Meet our team: Nikki Marriott

  Corporate Solutions

We sat down with Nikki Marriott, TAL’s Senior Manager, Employer Solutions, to talk about what employers and brokers really need from an insurer, and how the corporate group insurance market is shifting toward partnership over product. 

Tell us about your career and what brought you to TAL. 

I’ve spent over 25 years in financial services, across corporate superannuation, group insurance, employee benefits, financial advice, consulting and relationship management. That range has shown me the sector from a lot of angles, particularly the role brokers and insurers play in helping employers deliver better outcomes for their people. 

Before TAL, I led the corporate super and group insurance business of a large integrated advisory firm, working with employers to design benefits strategies that were both commercially sustainable and valued by employees. I joined TAL in 2021 to focus on large-scale partnerships and the impact of group insurance at scale, providing millions of Australians with accessible, affordable cover. Today I’m responsible for the end-to-end success of TAL’s Corporate business, from proposition development through to partnership delivery and growth.

What has working in partnerships taught you about what employers actually need from their insurer?

Employers experience insurance through their broker, so what they value most is how easily a broker can represent and deliver the proposition. When I think about what employers need, I’m really thinking about what makes a broker’s job easier. 

It comes down to simplicity, a proposition that’s easy to explain and easy to place; consistency, especially in claims, where service either builds the broker’s credibility with their client or undermines it; and trust, confidence we’ll follow through on what we commit to, backed by the governance that lets both broker and employer meet their obligations in a complex regulatory environment. Get those right and the practical support follows: the insights, wellbeing tools and communication materials a broker can bring into their client relationships. 

TAL's corporate value proposition is built around 'Partnership beyond Protection'. What does that look like day to day?

Brokers and employers aren’t just looking for protection. They want partners who help them proactively support a workforce and deliver better outcomes that ultimately shape healthier futures for working Australians. Product and pricing alone don’t create that kind of lasting value. 

So where we differentiate is how we partner. In practice it’s what a broker can take to a client: claims management that’s fast, fair and consistent and a health and wellbeing proposition that supports earlier intervention and recovery alongside tools for healthy living.  

The proof is in what that partnership delivers. Last year, 74% of the claims we paid were living benefits, supporting people recovering from illness or injury rather than leaving the workforce, and our recovery programs achieved an 80% success rate in returning people to health and work.¹ It's why a broker can tell a client that this cover doesn't just pay out when something goes wrong, it actively helps their people get back to the life they love.  

That partnership is also backed by real scale. We’re Australia’s largest life insurer, supporting around five million Australians with global backing from Dai-ichi Life. But scale is the enabler, not the value. The value is what it lets a broker do: walk into a client review already holding the claims trends and emerging risks worth discussing. 

You've spent the past year building TAL's Corporate proposition. What have you learned about what brokers and employers want?

What's become really clear is that employers experience insurance through their broker, so the quality of that broker relationship shapes the whole experience for the employer and their people. What employers value most is confidence. It’s knowing their people will be looked after when it matters, and that the cover is genuinely supporting a healthier, more productive workforce. When we make a broker's job simpler, faster and better supported, that shows up directly in the service employers and their people receive. 

Much of the past year has gone into exactly that: getting the product right, communicating clearly, delivering consistently, and providing the insights and tools that lead to better client conversations. When those things come together, a broker can represent TAL as a genuine extension of their own offering. That's the part I'm most proud of building.

Looking ahead, what will set great life insurers apart in employee benefits over the next few years?

What will matter most is genuine partnership capability, insurers who actually enable a broker to deliver more value rather than just hand over a product and a price. That means moving beyond protection toward proactive support: prevention, healthy living, earlier intervention and wellbeing programs that help keep a workforce well, not just pay claims when things go wrong. 

Underpinning all of it is ease of doing business, clear service models, strong digital capability and transparent communication, backed by the governance and trust that brokers and employers rely on. The insurers who succeed will be the ones who combine these and balance long-term sustainability with genuinely better experiences for employers and their people.