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Earlier this week, Gallagher officially welcomed Roz Shaw into its ranks with the award-winning leader set to serve as the brokerage’s new national head of transport.
Shaw, who made the career switch following a 37-year stint as CEO of Hawkins Road Transport, spoke to Insurance Business about the industry’s biggest risks and how brokers can help.
“The transport sector is a high risk business,” said Brisbane-based Shaw. “It is capital intensive and the risk of incident is always high and often costly.”
However, according to Shaw, succeeding in the transport industry typically comes down to striking the right balance between price and quality.
“Major transport contracts come with high stakes for the operators and the trade-off between running a quality operation and providing a service to a price is like walking a tight rope,” she said. “The evolution of these risks might be in the form of new types of policies and further changes in legislation, but I don’t see the risks going away any time soon.”
It’s for this reason that Shaw says skilled and experienced brokers are invaluable to businesses operating within the transport sector.
“Being in transport, your broker is both your trusted adviser and a partner in your business. They play a central role in the success or failure of your business,” she said. “Like any service industry, you have a mix of good and bad experiences which teach you the pitfalls and also the positives in getting the right broker.”
When asked what inspired her to take the leap into insurance, Shaw said she saw an opportunity to explore an alternative career path and make a real difference to the industry.
“I saw an opportunity for me to work on a two-part strategy – empowering the team by sharing insights into the transport industry and also engaging the client to ensure they understand the role of the broker and how the right one can be the difference between growing and being unprepared to face the challenges ahead,” she said. “At the end of the day, when relationships become partnerships both parties win.”
