ALANNA LOWE: Well, I think there's a very broad overview. We saw a bit of an easing in the market last year. So that was creating a positive impact on capacity effectively. So expectations are we're probably going to see that trend continue for 2025.
TRENT WILLIAMS: Yeah. Good, good. And clients? Some much-needed relief in New Zealand? How do you see the year for clients? What should they expect?
ALANNA LOWE: Absolutely. Well, look, basically, the additional competition has meant that insurers here, they're still looking to grow, but they can't do it through the means that they had in previous years, which has really been rate increases.
TRENT WILLIAMS: Yeah.
ALANNA LOWE: So they're really looking-- we started to see them look at writing business in areas where they may not have done so previously.
TRENT WILLIAMS: OK.
ALANNA LOWE: And simplistically, the increased capacity and competition in the market really turning it into a buyer's market, so we're expecting to see our clients benefit from that this year.
TRENT WILLIAMS: Fantastic. That's great. Talk to me about some of the challenges that clients might be facing in the year ahead.
ALANNA LOWE: Even though that sounded very positive, there's always going to be challenge areas. There's some appetite for certain occupations or risk profiles. We're talking recycling, EPS risks, oil and gas, and that really is around insurers' ESG stance.
TRENT WILLIAMS: Yeah.
ALANNA LOWE: And then we've got regions like Wellington where there's a high natural catastrophe exposure.
TRENT WILLIAMS: Sure.
ALANNA LOWE: They're always going to be limited in terms of the appetite there. In addition to that, New Zealand market is finite. We're not the biggest market in the world, and we don't always have the capacity available for some of those large and complex risks to place it fully in the local market. So maintaining access to those offshore markets is really going to be essential.
TRENT WILLIAMS: Engagement is key, yeah. So talk to me, how can we help clients navigate their way through the year ahead?
ALANNA LOWE: So I think what you see is that people can get a little bit complacent as the market eases. But the quality of market submissions is just as important as it's always been. I think having a broker that has a deep understanding of your business and your operations and what your future risks are is going to be crucial.
TRENT WILLIAMS: Yeah.
ALANNA LOWE: You need to basically make sure that the market is getting a full understanding of what your business is and your risks so that there's no negative assumptions around that which could impact negatively on terms that are offered. I think also for clients with complex risks-- there's larger clients as well-- utilizing our risk and analytics tools and expertise is going to be key. It will really help our clients understand and be able to view the risks that they face and quantify what they can actually hold themselves as opposed to transfer within the market.
Our ultimate goal is to work with our clients so that we can reposition them in the market to go from buyers of insurance to sellers of risk.
TRENT WILLIAMS: Yeah, great advice. Thank you.
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