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Broker goes bust after insurer demands funds

Construction-focused insurance group Qamvis has gone into liquidation after its insurer partner issued a demand for funds owed.

Qamvis operated agency Qiducia Underwriting Australia and brokerage Qtrust Insurance & Advisory, both of which sourced capacity from Guild Insurance.

On June 18 Qamvis was placed into liquidation, with Glenn Franklin and Paul Allen of PKF Melbourne appointed liquidators.

“The Director recently determined the company had insufficient cash flow to meet its ongoing obligations and did not have the funding to continue as a going concern,” a statement from PKF said.

PKF says shortly before the appointment of liquidators, Guild had issued a default notice “in respect of funds owed in relation to policies”.

“Accordingly, Qamvis and its businesses ceased to trade and Qamvis was placed into liquidation.”

It is not yet clear how Qamvis clients will be affected.

“The liquidators are liaising with Guild regarding ongoing access to Qamvis underwriting files and policies,” PKF says.

“Guild has been notified of all policies incepted to the date of the appointment of liquidators.”

A spokesman for Guild told insuranceNEWS.com.au the insurer is “working through the issues” with PKF, but declined to answer further questions at this stage.

PKF says it is “uncertain” whether there will be any return to unsecured creditors, however all employee entitlements were paid in full apart from a small portion of superannuation.

“As part of the liquidation process the liquidators will be investigating the company’s affairs with a view to recovering property for the benefit of unsecured creditors,” the statement says.

According to its website, Qamvis has been operating since 2001 and its CEO is Sam Greco.

Qtrust appears to have specialised in owner-builder insurance, but offered a range of construction and business insurance. It was headquartered in Melbourne but serviced the whole country.

Qiducia Underwriting Australia was also Melbourne-based and offered owner-builder cover in all states and territories.

As insuranceNEWS.com.au has reported, the construction sector has been hit by reduced capacity and soaring rates.