AustralianSuper’s landmark group insurance deal will be the elephant in the room at the upcoming AIST Insurance Symposium, but it’s sure to get a mention as all its major players will be attending the event, for which registrations have just opened.

The big fund’s general manager of insurance, Noel Lacey, will join a panel discussing how group insurers attempt to differentiate themselves. Among others, Tower Australia’s head of group life Andrew Boldeman will also be on that panel, and no doubt the $200 million a year deal with AustralianSuper, which will see Tower add 30 people and open a Melbourne office, will get some airtime.

A separate panel discussing pricing trends in group insurance will hear from Jeff Humphrey of cHr Consulting, who along with Aon and IFS Insurance Broking was a consultant on the AustralianSuper insurance tender.

Those sessions are just part of a comprehensive one-day program, which will also discuss the role of group insurance in better public policy (via a session featuring ACTU president Sharan Burrow), state-of-the-art benefit design, the sometimes prickly relationship between group insurance and financial planning, and amongst others, a primer on better claims management from a woman at the frontline when claims go awry – Super Complaints Tribunal chair, Jocelyn Furlan.

The AIST Insurance Symposium will be held at Melbourne’s Sofitel on Collins on Wednesday, October 28.

For more program and registration information, go to www.aist.asn.au and follow the ‘Events’ tab.