Basic HTML Version
Calliden Fire Agency Boss in
dispute over strategy
Australia
Sue Hutchinson, National Manager of
underwriting agency Mansions of Australia, has
been fired by the agency’s owner Calliden in a
dispute over the agency’s future direction.
The dismissal brings to a head an inter-
nal dispute over Calliden’s desire to change the
wording of the Mansions product.
Ms Hutchinson told insuranceNEWS.
com.au she ended up conflicted between her
role as a Calliden employee and her professional
relationship with Kiln, the lead underwriter at
Lloyd’s of the Mansions product.
Calliden acquired Mansions last year
when it purchased Australian Unity’s general
insurance business. Mr Hooton, Caliden’s market-
ing director, says research has shown the Mansions
market niche is “increasingly competitive”.
“We feel it’s lost its way and what it stands
for,” he said.
Ms Hutchinson had run the Mansions
operation since 2002, and says Calliden “wants
to make money from sales commission with no
apparent consideration for the underwriting
results” – a situation she says doesn’t take into
consideration the agency’s long-standing
relationship with the Lloyd’s underwriter.
“I’m not going to sell my reputation down
the river,” she said.
Lloyd’s Representative in Australia Keith
Stern says Lloyd’s is aware of the situation. “There
have been difficulties over this for some time,” he
said. “It has been brought to the attention of the
underwriter at Lloyd’s.”
-From insurancenews.com.au, August 2008
AIG posts $US5 billion loss
United States
Shares in American International Group
(AIG), the world’s largest insurance firm have
fallen 18% to $23.84, their biggest fall in more
than two decades.
It had reported another quarterly loss as prof-
its were wiped out by writedowns on mortgage-
related investments.
In the April to June period it incurred a
net loss of $5.36bn (£2.75bn) against a profit of
$4.28bn a year ago.
AIG sacked chief executive Martin Sullivan
in June and replaced him with ex-Citigroup bank-
er Robert Willumstad.
Mr Willumstad blamed the poor housing
and credit markets for AIG’s troubles.
-From insurancenews.com.au, August 2008
Broker
Profile
Fred
Allsopp
Fred Allsopp, director of placement,
Insurance Advisernet Australia Pty Ltd. was
awarded Sportscover’s Broker of the Year
for 2007 at the annual Sportscover Broker
Conference held at the Werribee Mansion.
This award is based on a broad range of
criteria including amount of income
generated, the marketing of Sportscover, the
quality of documentation, credit control, use
of the Internet and quality of business.
As well as being a standout broker, Fred
is a champion ten-pin bowler. His trophy
case is bursting with accolades. Fred was
a member of the Australian All Star Team
eight times. He was included in the 1980
Team of the Decade. He represented New
South Wales an impressive 18 times in the
National Championships. He came in
fourth in the 1998 World Cup, competed
in the Asian Games three times, two World
Championships and won the Australian
Championship twice.
On top of this stellar athletic career,
Fred has a wife and daughter and found
time to share some insights with us in the
inaugural issue of Touchline.
Can you describe your pathway into the
insurance broking business?
I became a broker by accident. I started with
Royal Insurance and then CU Insurance before
joining Stewart Wrightson Insurance Brokers. I
have been with Insurance Advisernet since the
company was started in 1996. Prior to this I
was at IPG/AIBA Group.
What are your particular areas of interest
or speciality in the insurance business?
Whilst I have a leaning toward the hospitality
industry, I view myself as a general commercial
insurance broker. This I believe makes insurance
broking so interesting. You are able to move
across many industry groups and not pigeon hole
yourself in one particular area.
What are some of the biggest or most
interesting deals you have worked on in
the last few years?
Sometimes the biggest are not always the most
interesting. Reworking a small business operators
insurance program to provide cover they needed
and didn’t have or achieving a good result for
a client on a claim can be just as rewarding as
securing a “deal”.
I have found working with Sportscover
satisfying in their commitment to work with
me to achieve good results for clients. They
encourage open, two-way discussions and
are approachable to discuss claims and
underwriting matters. Sportscover is always
willing to consider matters, especially now with
their Active Underwriting options.
What do you feel are important issues
for the industry at the moment?
From a broker’s perspective, in no particular
order: distribution of products via direct
marketing / insurers; consolidation of the
insurers; ongoing costs of compliance; and
keeping quality staff and succession planning.
Do you have any tips for success or a
motto or individual you find inspiring?
Some might say my motto is “Just Do It”,
but I don’t really have one. I have been very
fortunate over my broking career to work with
some very inspiring and knowledgeable people. At
Stewart Wrightson I was lucky to have such
people as Ken Prowse, Robert Chambers and
Robert Gallop to guide me in my early days of
broking. More recently, I have had the great
privilege to work with Ian Carr and be part
of a talented and motivated team that has
grown and continues to develop. Insurance
Advisernet started from a zero base in 1996
to over $200m in premium transactions
and 55,000 clients.
2007 Sportscover Broker of the
Year Fred Allsopp at
the 2007 Sportscover International
Brokers Conference, Werribee
Victoria, Australia
12