Authorised representative (AR) network Resilium says it’s set for further growth as it expands its services and potential new members look to capitalise on the opportunities provided by the AR model. 

As previously reported by insuranceNEWS.com.au, the Envest Group will merge its Aviso Select network with Resilium. Aviso Select’s more than 30 ARs will join Resilium’s 142 and the merged group will place $800 million in premium. 

UK-based Ardonagh Group acquired a major stake in Resilium in 2021, before completing its acquisition of Envest, including the Aviso broking arm and underwriting agencies, earlier this year, with Resilium then coming under the Envest umbrella. 

The merging of the two AR networks was announced at Resilium’s recent conference in Queenstown, attended by a record 300 people. 

“It was our largest conference yet and more and more insurers are coming, which is great,” Resilium MD Ben Hastie told insuranceNEWS.com.au. 

“The theme was Stronger. That reflects not only the fact that we’ve teamed up with Envest, but also the fact that we’re continuing to enhance services and offerings that we give to ARs.” 

One of several new initiatives is the Resilium Adviser Gateway app, giving ARs proposal forms, markets, a professional standards manual, calendar of training and events, and copies of videos – all at the touch of a phone or tablet.  

“We’re continuing to evolve our breadth of services, but also our size and scale once we bring Aviso Select in,” Mr Hastie says. 

“We believe we’ve got the best compliance and training regime in the AR space, and we spend a lot of money and invest a lot of time into making our ARs as professional as they can be.” 

Mr Hastie says the network receives “a lot” of enquiries from people wanting to join – partly because of the opportunities the AR model brings but also due to concern about growing compliance obligations. 

“Maybe they are an employee of a broking house but want to build a saleable asset. And the compliance and regulatory framework that we sit in at the moment is front of mind for all insurance professionals. 

“If I was an AR I would want an AR network behind me that has everything sorted and that I could trust to make sure I am compliant in every respect. It’s not going away, it’s only going to ramp up.  

“I have spoken to many people and they say, ‘there is no way that we could do what we have to do [on compliance] for the margins that we pay you’. 

“We also hear from ARs that are dissatisfied with their current network. We are not really competing on margins, but it’s about support.  

“We’re not a brokerage that has an AR network. We are an AR network. It makes sense for a lot of people.” 

Mr Hastie says the current market continues to be challenging, particularly for northern Australia property risks. 

“The insurers’ reinsurance costs are continuing to really ramp up on the property side of things. 

“Liability has moderated somewhat, although there’s a bit more selectiveness in occupations that once were Australian placements and are now Lloyd’s capacity placements.  

“The majors seem to be sticking to really vanilla business and anything slightly left of centre is the domain of the agencies.” 

He believes hard market conditions will persist for at least another 18 months, and that if and when the market does soften it won’t be dramatic. 

“I don’t see the market softening in the way it has in the past, and I think soft markets will become shorter and shorter. 

“Fortunately the economy is fairly buoyant still. It’s not an easy job for brokers to try and sell these increases, but the clients realise they need the coverage. 

“I think clients are a lot more educated on insurance than they have been in past years. Distrust is fading and clients realise we are there to advise them on risk and protect their assets, rather than sell them something off the shelf.  

“There are exceptions but I think the general consumer or business owner is more aware of the insurance market.”