LMI Group was awarded the Innovation of the Year Award at tonight’s Australia and New Zealand Insurance Industry Awards held at the Sydney Convention Centre.

The judges panel offered the following explanation for their selection of LMI Group for this prestigious award.

“The winner of this year’s ‘Innovation of the Year’ Award is LMI Group.

While undertaking their core business of claims, LMI has developed innovative and useful tools to assist brokers and insurers alike.

LMI has produced a range of innovative online products which serve to improve the failure rate of businesses following a major loss. All of LMI’s activities rely on continuous research and market feedback mechanism. Their products are continually updated with new information which is linked directly to LMI Group’s claims management system allowing data and lessons learned during actual claims handling to automatically populate the products.

The judges were impressed with LMI’s investment in innovation to assist the industry’s understanding and comparison of insurance policies. LMI PolicyComparison, produces over 250,000 comparisons each year, with a vast number of brokers and insurers in both the Australian and New Zealand markets subscribing to this service.

The judges also cited LMI’s business interruption calculator which provides training and a smart-form calculator to assist insurance advisers and their clients in understanding business interruption insurance and setting the correct sum insured.

After 3 years of development, LMI Group released LMI RiskCoach to the market in 2009. This service is designed to provide risk management underwriting information relevant to industries in both Australia and New Zealand. Over 5,000 brokers and underwriters are currently using this service, with very positive feedback.

The judges also cited the development of iPhone and smartphone applications, including an Under-insurance Calculator, developed for the Australian and New Zealand industries.”

The award was accepted by LMI Group’s Managing Director, Dr Allan Manning who thanked his team which he described as the most diverse group of individuals imaginable who nonetheless had several attributes in common: a wealth of knowledge; a great desire to continue learning; a detest for mediocrity; and a passion for the insurance profession.

After thanking his entire team and his wife Helen, he said that there is only one thing that would make him equally happy as winning the ANZIIF Insurance Industry Award and that would be the removal of Fire Service Levies on insurance.