10 Oct PAVING THE WAY: THE FOUNDING OF GT
I have worked in the insurance industry since 1961, starting at the age of 15. I founded Australian European Insurance Brokers Pty Ltd (AEI) in 1983 with my business partners Peter Gorrie and Stephen Bennett. AEI grew into a large Australian owned brokerage and during our growth period we became extensively involved with heavy and commercial motor and bus & coach business through our associations in these industries. By 1995 our business in these areas had grown to such an extent it led us to consider starting a heavy/commercial underwriting agency which could assist clients in our broking business.
To approach an underwriter to become our security we needed to demonstrate that the agency would be independent of our brokerage business and that we had the qualified personnel to run and manage the business. This led us to approach Peter Rogl who was highly regarded as a heavy motor underwriter with Mercantile Mutual and also Wayne Parrott who was Lumley’s Motor Claims Manager. The approach for security was made to both Suncorp and Lumley on a 60/40 basis and by mid-1996 after Peter had completed developing our policy wordings, claims procedures and assisting with the agency agreement etc, Global Motor Underwriting Agency (Global) was formed with Peter as the Underwriting and General Manager.
In 1999 Lumley decided to leave the agency and an approach was made to Terry Towell, Managing Director of Allianz Australia, where they agreed to take up the option of Lumley’s 40% share of the security. To the best of my recollection, it was in 2001/2002 that Allianz Australia took over 100% of the security in Global and at that time Peter continued to carefully manage the business growing it successfully.
In early 2006 Global’s Brisbane branch operation commenced under the guidance of Chris Kindred and Tony Dodd – this was an immediate success adding significantly to the overall Gross Written Premium (GWP).
In June 2005 I was approached by Terry Towell with a proposal that at first I thought he was having me on, so to speak; the proposal was for Allianz Australia to not only be the security but to take a financial position in Global and in addition they would pass over all their heavy motor business Australia wide for us to grow and manage. To say the least this was a very exciting moment in our history. In all my years in the insurance industry I’d never known any Insurer to pass over a portfolio for someone to manage on their behalf, something you would hope for but never expect.
The arrangement was that I would run the business under my direction with the condition that I gave a commitment to stay for at least five years and in doing so they would give me a “put and call” option as a way out if I wanted to at the expiration of the five year term. Between June and December 2005, I was involved in the legal contracts with David Krawitz who was at the time consulting with Allianz, and from January 2006 Glenn Lambert took over from David and all contracts and agency agreements including the name change to Global Transport & Automotive Insurance Solutions Pty Ltd, were completed by end of June 2006. 15th July was the commencement of the transition of Allianz business to Global. At the beginning of the transition of Allianz motor business Global was approximately $21M GWP and by the time I departed after 6 years the GWP had grown to $164M (this included $12M of CTP business which came out of the GWP when Glenn took over the operation). I’m very proud of this achievement and the fact that during my time we were able to deliver not only growth, but also operational and underwriting profits that met our partners expectations. The huge growth was due to the expansion into all states (except Tasmania) and regional areas such as Darwin, Albury, Townsville and Newcastle.
As much as Global was a huge and exciting time in my life, by 2011I had come to the point where I felt I could not add anything more to its growth and development. It was time to plan for what came next and that meant a new leader who could spearhead a new era.
I had formed a strong relationship with Glenn Lambert during his tenure at Allianz and continued that when he moved to Austbrokers. Having had regular meetings with Glenn over several years it became clear to me that he would be the perfect choice as my replacement due to his integrity, people skills and strong service ethics. I had no hesitation in recommending him to Terry Towell.
Glenn has now passed the leadership on to Tony Dodd and, like me, he looked for someone who understands that elements of the business need to effectively function together and is also a passionate advocate for product, service and the industry. Tony is an excellent choice and has been with Global since 2006.
I believe some of the most important things all insurance professionals must keep top of mind are know your people, market, product and costs. GT has always prided itself on being close to all its stakeholders and treating everyone with the utmost fairness and giving the best service experience in the industry. I know this will continue and drive an even brighter future.
“My thanks to everyone who has joined me on this adventure, and I wish you all many more years of success.”
NICK ZISSIS