Aviso Broking Year One - a reflection.

So the 23rd of May 2023 has now come and gone and with this particular date, we mark the one-year anniversary of the official (IT) coming together of our 5 legacy businesses back in 2022. They were:

-???????Allsafe Insurance Brokers

-???????Aviso All Points Insurance & Risk Advisory

-???????Aviso EIA Insurance Brokers

-???????Sutton Insurance Brokers

-???????Wymark Insurance Brokers

What a ride it has been!

Entering my role of QLD General Manager for our newly merged business, after nearly 13.5 years as a Broker with Allsafe and some 24 years in the insurance industry, I entered this next phase of my career with a significant amount of (self-confessed) naivety.

It would be false if I were to suggest that the last 12 months had not seen me experience every single emotion under the sun (not to mention countless sleepless nights) when it comes to my new role within Aviso Broking. In hindsight it has been the most incredible challenge and opportunity for me personally and professionally, and for that and this opportunity, I am truly grateful. At this time, I also need to call out some hugely influential people whom without, I’d still be floundering and overwhelmingly out of my depth;

-??????? Jeff Moule and I have worked together for nearly 14 years now, having both joined Allsafe Insurance Brokers in 2009. Though our relationship has evolved dramatically during that period, Jeff is still someone I lean heavily upon and as the CEO of Aviso Broking, it has been inspiring to see him challenged and often out of his comfort zone, yet continually rising above and beyond for our people, clients and the business as a whole.

-??????? Shane Risby (COO of Aviso Broking and my boss) and I have known each other for years but having never actually worked together, I really didn’t know what to expect as our legacy businesses came together. Shane has quickly become one of the strongest and most influential mentors I’ve ever had and despite how much I have already learned from him, I know I’ve barely scratched the surface about what I can learn from him. I honestly cannot thank Shane enough for all the times he has been the calm in what has felt like countless storms I have encountered, in our first year together.

-??????? Paul McLean is my NSW counterpart and again like Shane, I have known Paul for many years without ever actually having worked side by side within the same business. Like Shane, Paul has had a massive influence on my first 12 months in this role and again, his experience, calming influence, strategic acumen, and most of all patience, have provided me with invaluable guidance as I embarked on my first senior leadership role.

-???????QLD People Leaders / Broking & Branch Managers; each of you know who you are. Like Paul and his NSW Leadership team, I think we all realise how lucky we are to have such a tight knit, driven group of insurance professionals here in the Sunshine State, who are always focused on the best outcome for our clients. To that end I cannot strongly articulate enough just how proud I am to be blessed with such an amazing group of people who are helping me steer the ship here in Queensland. My only hope is that you have learned as much from me as I have from each of you, and I am so excited about what lies ahead for Aviso Broking QLD, with each of you at the helm, by my side. Without question you each provide the inspiration for me to strive for improvement every single day.

Starting out I hadn’t intended for this to be a shout out to all the awesome people in our business who have provided such a significant influence over my first 12 months in this role, but I’ve realised it would be impossible to achieve what I wanted to out of this post / article without doing so.

With that all said however, what has the first 12 months post-merge, looked like from the inside and, from my perspective as QLD General Manager of Aviso Broking?

To be totally transparent, at times it has felt like our drive for best in class and market leading processes, technology, efficiencies etc. all in the name of providing an exceptional customer experience, have taken too long to achieve. And yet with the benefit of hindsight, it is incredible to me to acknowledge just how much we have achieved in such a relatively short period of time.

Looking around the grounds I now realise just how blessed we are to have such a diverse and amazing group of people working in the various business units of Aviso Broking. Starting with our Shared Services and Admin division that essentially, ensure that our doors remain open 24/7. This team is tireless and don’t often get the recognition that they deserve and yet there is not a single person within this business, that does not appreciate the tiny one percenters that they produce each and every day, that allows the other business units to get on with the job of looking after our clients!

To our ever-evolving claims unit, which has undergone so many challenges in year one, and who are now providing a market-leading claims solution for our clients. Your value add to Aviso Broking cannot be stated strongly enough.

To our CST business unit under the stewardship of the incredible Krystal Brunner ; I don’t think we’ll ever truly realise just how lucky we are to have a business model that supports and encourages the growth and vibrancy of our internal pathways. It all starts with Krystal and her team and more specifically, her keen eye for burgeoning talent and importantly, culturally incredible people. We are truly indebted to the passion and energy which drives Krystal and her team each day. To see these amazing people, having begun their insurance journey in CST and in such a short space of time, grow and evolve into leadership positions, compliance roles, broker support roles etc. has been an absolute privilege to behold and Krystal should be incredibly proud.

Our Senior Leadership Team, which includes many of my peers throughout our Operations Division, are a truly remarkable group of people and it blows my mind that we were so fortunate to have the majority of them already in situ within our legacy businesses, at the time of our merge a year ago. Coming together wasn’t easy as each of us had arrived via completely different journeys. Yet our shared experience, drive and passion over the past year has seen the business achieve some remarkable milestones that in fairness, we probably haven’t taken the time to celebrate properly. I cannot understate the value of the passion, tireless work ethic and vibrant energy that people like Elissa Joines , Larissa Dixon , Tina Wilkinson and Jodie Furlong bring to the table; so much of our success in year one can be attributed to their incredible efforts.

So who and what is Aviso Broking, in a nutshell?

Our offices range From Byron Bay to St Leonards and Bondi and all throughout regional NSW. You can find us on the northern tip of the Sunshine Coast, down to the sparkling beaches of the Gold Coast, to our head office here in Brisbane. We are a business that has only just begun. We are 140-odd people from all walks of life and backgrounds, completely diverse in so many ways and yet all striving towards a common goal. From our original five legacy businesses to those that have joined our journey since, we are a constantly evolving business that strives to embrace change. We share a community-minded broking vision that values both our incredible market partnerships, with key stakeholders and suppliers alike, to our unique and diverse customer base. Understanding abounds as we continually challenge and improve upon our advice-driven, passionate engagement model. Yet we note that this is only the beginning, crucially acknowledging that it is this mindset that provides the bedrock foundation for what we strive to be.

As a new financial year looms and the dust settles on what has been a truly remarkable first year for Aviso Broking, there are so many more to thank. We provided our key partners with untold technology challenges 12 months ago and by and large, the underwriting world really stepped up and supported us when it mattered most. Engagement from that side of the industry has been overwhelmingly positive and we are so fortunate to have so many robust partnerships in an otherwise challenging insurance marketplace.

Without question I am absolutely filled with pride when I consider everything this business has achieved in such a short space of time and more so, the purpose and integrity for what our people stand for.

Yes we are only at the beginning, but like the sun peeking over the horizon at the start of a brand-new day, we have only glimpsed at what is yet to come.

Todd Ferguson