Insurance Advisernet New Zealand (
IANZ) director
David Crawford says the winner of the IA Conference’s top NZ broker trophy is a great role model to those thinking of breaking out of the big corporate broking firms.
Tauranga’s Ben Ruthe beat off five other finalists to win the coveted award, presented to him at the group’s annual conference on the Gold Coast last week.
After joining Advisernet from
Aon five years ago, Ruthe now manages a thriving business in Tauranga.
Crawford said: “Ben is not only an outstanding broker and well respected by both clients and insurers, but he has developed a range of other skills as a business owner and employer.
“He is a great role model and a shining example of the future of independent broking in New Zealand.”
Crawford added that this week’s announcement that
Austbrokers has purchased Kiwi cluster group BrokerWeb is good news for both New Zealand broking and for Advisernet.
“We have been a part of Austbrokers through our Australian connection for a number of years and we are very confident Austbrokers will make a valuable contribution to the long term sustainability of independent broking in New Zealand,” he said.
“With recent acquisitions we are now in excess of $80 million with over 30 members. We are very excited by the recent news and this will enable us to compete with even the very largest brokers for clients and talent.”
Crawford said the business model suited younger sales-focused brokers who wanted to have their own business but weren’t sure how to start.
“The average age of our broker principals is 42 which is considerably younger than any other group and we have a number of women running their own broking firms too.
“Our focus is on growth and professionalism and our goal is to mirror the success of Insurance Advisernet in Australia who are the number one AR network and have been so for many years.”
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