And that's really where the Willis Claims Conversation podcast series comes in. More about that in a moment. But first, let me introduce my co-host for this new Willis series, Sarah McPherson. So Sarah, over to you.
SARAH MCPHERSON: Thanks, Neil. I'm certainly happy to be here and take on the co-host role for this series. Just a quick introduction for our listeners, I have been with Willis since 2023 and have the role of head of claims for our Pacific region, which encompasses Australia and New Zealand. I'm based in Melbourne, which, as I often remind Neil, is Australia's greatest city.
NEIL HARRISON: Yeah, thanks, got it. And thanks again for the reminder, which I'm sure has been very well received in Sydney, Brisbane, and a few other places. So maybe we should move on from that point of controversy, Sarah. Our goal with this series is to be technical and topical, technical in the sense that we are going to take some fairly deep dives into important issues, issues that are important for us but more important issues that are important for our clients, and topical because we're going to focus on issues which matter today and which will matter tomorrow-- so a little bit of forward looking thinking.
We're going to be joined in different episodes by other speakers, some from Willis but many from outside of our company, because we do want to provide our listeners with different perspectives. We're going to be showcasing specialists. Because for us, as many of you know, the key to claim resolution and claim service is specialization.
We know that when our clients face a claim situation, they really rightly expect us to bring forward the right expert in the right geography with the right experience at the right time. Claims is certainly not part of the insurance value chain, which can be constrained by geographies, business units, P&Ls, or any other false barriers to engagement. And so for us, technical expertise is certainly not something that can be constrained in that way. When our clients have a claim, our job, the job of all stakeholders across that insurance claims value chain, is to deliver expertise at the right time and to focus on resolution.
SARAH MCPHERSON: That's right, Neil. That's what I'm really looking forward to hosting some of the episodes we have planned. The first one I'll be leading is on PFAS, which is a global topic, really brought into focus in Australia recently with the filing by the federal government of a very large lawsuit against 3M. Along with our guests, I'll be speaking about the claims issues which PFAS is bringing to the fore.
NEIL HARRISON: Yeah, thanks. I'm looking forward to hearing about that. Obviously, read a little bit about it. But I know that with some guests, you're going to really get into a little bit more detail on that broader topic, which, again, certainly a little bit of focus in Australia but globally relevant. So again, looking forward to that one.
One of the episodes I'll be hosting in the near future is on the topic of artificial intelligence. Obviously, you can't have a conversation about anything in our industry today without AI and agentic AI coming up. Everyone's talking about it.
There are lots of opinions about how the claims world will be changed by the use of agentic AI. So again, with some guests, I'm going to challenge some of those opinions a little bit because I think some of the commentary is forgetting a key point. And that is that insurance, at end of the day, is a service industry.
And unless everything we do is done to the benefit of our clients, with our clients, and for our clients, it's of no value. And I do worry a little bit that sometimes the technology conversation gets out in front of that client value conversation. So AI will be one of the first episodes that I'll be hosting myself.
SARAH MCPHERSON: Yeah, I think you're absolutely right, Neil. That topic will be very interesting and a bit controversial. So I'm sure it will generate some thought-provoking feedback.
NEIL HARRISON: Yeah, And that's really what we want. I don't think there's any point in having a conversation unless we get into it a little bit. We don't want to come on these episodes and just talk generically or read poems about how wonderful everything is.
We should challenge some of the commentary that's out there. And we should be prepared to have some debates with our guests. And so we'll definitely be lining up some speakers who bring those different perspectives, different ideas, different opinions, and seeing where those conversations take us.
SARAH MCPHERSON: Right, so PFAS and AI will be our first two episodes. Others will follow on a wide range of corporate, professional, and D&O claims and risk exposures. I know we won't be short of topics.
The great thing about claims is that we don't know what's around the corner. So it's difficult to predict where this series will take us. But what we do know is that claims services and solutions are at the forefront of Willis' client proposition.
And we know can't deliver without partnership with insurers, reinsurers, adjusters, and law firms. Their support in providing expert guests for this series is very much appreciated. They, along with our 1,400 team members, help us to leverage specialization and scale in ways that matter for our clients, with Willis claim service standards underpinning our approach.
NEIL HARRISON: All right. Well, yeah. And so as Sarah has just said, we much appreciate the involvement of some of our business partners and looking forward to that. Thanks in advance to them. Thanks also to you, Sarah, for joining me today for what's very much an introductory episode.
We just wanted to share with everybody the backdrop to the Willis claims conversation. We are looking forward to getting going with these technical sessions very soon. So thanks for listening today and more to come very soon. Thank you.
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