Specialty underwriter Epsilon will join forces with Wellington Underwriting and Aster to offer a full suite of underwriting support and complex risk placements for Australian brokers.
Epsilon CEO Morgan Long said joining forces with Wellington and Aster was an exciting opportunity to strengthen the capacity and support for brokers nationwide. The business will write more than $150m in gross written premiums.
“Wellington and Epsilon have a strong alignment in appetite and, from an underwriting and customer service standpoint, are similar in many ways. Aster provides complementary liability schemes for security contracting, marine, pest and building businesses.
“Wellington and Epsilon each have multiple binders with a mixture of local capacity and various Lloyd’s syndicates with capacity for labour hire, property, construction, financial loss and casualty, and Aster has a 20-year history with its capacity supplier for niche products. We have been referring business between each other already, so it makes sense to bring the teams together and share our capabilities and strengths.”
Mr Long said Epsilon had long-standing relationships with capacity providers, brokers and clients.
“Our aim over the years has been to provide a consistent long-term offering to our clients, which I think we have demonstrated over the past 20+ years,” he said.
“The business has grown organically but we are now excited about the next chapter when we get to bring Wellington and Aster into Epsilon and work closely with like-minded underwriters increasing our market offering.”
Wellington Directors Rob Hunt, Peter Gibb, Megan Sheehan and Kevin Corkery and Aster Director Nathan Kerr will continue to lead their lines of specialty within Epsilon alongside Daniel Tuckwell (Liability), Ellie Houston (Property), Lester Scott (Construction) and Michael Di Veroli (Specialty), reporting to Chief Underwriting Officer, Paul O’Leary.
Rob Hunt said joining forces with Epsilon was an exciting opportunity for their team and clients.
“The Wellington team will continue to focus on providing innovative and tailored solutions for our clients and are very excited to join the Epsilon team to leverage the back-of-house support and additional capacity.
“Culturally, it’s a great fit. Both organizations pride themselves on putting the customer first and finding solutions. We bring unique experiences and complementary skills to the mix, so we’ll be stronger together.”
Epsilon/Wellington/Aster will move into new combined office spaces in Brisbane and Sydney and over time will work under the Epsilon brand. Staff will also continue to work flexibly, with Aster retaining its home base in Newcastle and Wellington retaining a presence in Tasmania and Victoria.
Aster Director Nathan Kerr said he’d been operating his business portfolio independently with three staff for over a decade. He welcomed the opportunity to be part of a larger team.
“The ability to tap into a larger group, with more extensive resources, will streamline things for us and give us additional capacity and knowledge. Together, we can cover many different business classes with decades and decades of experience.
“Morgan and Paul O’Leary run a tight ship with a great team atmosphere. There is also an excellent opportunity to grow the Aster portfolio and continue to provide our specialist products to a broader client base.”
