Former Allianz southern region commercial manager Tony Goldsmith has been appointed Head of Distribution and Sales for Perth-based diversified insurance company Reliance Group, as part of its expansion into east coast markets.

The group comprises corporate insurance broker Australian Reliance, broker network Reliance Partners, internet insurance service Reliance Online and insurance sector investment vehicle Vantage Fund.

Melbourne-based Mr Goldsmith is charged with developing Australian Reliance and Reliance Partners, with the latter likely to be the “growth engine” for Reliance Group.

His primary responsibility is building Reliance Partners’ network of franchisees, plus company-owned agencies, along the east coast.

There are currently about 30 Reliance Partners broker businesses, mostly in WA. Mr Goldsmith told insuranceNEWS.com.au his goal is to add 150 broker businesses along the east coast, and explore opportunities for expansion into SA.

“We want to build a genuine national network,” he said.

Mr Goldsmith believes the franchise model holds more appeal to potential partners than the aggregator model.

“We’re offering full back-office and marketing support and our model will ensure there will be one partner for a geographic area, which will allow them to mine that area without any distribution conflict.”

Mr Goldsmith’s priorities for growth include “identifying and converting acquisition opportunities”, but he does not have a hit list.

“We’re not aggressively targeting any one competitor in that space.”