Headquarters address: 266 George St L 28, Brisbane, Queensland, 4000, Australia
Year established: 2003
Size (number of employees): 600+
Areas served: Australia and New Zealand
Parent company: Suncorp
Underwriting expertise: Commercial insurance
Key people: Michael Miller, Group CEO Commercial & Personal Injury Insurance
Vero provides a range of commercial insurance to all types of businesses, from SMEs to larger corporations. Its portfolio of products includes small business insurance, professional liability insurance, surety bonds, motor fleet insurance, workers’ compensation, property insurance, and equipment breakdown insurance. It also offers coverage for recreational vehicles.
Vero offers its products exclusively through insurance brokers and authorised agents. It works closely with brokers and relies on their specialist advice to meet the varied needs of its clients.
Vero is a specialist provider of business insurance and one of the largest insurers in Australia. It traces its roots back to 1833, when UK-based Alliance Assurance established an office in Australia. Following a series of mergers over the decades, Sun Alliance Insurance and Royal Insurance merged to form Royal & SunAlliance (RSA) in 1992.
In 2003, Royal & SunAlliance announced a reorganisation in the Australia and New Zealand markets, changing its name to Promina. The general insurance business subsequently changed its name to Vero. It is currently part of the Suncorp Group, which is a major player in the Australian insurance industry.
Today, Vero provides commercial insurance and business packages for business from small to large across Australia, as well as professional and financial risks insurance, and workers’ compensation through GIO.
Vero has a long-standing association with sports. In 2011, it took over parent company Suncorp’s sponsorship of the Australian Rugby Union as well as the Wallabies national rugby team. The sponsorship came before that year’s World Cup competition in New Zealand. It featured the Wallabies in several of its advertising campaigns.
The insurer has also sponsored the Brisbane Lions Australian rules football club. It began the sponsorship in 2012 as sponsor of the coaching group, before becoming a major partner in 2013 to 2016. It then extended the sponsorship for two years as co-major partner, until the contract ended in 2018.
On the insurance and risk management fronts, Vero and sister firm GIO have hosted the RM Advancer awards since 2005. The awards recognise the strong risk practices of companies and organisations from across Australia and seek to inspire improvement in the risk management culture in the market. In the most recent edition, Rapid Plas, Aurizon, Collins Foods, and AKD Softwoods were the recipients of the awards.
Vero was also the strategic underwriting partner of the Underwriting Agencies Council (UAC) from 2011 until 2016. It was succeeded by QBE after Vero decided not to continue the partnership following a review of its sponsorships.
In February 2019, following flooding in Northern Queensland, Vero’s parent group Suncorp donated $200,000 to the Australian Red Cross to provide “flexible finance options” for residents that were affected by the harsh weather.
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