It was back in September 2020 when Toowoomba-based Pivot Insurance entered the Australian broking market with the help of authorised representative network Insurance Advisernet. Now, six months later, principal Dave Turner (pictured) can’t believe he’s been with his own brokerage for half a year already.
“That’s incredible,” the Aon alumnus told Insurance Business when reminded of the timeframe. As for how things have been since setting up shop, “great” was how Turner described the past six months.
He noted: “Things are going well. It’s still a bit different with not having major conferences and catch-ups, but business-wise it’s been really, really good.”
Unlike most other businesses, Pivot Insurance has not had to implement a work-from-home arrangement, and Turner appreciates the fact that he is able to either work from his office in Toowoomba or meet with clients face to face.
“It certainly helps me coming into the office and being at work, whether I’m in the office or on the road,” he said. “I think it makes a difference for myself.
“Certainly, locally we’re OK. We’re getting out and meeting with clients and things like that. It’s more the interstate stuff that stopped and the big gatherings.”
In Turner’s neck of the woods in relatively remote South West Queensland, they are able to “get in front of people” and try to keep things as normal as possible. That isn’t to say, though, that tools like online courses and webinars have not proven helpful in the interim.
“That’s quite a big part in keeping people connected,” said Turner, referring to virtual events like those held by Insurance Advisernet around professional development. “It’d be very difficult if we weren’t able to stay connected that way.
“It will be quite easy to sort of lose touch with everybody, so it’s been good keeping us up to speed and keeping those lines of communication open with insurers and underwriters across all markets.”
Meanwhile, moving forward, Pivot Insurance will remain predominantly focussed on rural insurance without shunning other lines of business.
Turner shared: “It’s surprised me – the variety of work that I’ve seen come in over the last six months, which is good. But there’s still a big focus on farming and agriculture.
“At this stage, there’s nothing that I’m not looking at; it’s very much general broking at the moment. But actively, if I’m going to look, it will be in the spaces that I know I add significant value, which is farming and agricultural. And the other stuff that finds me, I’m certainly more than happy to do it as well.”
Currently it’s just Turner manning the business, but there are plans to add people onboard in the near term. “With the way we’re going, hopefully we’ll be looking for some help soon,” he told Insurance Business. “I can’t believe it’s been six months, actually.”
