Insurance Business Australia (IB) has finalised 25 Elite Brokers who stood out for their resilience in overcoming the unprecedented challenges and hard market conditions of the past year due to the persistence of the COVID-19 pandemic, regulatory changes, and other factors.
As Australia celebrates Women's History Month, let's talk about award-winning Omnisure executive director Retha Van Der Merwe (pictured), named an IB Elite Broker for 2022 and one of IB’s Elite Women for 2021.
Like other IB Elite Brokers this year, Van Der Merwe has been recognised over the years for her leadership skills, outstanding performance at work, and achievements, including 98% client retention, book growth in excess of 20% year on year, two decades of continuous growth as principal of the brokerage, low staff turnover, and even a happy family life.
However, just because she has excellent performance and achievements, that does not mean the last 12 months were a piece of cake.
Reflecting on the past year, Van Der Merwe told Insurance Business: “[This is] probably the hardest market I have traded in during my 37 years as a broker.”
She added: “COVID had a huge effect on how our clients conduct their businesses, and it still has a huge effect, but I think we are slowly but surely moving towards working alongside it and adjusting as we go along.”
Find out more about Van Der Merwe and how Omnisure remained resilient amid an uncertain environment, as well as the rest of the 25 Elite Brokers list, by reading the IB Elite Brokers 2022 report.
