Former Brooklyn director David Porteous has set up Barn Underwriting Agency.

The Sydney-based agency is a Lloyd’s coverholder with a focus on specialty commercial and industrial property and loss prevention strategies, with general liability to be added next.

The business started trading last week after its establishment late last year.

Mr Porteous, who is MD of the new company, says he wants to “create a business that truly makes a difference” for clients and the next generation of underwriters.

“In terms of our story, it’s a really exciting one,” he told insuranceNEWS.com.au.

“It is about me and the people who will join the business in time, representing the next generation of professional underwriters. I think our market has been through a decade of underwriting agencies being bought and sold."

Toby Salmon, previously the property manager at Brooklyn, has joined Barn as Director of Property, and a casualty line appointment is expected soon.

Mr Porteous says the first couple of days of business have shown encouraging results among commercial and industrial clients with complex property and liability exposures.

“We chose this segment because of the flight of available capital for specialty commercial risks, which started in 2017 and continued [last year] and into this year.

“All indicators suggest the hardening will continue for some time yet.

“Where we can add value is through a commonsense, risk management and loss prevention underwriting philosophy. WE want to work with brokers and their clients on unique risks and exposures and deploy additional capacity into those areas.

“We also want to assist brokers and their major local insurers in supporting programs that need new additional capacity to complete a placement.”