Josh Ryan (pictured), the managing director of Queensland-based insurance broker Hunter Broking Group, has added GPC Insurance managing partner to his credentials. Here he shares how the new insurance arm came to life and why the partnership with finance broker Growth Point Capital “made sense”.
“One of my larger clients is a civil contractor, and I’ve looked after them for many years,” Ryan told Insurance Business. “I went to visit them one day, and I noticed that they’ve changed finance brokerages – which is quite a big deal, especially for a big company, because it’s similar to an insurance broker where you really service the client and look after them and generally keep them for a long time.”
The broking boss recalled: “[The client] explained to me that he’d formed a new connection and that he was really liking their service. He said to me, ‘Oh, you should catch up with this company, because they’re very similar in how you service clients and how you treat your businesses’, and those sorts of things. [We’re] very similar in terms of service, morals, ethics, and how we conduct our work, so I organised a meeting with David Schuh from Growth Point Capital, and we got along really well.
“Growth Point Capital is a commercial finance brokerage. They specialise in commercial finance, property finance, and development finance. The relationship was formed and we created an insurance arm, which is designed to look after Growth Point Capital clients. We’ve got mutual clients now, and it just works because the same service that the client was receiving from Growth Point Capital for finance, they’re now receiving for insurance as well.”
Growth Point Capital clients, however, aren’t obliged to move to GPC Insurance for their insurance broking needs. Ryan explained that the insurance entity – also an authorised representative of PSC Connect, just like Hunter Broking Group – was set up as an additional service offering of Growth Point Capital.
“The focus,” said the broking boss, “is to try and identify opportunities where clients aren’t happy with their cover or service. A part of our training to the team was to highlight that if someone’s happy with what they’re receiving and they feel confident with what they’ve got, we don’t want to take them away from that, because those sorts of things may disrupt the relationship with the finance side. So, [GPC Insurance] is there to help and be an option.”
Currently, GPC Insurance has four clients from Growth Point Capital – clients that Ryan believes are “really enjoying” dealing with two companies that operate the same way.
“Generally, the finance and the insurance [sides] talk to each other,” he told Insurance Business. “It’s providing the actual solution for the clients more efficiently. And it’s nice to form a relationship with another business that does things really well and is just driven and enthusiastic like we are. It feels like you’re partnering and doing business with yourself.
“It’s unique. You don’t often come across that, so it made sense. And I’ve got a bit of a background in developing insurance brokerages for finance brokerages. I spent some time at Moody Kiddell & Partners, which is a combined finance and insurance brokerage, and I started the Queensland insurance office for them and developed that.”
On setting up insurance arms for finance brokers, Ryan said: “There’s a fair bit to it, because the industries are quite different. So, there’s a lot of training and guidance required so that the finance side understands exactly how the insurance side works and how they’re different, what our challenges are and how to make it work, and just sort of communicating really well.”
According to Ryan, the first thing they did was put together a presentation for all the finance brokers about the ‘ins and outs’ of the insurance broking industry and what to expect. The same information, he said, will be presented to any new addition to the Growth Point Capital team.
The managing partner added: “It’s interesting, because I didn’t look for this opportunity. But as most things happen, you just meet the right people and then things just develop naturally. And it’s a really good opportunity to both help each other out.
“We (Ryan and Schuh) are equal shareholders in the business. There’s never a need to be greedy. It’s a partnership and we’re doing it together. It’s something to work towards and look forward to; it’s not something that I try and control the whole thing or retain ownership of the whole thing. It’s only fair, because they’re working hard to build their own insurance division as well.”
At present, Ryan is looking for either an account manager or senior account manager, whose remit will span a small book under Hunter Broking Group as well as assisting with GPC Insurance. The latter began operating in September.
“We do typically overstaff to make sure that we’ve always got enough time for opportunities,” stated Ryan, who is also a partner at Blake Life and Risk. “We always have capacity.
“The reason it was so important to do the training with the finance brokers was because once they understand our industry and our turnaround times and what to expect, it is an easy transition for them dealing with us. Those turnaround times and the level of service are what we monitor. If that ever changed, we would make sure that we’ve employed so that we could stay on top of it.”
The busy broker, who said he learned a lot while establishing GPC Insurance, is excited about building relationships and getting more involved in certain sectors via the new venture.
He told Insurance Business: “It’s quite exciting because not only do I get to meet their clients, but I get to start forming relationships with their finance brokers as well. The other part is, because they’re heavily involved in agriculture and construction and development, I get to see a lot more of those risks and exposures. Particularly commercial property development, that’s an industry that I’ve started to move heavily towards, so it’s a good opportunity for me to do more of that.
“Growth Point Capital is a phenomenal business – they are service-driven and service-orientated. And I can see it because I’ve dealt with many finance brokers. So, it’s refreshing to deal with them, and it makes my job a bit more enjoyable because they’re so enthusiastic about what they’re doing.”
