Independent insurance group Insurance House has renamed its holding company as Insurance Brands Australia, signalling a renewed ambition to acquire further industry brands.

The holding company looks after group services capabilities and currently oversees five market-facing businesses – the 16-office broking business Insurance House, 56-member authorised representative business Insurance House Advance, underwriting agencies ProRisk and Armada, and Insurance House Life.

Later this year, a rebranded direct online offering will be launched as insurance.com.au.

The direct brand currently looks after 25,000 customers, most of whom are professionals seeking PI or health practitioners looking for liability cover, but the intention is to extend it to include a range of other products and professions/business types.

“The [holding company] name change signals an intent for the group to continue to be an active acquirer of insurance distribution businesses such as broking, underwriting agencies, or specialty risk management such as workers compensation or insurance advice businesses,” Insurance Brands Australia MD Jay Fereday told insuranceNEWS.com.au.

The business has tripled its bottom line in the last seven years, Mr Fereday says, and now has 450 people working across Australia. It is a Steadfast member but remains independently owned by staff and investors, and has just launched its latest five-year plan.

“We are aware that the industry is going through a lot of development in professionalism and there is an increasing reliance on technology and platforms,” Mr Fereday says.

“We are keen to attract entrepreneurial people to this business, and become a magnet for the best talent in the market.”