Insurance News
Perth a tough place to raise capital
By John Heath
4 November 2008
PERTH IS a tough place to raise capital when speculative mining and oil and gas plays are the flavor, according to Wayne Miller, new executive chairman of Australian Consolidated Insurance Limited.
In his plans for expansion of the group he said that notwithstanding the toughness of the WA investment market, ACIL’s shareholding was predominantly in Western Australia.
This was based on his business relationships and that of his fellow directors. He and his fellow executives also had worked very hard to achieve “modest spread” in the Eastern Australian states. At this time in 2008 only 30% of group income comes from WA.
Mr Miller has been in insurance for almost 29 years. He said he had started his "apprenticeship" with AMP Fire and General Insurance under two renowned names in WA Doug Grace and Stephen White.
Doug Grace saw something in a "rather rough at the edges Fremantle boy" and unobtrusively helped Mr Miller “get the start in this terrific industry, he added.
He later worked his way through the industry with QBE Insurance (Commercial Lines), and the former Sedgwick Limited (now Marsh). At Sedgwick he had his first visit to Lloyd’s of London. From this experience his desire to underwrite was rekindled.
“I decided that I wanted to be able to underwrite, but have an organisation with a more entrepreneurial flair… and an underwriting agency goal was born.”
From this later developed Aurora and his acquisition of Cemac Limited.
“Our New Zealand agency is currently a one product agency to provide domestic insurance cover for a block of our portfolio affected by the Blue Chip Financial Solutions collapse in Auckland.”
He praised his colleagues saying: “Having the strength of top level management of the calibre of industry professionals Neil Watson (WA), Stephen Sinclair (NSW), William Legge (NSW) and Kevin Allen (NZ) supported corporately by Trevor Jacobs (Group CFO) has enabled me to dedicate a high percentage of my time to strategic development and acquisitive prospecting.
“We now have joint ventures in Fiji, Philippines and Hong Kong which we are seeking to develop into strong trading partnerships over time.”