A founding director and three authorised representatives of Insurance Advisernet Australia have split from the network to form a new brokerage in the Steadfast stable.

Industry veteran Fred Allsopp and former Insurance Advisernet authorised representatives Sean Morriss, Simon Trowell and Andrew Bunting are the partners behind Sydney-based Acumen Insurance.

“We’ve all had long-standing businesses; we’re not a start-up,” Mr Allsopp told incuranceNEWS.com.au. “We are well respected in the marketplace as insurance professionals, both from a client and underwriter perspective.

Acumen covers the business and professional, personal and travel insurance markets. It has a national client base but for now will work from one office in St Leonards, Sydney.

Longer term it has an eye on expansion along the east coast, and Perth also figures in its thinking.

“We have a client base that extends as far afield as Darwin, Perth, Hobart and Port Douglas, and because of that we have clients in a wide spread of industries,” Mr Allsopp said.

“We’ve hit the ground running.”

He says being in the Steadfast network ensures Acumen has a critical market presence.

“Being part of a group the size of Steadfast gives us a hell of a lot of comfort. It’s been extremely helpful in guiding us through the process [of starting the business] and it continues to be helpful.”