Vero leads young broker 'give-back' expeditions to hard-struck towns

Vero is escorting award-winning young brokers on “give back” community expeditions, raising funds for Australian towns hardest hit by natural catastrophes.

Past and present winners of the Young Professional Broker of the Year award were recently joined by senior Vero representatives in Cobargo, a small community of less than 800 hit hard by devastating bushfire and floods in recent years.

The Road to Cobargo expedition undertaken by winners of the Vero-sponsored NIBA Warren Tickle Memorial Award took place over four days in the southeast NSW town. It had been delayed by covid.

In spring, the next group of state winners will head to Northampton, WA, which is located 480km north of Perth and was hit by tropical cyclone Seroja early last year.

Vero Head of Intermediated Distribution Anthony Pagano tells insuranceNEWS.com.au the expeditions will now feature annually.

“It is one of the highlights of the calendar year, that we can make this influence and change through the efforts of our young brokers, facilitated through our financial support and guidance that we provide through the program,” Mr Pagano said.

The towns are chosen by the young award winners and Vero, which has sponsored the award for over 30 years, contributed around $35,000 of a total $46,000 raised for Cobargo, supporting infrastructure projects, and around 35 other community-led projects focusing on food security, a tool library, bushfire preparedness, environmental restoration and the creative arts, mental and emotional resilience, and more.

The 2022 crop of state finalists, to be selected in coming weeks, will pitch a new community to help – with flood-hit towns in NSW and Queensland likely candidates for the 2023 expedition.

“They will have to work among themselves to decide which is the one to pitch to Vero. It is really driven by the YPs. That is the best part – they drive it and we just facilitate,” he said.

Vero says the Cobargo road trip was a chance to see how the generous funding benefited the local community, and the team of brokers met with Elders of the Yuin nation and helped out with projects, restoring a children’s playground.

“It was such a powerful thing to see where some of our money had gone and was going to be spent in future. Evey dollar counted,” Mr Pagano said.

“We all went into the experience feeling one way and we all left feeling differently, knowing that we actually made a difference.”