Remember the Regional Insurance Brokers Association (RIBA)? Late last year the Victorian-based group changed its name to the Australasian Association of Insurance Brokers (AAIB) to reflect its widening boundaries as brokers from other states joined.

Now it’s changing its name again, this time to Insight Insurance Brokers Association, after a NSW broker threatened legal action.

Executive Officer Bill Friend says the previous abbreviated name of AAIB was very similar to Chatswood-based broker AAIB AustralAsia.

“There was a bit of confusion in that a broker has similar initials,” he told insuranceNEWS.com.au. “They registered those initials five days after we announced our name.

“We also had a long-term objective to find a name that gives members a marketing edge to help them identify with the end consumer. The legal case has prompted us to bring that forward by three or four years.”

InsuranceNEWS.com.au understands legal matters are yet to be finalised.

Mr Friend says members of the group of small to medium-sized brokers selected the name Insight to represent the “insightful understanding” brokers offer their clients.

The cluster group has grown from 15 mostly Victorian members in 2006 carrying $75 million in gross written premium to 30 national members with $250 million gross written premium.

“I believe we’ve finally changed the perception of the majority of the insurers that we’re no longer just a bunch of Victorian country brokers,” Mr Friend said.