AUB Group and IBNA have mutually decided to end their AIMS joint venture relationship, due to their diverging requirements on the future direction of the partnership.
Established in 2007, AIMS is a joint venture between AUB Group’s equity-based Australian insurance broker network, Austbrokers, and non-equity insurance broker network IBNA to source capacity and offerings, working for the collective benefit of all its broker members.
“When AIMS was established, it was ahead of its time and has since served Austbrokers and IBNA for mutual benefit and I’d like to thank IBNA for their continued support throughout the joint venture,” said Mike Emmett, CEO and managing director of AUB Group. “We believe the interests of our partners will be better served through increased control and direct collaborative engagement with insurance carriers allowing us to negotiate greater flexibility and innovation in product design.”
Under a new arrangement, AUB Group will directly negotiate and deliver market-leading offerings that meet the specific needs of its client portfolio, allowing the group to better leverage its scale, footprint, expertise, and specialty capabilities to negotiate similar or better terms from existing and new carrier partners, with an opportunity to enhance run-rate earnings in the future.
“For the past 12 years AIMS has been a wonderful construct, serving the interests of IBNA and Austbrokers members and their clients,” said Gary Gribbin, IBNA chairman. “But now is the right time to move forward in a different direction, one which will secure the strategic position of IBNA members and will provide appropriate support for their businesses and their clients. I offer sincere thanks to Austbrokers and AUB Group and of course wish them well in the future.”
