A leading light in the Australian underwriting agency sector, Roy Ellis, died last week in Sydney after a long illness. He was 68.

Mr Ellis was a senior manager in local and international insurance companies and more recently a leader in underwriting agencies. His long career in insurance covered most areas of operations.

An engineer who switched to insurance early in his career, he worked in a wide range of senior management roles with Australian and international insurers and reinsurers before establishing InterPacific Underwriting Agencies in 1997.

Mr Ellis was a founding member of the Underwriting Agencies Council (UAC) and served as its chairman from 1999 to 2002. He received a lifetime achievement award from UAC in 2012.

After selling InterPacific to Arthur J Gallagher in 2005, Mr Ellis worked in a consulting role for the US company’s Australian operations and later at Sportscover.

He is survived by his wife Marilyn, daughter Kylie, son Ryan and two grandchildren.

The funeral for Mr Ellis will be held at 11.30am on Friday at St Peter’s Anglican Church, Watsons Bay, Sydney.