Keith Williams, one of the longest-serving brokers in the industry, has died in Queensland, aged 70.

Mr Williams started in insurance as a teenager in his home city of Brisbane. After moving to the Gold Coast, he founded South Queensland Insurance Brokers, known as Squib, and later Queensland & Pacific Insurance Brokers.

He sold the latter to Australian Insurance Solutions (AIS) last year but stayed with the company and was looking forward to semi-retirement at some point.

AIS Director John Wolfe says Mr Williams “loved the insurance industry and loved his clients. For him it was always about the client.”

He says Mr Williams sold Queensland & Pacific because he wanted to focus on clients and not the amount of paperwork required under financial services regulations.

Mr Williams is survived by his wife Bev and three children. His funeral is today.