Melbourne broker Bill de Vos died suddenly at the weekend at his home near Melbourne.

A well-known figure in the industry, Mr de Vos worked for 17 years in Melbourne-based national brokerage BJS Insurance Brokers.

He was the CEO at BJS for 10 years before retiring from the position in 2017.

To post a tribute to Bill, leave a comment at the end of this article

BJS Chairman Ron Smith says Mr de Vos continued to work several days a week for the company, and his death was “a terrible shock to all of us”.

“Bill was a good broker and a great business partner,” Mr Smith told insuranceNEWS.com.au. “He was always full of enthusiasm and he continued to be a great support since he semi-retired 18 months ago.”

Mr de Vos joined the insurance industry in 1971 when he was recruited by Federation Insurance, and moved across to broking four years later. He had a long stint in the London market, which he told Insurance News magazine in June 2017 was “where I earned my stripes”.

On his return to Australia he worked for several brokerages before taking a 50% shareholding in DBS Insurance Brokers. Shortly after DBS merged with Heath Fielding in 2002 he accepted an offer to join Mr Smith’s newly formed brokerage, which later became BJS.

insuranceNEWS.com.au will post the details of the funeral for Mr de Vos in its Professional section when they become available.