Members of cluster group Insight voted to join Steadfast because they stood to “substantially benefit” from the larger group’s services, Insight CEO David McKinnis says.

“We had some robust plans to introduce a new suite of services to our members, but it would have taken Insight five years to achieve, and there’s no guarantee we would ever have got there,” he said today.

insuranceNEWS.com.au announced the group’s move to Steadfast in a Breaking News bulletin this morning.

The vote to join the giant diversified insurance group was taken at Insight’s AGM on Friday afternoon, with its 40 members “overwhelmingly in favour” of the move.

Insight members will switch their membership to Steadfast on December 1.

Mr McKinnis declined to comment on the future for Melbourne-based Insight, but insuranceNEWS.com.au understands it will cease to exist as a business shortly after the transition is completed.

He says his role now is “to facilitate a smooth transition for my members into the Steadfast family”.

Insight’s 40 independently owned members – comprising brokers and authorised representatives – generate annual gross written premium of more than $250 million.

The group was established in 1991 as the Regional Insurance Brokers Association, a non-profit group representing the interests of Victorian regional brokers. 

It has grown rapidly over the past 10 years and changed its name to Insight in 2008 to reflect its more diverse membership.

Mr McKinnis says his members told him they want to remain independent within the Steadfast structure, “because autonomy is a core principle of Insight”.

“As an independent group we’ve spent 20 years being a bit wary of the big groups such as Steadfast. But [MD and CEO] Robert Kelly and his team have been unbelievably accommodating and supportive throughout our discussions.

“Services such as triage for disputed claims, group insurance, special wordings, the Steadfast Direct model and a range of other benefits will make for more loyal clients and better incomes for members.”

The composition of the Insight board of directors, led by Chairman David Hosking, was unchanged after the AGM.