Bresland Insurance : Everything you need to know

Everything you need to know about Bresland Insurance Group

Bresland Insurance Group, previously known as Bresland Consultants, is a Burswood, WA-based brokerage that was founded in 2010 by Russell Bresland. The company has a stated goal of providing practical insurance solutions for its clients, tailored to their specific needs.

Before he established the insurance brokerage that bears his name, Russell Bresland was director of Hammond Insurance Brokers. He retired and sold that company in 2007, before coming out of retirement to return to the insurance industry by founding Bresland Consultants.

Bresland specialises in insurance products for farmers, not-for-profit organisations, small and medium enterprises (SMEs), as well as many other niche industries across Western Australia.

The company has a long history in the rural sector, with a wide client base of farmers. It brokers various insurance products such as farm property insurance, farm liability insurance, farm motor and machinery insurance, crop insurance, and workers’ compensation for agricultural workers.

Not-for-profit organisations are another major client base for Bresland. While these organisations’ insurance needs have some overlap with commercial companies, such as property damage and workers’ compensation, Bresland offers products that are customised for not-for-profits, due to their unique risks such as volunteer injury and regulatory pressure with a higher duty of care towards vulnerable clients.

As for SMEs, Bresland has relationships with over 50 insurers to provide the most appropriate cover for its clients. These clients include sole traders, subcontractors, retail shops, law offices, and manufacturers. Bresland offers the following covers and more: professional indemnity, directors and officers, cybercrime, and management liability. It is also an expert in contract review for insurance programmes.

Key people as of 2019
Russell Bresland, founder and owner
Russell has more than 44 years of experience in the insurance industry, including broking, underwriting, claims, and executive management. He was awarded Number 1 Elite Broker status by Insurance Business in 2016. He has a substantial portfolio of not-for-profit organisations and serves on the board of a large not-for-profit organisation in the disability sector.

Jaron Bresland, broker
Jaron joined the family business in 2012, and he focuses on the NFP, rural, SME, and franchise insurance sectors in the Perth Metropolitan area, Kimberley, and the WA Wheatbelt. He was part of the Insurance Business Elite Brokers Top 10 list for 2016. Jaron credits his success to Russell’s mentorship, backed by over 40 years of experience in the insurance industry.

Sok Lim, principal
Prior to joining Russell Bresland at Hammond Insurance Brokers, and later at Bresland Consultants, Lim was a banker in a major Japanese bank in Singapore for over 20 years. She runs the office and is described as a driving force behind the scenes for the company.

Culture
According to Bresland Insurance Group, the strength of its relationships with its clients is evident as many have remained with it over generations, some spanning back to Russell’s days with Hammond Insurance Brokers.

Bresland Insurance Group supports different causes in the WA community, including the elderly and farmers. These include Aged & Community Services Western Australia (ACSA WA), Leading Age Services Australia (LASA), Pastoralists and Graziers Association of Western Australia (PGA), WANTFA, and WA Farmers.

Russell Bresland is a board member of Technology Assisting Disability WA, a not-for-profit charity serving elderly people, persons with disability, and their carers.

In 2016, Russell Bresland showed his support for Fresh Start Recovery Programme, a charity that deals with substance addiction, by giving up drinking alcohol for a year. After the year-long abstinence, he organised a ‘drought breaking’ dinner to raise funds for Fresh Start.