IAG backs intermediated unit to ride out soft market
IAG says its Intermediated Insurance Australia division has the right mix of business to manage the soft commercial market.
“It’s a challenging environment, but if I put that in context of our portfolio … we feel that balance will enable us to manage through the challenges we see in specific segments,” the division’s CEO Jarrod Hill said. “We have strong, reputable brands in CGU and WFI, diverse portfolios and channels to market, not all of which are as exposed to the cycle to the same extent.
“And in 2025 we were very deliberate in taking cost out of the business and restructuring around a functional model to drive operational efficiency, and that will be fully enabled with AI.”
Mr Hill says the major account segment is “highly competitive at the moment, heavily influenced by global capacity. That’s by far and away the smallest segment of our business.”
Major accounts make up about 10% of IIA’s gross written premium. In FY25, IIA made an insurance profit of $328 million.
Mr Hill says the middle market segment is “less dynamic in pricing, [has] less international capital flows in there. We’ve still got SME, agri, personal lines that we’re still getting rate in.
“What we will see, though, is potentially growth will slow, and we’ve already seen that as we have to make decisions to step away from business that we feel is too impactful to margins.”
IAG held its investor day this week, setting out targets through to 2030. IIA is aiming for an insurance margin of 13% or better.
“We’ve set ambitious targets for 2030,” Mr Hill said. “Growth here is intentional and targeted. Across the industry, expectations are moving quickly from customers and brokers. They’re looking for speed, consistency and relevance, not just price, and that’s shifting the basis of competition.
“At the same time, technology, particularly AI, is reshaping how we price risk, select business and serve customers, and that’s right across the value chain.”
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