Austbrokers has acquired 50% of Sydney-based workers’ compensation provider Procare, in the broker group’s first major acquisition of the year.

CEO Mark Searles says the deal will help further diversify Austbrokers’ base. Procare delivers service solutions to insurers, employers, brokers and lawyers.

“We are looking at growth avenues in addition to our existing core business of broking distribution and underwriting agencies,” he told insuranceNEWS.com.au.

“Procare is a whole new area of service for us. It’s not just workers’ compensation per se; it’s a full service offering. One thing that attracted us was their full service provision, including injury management, rehabilitation, investigations and return to work.”

Mr Searles says these services will be marketed across the “Austbrokers family”.

Procare has an “enviable client base” and a solid operating model that has delivered significant growth in recent years, he says. It had “other offers on the table” but opted for Austbrokers’ owner-driver model.

“Austbrokers’ data centre was one of the things that attracted Procare, especially in the area it is in where a lot of data needs to be held, especially with all the new changes with the Privacy Act.”

Mr Searles says the centre hosts data for most of the group’s brokers “in a highly secure manner” – which is “something others don’t offer”.

Procare is Austbrokers’ biggest “stand-alone” acquisition since WRI Insurance Brokers last July. The group has equity stakes in 47 brokers.