Envest Group says Wellington Underwriting Agencies, in which it has acquired a majority stake, is expected to remain on a strong growth trajectory after expanding during difficult market conditions since its launch.

Wellington Underwriting, which focuses on specialist property, liability and labour hire, was founded in 2018 by Brian Atkin and Colin Cowden. It started in Perth and now has offices in Hobart, Sydney and Brisbane, gaining traction despite challenges during the pandemic.

“Our experienced team and our focus on building long standing relationships with our brokers and underwriting partners is the key to our success, and during covid that was almost impossible with site visits, expos and conferences shut down, and Lloyd’s remediating their book at the same time,” Mr Atkin said.

“But the value we bring to the market was seen anyway, word spread about what we were doing and as a result our growth has been exponential.”

Wellington places more than $30 million in gross written premium, has a national footprint and 13 staff, including shareholders and specialist underwriting managers Kevin Corkery, Megan Sheehan, Peter Gibb and Rob Hunt.

Envest Chief Commercial Officer & Head of Agencies Richard Heilig says Wellington extends the group’s expertise around property, liability and labour hire and strengthens its brokers’ ability to place difficult and complex risks for their customers.

“Our agency strategy has always been to invest in businesses with the right people with specialist expertise and empower their growth through an owner driver model and shared back of house support,” Mr Heilig said.