.
A key part of NZI’s approach is what happens at the front end of a claim. In some situations, brokers can confirm cover and approve repairs or replacements – often before a formal claim is lodged.
IQumulate invests in education and people, which are vital to attracting new business and talent to the company.
“We have long tenures for several of our key staff, including some in leadership positions, and this sound working knowledge of our business, practices and industry provides great insights and a wealth of experience to offer our clients,” says Bastow. “Our new head of sales, Graeme Gordon, formerly manager for New Zealand, joins us in Australia to drive our sales strategy and lead our team to successful outcomes for our clients and our business. We look forward to great things ahead with Graeme as he continues to be active and present in the New Zealand market as well as building sound working relationships and new connections in Australia.”
Clients can also expect a lot from working with IQumulate.
“Through active engagement with our trusted broker network, IQumulate provides relevant information, education and training content,” says Graeme Gordon, head of sales. “Our clients can expect IQumulate to support their business in several ways, providing an understanding of what premium funding solutions are available and how IQumulate can spread the cost of insurance and help borrowers get the right level of insurance cover to free up their cash flow for other expenses or business growth opportunities. Premium funding is often considered a tool for those who simply cannot afford to pay their premiums in full. While this is certainly a significant driver for many, it is also successfully used by profitable companies who use premium funding to manage their cash flows more wisely or better manage their liquidity.”
Adam Basaldella
Manager – Claims
Pam Chhabra
Manager – Residential Strata
Frank Hillerich
Claims Relationship Manager
Courtney Mills
Claims Relationship Manager
Marina Christopoulos
Claims Relationship Manager
John Archer
Manager, Technical Claims
Rikki Simpson
Manager, Claims Partnerships and Support
Andrea Horan
Manager, Broker Claims Operations and Partnerships
Stuart Flyger
Manager, Specialist Claims
Meg Warner
Executive Manager, NZI Claims
Meg Warner, Executive Manager, NZI Claims, says this helps remove unnecessary delays at a stressful time. “It’s a simple but powerful way to deliver peace of mind at the point it matters most, and it reflects the trust we place in our brokers,” she says.
Behind this is a claims model built around broker relationships. The team works closely with brokers day to day, so there’s a strong understanding of how they operate and what their clients need. Dedicated claims relationship managers support more complex cases, helping resolve issues quickly and keeping things moving.
Strong communication underpins the broker experience. Brokers can track claims through an online portal, speak directly with claims teams via a dedicated 0800 line and access local, on-the-ground support when it’s needed.
NZI also draws on specialist expertise depending on the situation – from marine and liability through to large and complex losses. During major events, teams can scale quickly to support brokers and customers on the ground, alongside assessors, builders and loss adjusters.
Alongside responding to claims, the business is also focused on helping prevent them. NZI works with brokers to give clients practical support to reduce risk – from electrical inspections aimed at preventing fires through to programs such as NZI Fleet Fit that support safer operations.
This sits behind a consistent approach across the cycle:
leading with discipline – maintaining consistent underwriting and claims decision-making, even in challenging conditions
delivering value through the NZI Advantage – investing in risk management and recovery services to support better outcomes for customers
expanding specialist capability and partnerships – strengthening expertise and support across products, sectors and education
NZI is also investing in ways to make the claims process simpler. This includes testing automation to streamline lodgement and using digital tools to support faster, more consistent decisions.
“These initiatives are about removing friction for brokers, improving speed to decision and supporting better outcomes across the claims journey,” says Warner.
With more than 165 years in New Zealand and the backing of IAG, NZI continues to focus on what matters most to brokers: being responsive when something goes wrong and helping customers recover as quickly as possible.
That’s what underpins NZI’s 5-Star Claims recognition.
* Average based on 2025 calendar year data