AUB Group CEO Mike Emmett says an overhaul of the AIMS operation following a split with Insurance Broking Network Australia (IBNA), will drive improved efficiencies.

Mr Emmett says the company’s strong broking footprint across Australia and New Zealand has not been “optimised for profitability”.

“The benefits of the AIMS initiatives and the restructuring is that it allows us to leverage our scale in ways that both enhance the services to our customers and to do this in a more efficient way for our partners,” he told a full-year results briefing last week.

The previously named Austbrokers and IBNA Member Services is rebranding as Austbrokers Insurance Member Services as a result of the joint venture split.

IBNA will formally exit from October 1 and the new AIMS will become an expanded services division for underwriting capacity and placement, technologies, claims handling, accounting and compliance.

The company is reviewing underwriting and placement arrangements. Following a positive response from insurers, new measures are set to be in place in the fiscal year second and third quarter, Mr Emmett says.

Technology improvements will include the addition of a platform for high-volume, lower-premium policies, freeing brokers to focus on more specialised products.

AUB net profit rose 4% to $48.4 million last financial year as broking and underwriting gains were partly offset by a slump in Risk Services health and rehabilitation earnings and costs related to fraud at a Canberra subsidiary.

The coming year will be one of consolidation and simplification of the group’s portfolio, unlocking the benefits of scale and focus, Mr Emmett said.

“The group will make acquisitions to accelerate or enhance this portfolio optimisation,” he said.

“We’ll continue to work closely with the businesses in Risk Services to remediate performance and to redefine the Risk Services strategy.”