Lumley is backing out of underwriting pleasurecraft, charter and commercial insurance for Nautilus Marine, giving the company 12 months’ notice of its intention to quit their agency agreement.

The decision was announced today in a joint media release from the two companies, which does not mention the decision to separate but instead concentrates on Lumley’s confirmation of “its commitment to underwrite new and renewal policies for Nautilus Marine Insurance Agency for a further 12 months”.

In a note to staff, Nautilus CEO Lyndon Turner acknowledges marketplace comment regarding the company and its relationship with Lumley, noting “we are topical in an insurance market that feeds off rumours”.

He told insuranceNEWS.com.au the five-year-old company has grown from three staff to 27 and now has more than 22,000 customers across Australia.

“We are exceeding our own budget predictions for the financial year to date,” he said. “We have some exciting developments we have been working on for some time, and these will be revealed to the market shortly.”

Nautilus’ major shareholders are South African insurer Hollard and broking entrepreneur Ian Frith.