Businesses are operating in uncertain and unpredictable times when 50 to 100 year events such as pandemics, droughts and floods are happening with more regularity.
In Hawke’s Bay the rural sector has had two consecutive summer droughts while Napier was struck by a major flood event that damaged houses, vehicles and businesses.
A well-established New Zealand insurance brokerage firm ICIB has set up in Hawke’s Bay, much to the joy of the firm’s chief executive and former Hastings Boys’ High School student Grant Milne.
ICIB Hawke’s Bay is being headed up by experienced insurance professional William Horvath, who moved from Wellington to the sunny Hawke’s Bay with his family in 2008. William had previously worked with Grant and jumped at the chance to set up ICIB in the region as well as become a shareholder.
“We are a high touch insurance business which means that we work face-to-face with our clients to work out the best insurance solution for them based on their risk profile.
“By touching base with them regularly we understand their current, most up to date status of their profile and adjust their risk profile accordingly.
“It’s all about the right insurance for the right price, which isn’t always the cheapest price, as that’s when businesses can come unstuck.
William says ICIB provides brokering services to many different businesses with expertise within construction, wineries, food & beverage, manufacturers, engineers, horticulture, and exporters.
He says the key is delving into a clients business, so we can identify key risk areas that are quite often over looked, such as key customers and suppliers. Does the client have one of these and what would happen if this key supplier or customer is no longer able to supply or take your product? How does this impact the business and its balance sheet?
A recent example was a client that has a key customer that accounts for 30% of the business revenue. The key customer had an insured loss and was not able to trade for 6 months, so our client had a drop of revenue, which took our clients company from making a profit to a considerable loss situation, which would have resulted in having to lay off staff to reduce costs. We had covered this risk exposure with our client and they had agreed to take the cover for this risk exposure, which meant our clients policy responded to cover this loss of profit while their key customer was not trading. Which was a satisfying result as our client didn’t need to look at cost cutting and was able to keep all their staff during this period, when we know it is a challenge to find quality staff in this market.
Grant says ICIB uses its knowledge and experience to identify and recommend to clients the best insurance solutions.
“We understand that building, managing and growing a successful business isn’t easy, and we think that managing risk shouldn’t add to your workload. That’s why we use our knowledge and experience to identify, innovate, select and build solutions that let you focus on what matters most – running your business.
“We’ve been future-proofing businesses for over 45 years – long enough to see the value of our approach in action. As one of New Zealand’s most successful independent risk advisors and insurance brokers, we work hard to help businesses protect themselves against the unpredictable and the unknown.
ICIB exudes transparency and discloses its income from the insurance underwriters. Grant says developing trusting, long-lasting partnerships is ICIB’s focus.
“We’re one of the first risk advisory services in New Zealand to offer full transparency around fees and pricing. This open approach builds trust and confidence in our services and continually allows us to deliver value as your business evolves and grows.
Grant says ICIB’s deep understanding of New Zealand’s industrial and commercial markets has helped them create innovative, sector-specific solutions for businesses working in specialised industries.
ICIB is a member of the NZbrokers network. NZbrokers is New Zealand’s largest insurance broking collective, representing over 87+ independent businesses across the country, from Kerikeri to Invercargill, and everything in between. Recognising the benefits of working together, the driving philosophy behind their rapid success is that each member leverages the strength and capability of the national group, while retaining their successful formula of local knowledge and long-standing relationships.
