Building a business from scratch is difficult whether we are in the midst of a pandemic or not, and running one can be just as challenging. That’s why it helps to learn from someone who has ‘been there, done that’ – and Obsidian Insurance director Peter Stone knows what it takes.
Stone (pictured) entered the insurance sector in 2004, serving as a cadet broker at Aon on a 12-month contract. However, after only nine months, he was offered a full-time account broker position within the company’s corporate broking division in Wellington.
“[The opportunity] saw me working with some of the larger and more complex risk broking services and some very large entities on their insurance programmes. After a couple of years, I was transferred within the company to Australia to work in their corporate broking division specialising in mining and energy clients. My corporate broking experience gave me good technical product knowledge and a good foundation of insurance broking services,” Stone said.
Stone had wanted to run a broking firm since the early years of his career – and he finally achieved his dream in 2019 after years of serving a variety of roles across various insurance companies.
“In order to achieve it, I would need a combination of knowledge, experiences, connections, and financial capital. Through a lot of hard work, dedication, sacrifice, and a bit of luck along the way, I am very proud to achieve the goal of starting Obsidian Insurance alongside my business partner and wife Olivia at the start of 2019,” he said.
“Obsidian Insurance was born out of a desire to deliver better outcomes for our clients, more choice, and independent advice they could trust. It is an advice-focused model, with people working with people to deliver outstanding results.”
However, establishing a firm is only the beginning as Stone still needed to ensure that the business would run smoothly.
“The role of running your own brokerage firm requires not only a high level of broking ability to gain the trust of new clients, providing them with sound advice, and managing the day-to-day broking activities including insurer relations, but also wider business skills from commencing the business, new branding, marketing activities, financial management, new insurer agreements, wider contract review, and procurement of services in running our business,” Stone said.
“We are very grateful of the support and guidance we have received from our network and the value of our membership with Insurance Advisernet, providing us with insurer market agreement, enhanced policy wordings, and a bespoke broking system.”
Speaking about their day-to-day activities, Stone said: “We get alongside our clients and partner with them as their risk adviser, working through a process of identifying their financial exposures, managing these exposures, and tailoring an insurance programme as an outcome in the process that meets the specific needs of that individual business. We arrange insurance as an outcome, not as an input because the risk is complex and different for every individual’s comfort and financial sustainability.
“We’re a compassionate bunch of people, and, when things go wrong, we like to be there with our people and the clients because the financial consequences of a loss or event are a lot easier to work through and recover from with a trusted adviser by your side working through your pre-planned contingencies.”
