The Steadfast Network is Australasia’s largest network of brokers and underwriting agencies. But what are the benefits of joining it? Colin Fagen (pictured), is managing director of the underwriting agency Blue Zebra Insurance (BZI). In late June, Fagen’s agency went live on the Steadfast client trading platform (SCTP) for personal lines.
“We’ve picked up in excess of 50 new relationships, Steadfast brokers, and we’ve seen extremely good conversion rates on our quotes and it’s building the business well,” Fagen said.
BZI has done more than $2.5 million worth of business over the network in just over a month.
“It’s a little bit stronger than we were anticipating,” said Fagen.
He said he’s very happy with the conversion rates and they’re meeting both his and Steadfast’s expectations. The aim, said Fagen, was to strike that balance between converting enough policies and charging enough for premiums.
“It means you should be stable in your underwriting and your pricing which is what everybody wants,” he said.
Fagen offered some insights into why the platform is effective.
“The platform is efficient because it hooks into broking systems well and works efficiently giving them time to concentrate on their advice to customers and marketing activities more than spending time just getting quotations,” he said.
From Steadfast’s perspective, BZI’s participation increases the presence of underwriters on the platform.
“They were looking to expand the number of underwriters that they use on their personal lines platforms, and we very much have the right product offering and the right experience to help grow their personalised portfolios,” said Fagen.
He sees Steadfast as a tool to compete against the direct market and help brokers cross sell, usually from their commercial clients, to the personal lines offerings for those clients.
According to the Steadfast website, the network has more than 450 general insurance brokerages across Australasia. Brokers in the network can access more than 160 products and services allowing them to better focus on their clients’ insurance and risk management needs. The company says benefits from joining their network include improved policy wordings, broker services and access to Steadfast’s technology and triage support for challenging claims.
AUB Group is another major broker and underwriting agencies network in Australasia. AUB’s members operate from 450 locations across Australia and New Zealand. In December last year, AUB increased the number of underwriters across its own network by acquiring 360 Underwriting Solutions.
“360 Underwriting Solutions is highly regarded for its underwriting expertise and insurance servicing capabilities in the Australian market,” said AUB Group managing director Mike Emmett at the time of the acquisition.
