Young Insurance Rising Stars 2025 for Asia-Pacific
The 2025 Rising Stars list from Insurance Business honors 35 insurance professionals under 35 across Australia, New Zealand and Asia, selected from hundreds of nominations. The top young insurance professionals in the region were chosen based on achievements, career goals and leadership impact, with an editorial review process that weighed hard work and emotional intelligence as the most important traits for rapid career growth.
Nearly every participant in the survey ranked those two qualities as “very important.” Industry knowledge followed, while a relevant degree carried only moderate weight. Longevity with one employer and formal management training ranked lowest. The results suggest the profession now prizes adaptability and consistent effort over traditional markers like tenure or titles.
Jean-Pierre Hung, managing director at LMA Recruitment, said the demand for professionals who combine technical expertise with regulatory insight and digital agility continues to rise. “The insurance sector in Asia-Pacific is undergoing one of its biggest transformations in decades, driven by digitalisation, AI adoption and a sharper focus on ESG and customer experience,” he noted. He added that leaders like the Rising Stars act as catalysts for change, bridging legacy systems with AI-driven models.
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Katherine Wilson, CEO of the Insurance Brokers Association of New Zealand (IBANZ), said the best young brokers bring together technical and soft skills in equal measure. “The strongest up-and-coming brokers are great listeners with a genuine sense of curiosity. They take the time to understand clients deeply and become true advocates,” she explained.
The Asia-Pacific life and non-life insurance market is valued at about US$2 trillion in 2025 and is projected to reach US$2.59 trillion by 2030. Rising middle-class incomes in India, Indonesia and Vietnam are pushing first-time health and savings policies. Climate-related loss events are forcing carriers to recalibrate risk and launch parametric covers that pay quickly. That broader market shift creates an unusual pressure point for young professionals, who are often expected to innovate with digital tools while being constrained by outdated processes and legacy systems — a tension Hung described directly. Those who succeed, he said, are the ones who stay proactive, take smart risks and build networks rather than waiting for perfect conditions.
Irene Zhu, senior account executive and partner at KeyInsure in Adelaide, helped grow the brokerage from a start-up to a firm writing more than US$4 million in gross written premium with a five-person team. She manages over 1,500 SME and corporate clients while mentoring staff and driving business growth. Zhu delivers bilingual seminars in Mandarin to support multicultural business owners and educates underserved communities on financial literacy. “I came to Australia with my parents about 20 years ago, so I understand what it’s like to be part of a first-generation migrant family trying to work through complex systems,” she said. “Insurance is full of technical wording and long product disclosure statements. Even if you translate them, it’s hard to make sense of what they actually mean.”
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Tom Lima entered New Zealand’s insurance industry in late 2021 with no prior experience. He had worked in supermarkets and real estate while completing his law degree. By 2024, he was the sole support to ICIB’s head of liability during the firm’s merger and was promoted to broker later that year. His legal training helps him interpret policy wordings and build cases for cover when carriers decline. He recalled overturning several decisions, including one worth about six figures, by challenging the interpretation rather than the process.
Wilson, reflecting on the past 12–18 months of rising premiums and economic strain, said young brokers have faced challenging client conversations for the first time in their careers. Her advice: “Be hungry for wisdom. The most successful brokers form long-term business partnerships built on trust, understanding and great service, all of which take time to develop.”
