Suncorp-owned authorised representative (AR) distributor Resilium says its new broking arm, Resilium Insurance Broking (RIB), will provide clients with access to “out of the ordinary” niche insurance products.

Resilium MD Gerard McDermott says RIB has its own Australian financial services licence (AFSL) and will operate “at arm’s length” for underwriting transactions.

“Clients will benefit from a shared service model between Resilium and RIB, making it easier to do business with Resilium,” he told insuranceNEWS.com.au.

“The announcement does not impact current operations [at Resilium]. There is clear separation of activities between the Resilium business and the RIB business; they are separate AFSLs and operate under separate advice models.”

Many of these niche products are already available through Resilium, but Mr McDermott says having a separate brokerage will streamline the insurance offering to clients.

“Resilium ARs currently have access to cross-endorsement through other brokers in order to provide their clients access to products other than Resilium products,” he said. “The new brokerage will mean this is no longer required.”

Suncorp raised some eyebrows with its decision to make RIB a member of the Steadfast broker group. Mr McDermott says this “provides us with the most seamless transition for our new broking business, minimising the impact on customers if they choose to move to the Resilium insurance broking model”.

RIB will not market its services to consumers. The growth of the business will be tied to the expansion of Resilium’s AR network.

RIB will be headed by former Austbrokers GM Partner Development Greg Arms who will be MD, based in Sydney.

The creation of RIB is a “clear strategic move by Resilium”, a Suncorp spokesman told insuranceNEWS.com.au, and there are no plans for the RIB model to be replicated elsewhere within the group.