Insurance House has announced the acquisition of two brokerage firms based in New South Wales.
Tamworth-based Insurance Hub and Port Macquarie-based Insurance House 360 (IH360) have joined the national firm, effective July 1.
The acquisitions come as the firm looks to up its presence in regional Australia.
Jim Karafilis, head of regional & rural, Insurance House, said that the businesses fit well with the national brokerage.
“This complements our vision to become the leading brokerage in the marketplace, with a specialty in the agricultural sector,” Karafilis said.
“We’re are somewhat going against the grain – a number of companies are retracting from rural and regional areas, while Insurance House is committed to engaging better with our customers by providing a specialist local and personalised service for our customers.”
Karafilis said that the “highly complementary” acquisitions will allow the two regional firms to provide a broader range of products and services to clients.
Scott Leis, director IH360, will step into the role of head of metro broking and join the Insurance House leadership team and said that the deal will allow the firm to invest in the business and its staff.
“We will have greater buying power and access to a wider and more robust range of services that we couldn’t offer previously as a small brokerage,” Leis said.
“Going forward, we’re looking to provide a more timely and efficient service to our customers, to help them actively engage with their insurance.”
Staff numbers are set to double in the Tamworth region as the deal provides a bigger footprint for the firm.
Garron Pannan, director of Insurance Hub, said that the pooling of resources and expertise, alongside support from Insurance House Melbourne head office, will benefit clients.
“For our existing clients, it means that we will have increased buying power resulting in opportunities for competitive pricing,” Pannan said.
“The streamlining of business functions also allows us an easier pathway to offer high quality service and access to experts in specialist areas that were previously unavailable to the business.”
The acquired businesses will fall under the rural broking division of Insurance House and follow the acquisition of Innovative Insurance Brokers, based in Wagga, in April.
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