Dean Kennedy, an account manager in wholesale construction placements at Cruden Read, is one of Insurance Business Australia's (IB) Elite Brokers for 2023.
Kennedy has over 15 years of industry experience, focusing on construction and hard-to-place liability risks.
Kennedy entered the insurance broking industry across all lines and then moved to wholesale broking and underwriting. Before joining Cruden Read, he was a Lloyd's of London coverholder at an underwriting agency and worked at suburban and large international broking houses in various servicing and placement roles.
From 2017 to 2020, he was a liability and construction underwriter at Quanta; from 2010 to 2015, he was a corporate and construction broker and a founding member at Willis Young Professionals; and from 2007 to 2010, he was an account executive, SME and midmarket accounts, at Aon.
“Making the decision to specialise in construction and engineering was one of the best decisions I have made in my career,” Kennedy said. “Fulfilling one area of the market means I need to have a deeper knowledge of the industry to stand out from the competition, which ensures I am achieving the best possible solution for our clients.
“There are so many classes of Insurance out there; it is difficult to be an expert across all lines and occupations.”
Kennedy has a proven track record of thinking outside the box and finding solutions for the insurance needs of clients – from specialty trades and SME businesses to large corporate accounts and everything in between. His combined broking/underwriting experience has been instrumental in achieving superior results, including placement solutions on the more challenging risks, through appropriate carrier selection.
Kennedy has faced various challenges while working in the insurance industry for over a decade.
For example, shortly after joining Cruden Read in 2020, he had to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic and hardening market conditions in the construction industry.
“These challenges meant I was not able to meet brokers face to face, and it created extra work collecting additional underwriting information to make Insurers comfortable with a new risk during a time when markets were being conservative. The hard market conditions have continued; however, we are still managing to offer competitive solutions,” Kennedy said.
Learn more about Kennedy and the rest of Australia's top brokers this year by reading the IB Elite Brokers 2023 report.
