Two of Australia’s major loss adjusting firms, McLarens Toplis and Freemans Group, are discussing a merger as the profession continues to consolidate at the top end.

McLarens Partner Ian Simpson told Sunrise Exchange News the companies have been in talks for about two months, but “nothing has been set in stone” yet. He says the talks originated because of “regime change” and the continuing rationalisation of the Australian insurance market.

“McLarens and Freemans share some of the same business principles and compete for a lot of the same insurance company business,” he said. “We probably have more in common than not.”

He says the situation is “very delicate” at the moment, but both companies have “very good reasons” for merging. It’s thought a decision will be made by the end of this month.