Delta announces New Zealand merger

Auckland-based underwriting agency Delta Insurance is merging its property business with Delta Insurance New Zealand, to be led by Andrew Beaton.

Mr Beaton is currently Delta Property MD. Dinesh Murali, who is currently Delta New Zealand MD, will move to a newly created GM Portfolio and Distribution role.

Group CEO Kent Chaplin says the merger, effective March 31, will unite the businesses under a common brand and strategy, under one leadership team, creating greater cohesion in the team of more than 45.

“This has a number of positive outcomes … including an increased ability to scale up our services as the business grows, greater internal efficiencies and the amalgamation of boards into a single committee with reduced governance and operational costs,” he said.

The new entity plans to diversify and expand to offer a broader range of policies and products.

“Our employees will see new opportunities and career pathways open to them. This will provide the chance for secondment and professional growth within a larger organisation with a wider range of specialities,” Mr Chaplin said.

Brokers will no longer be required to submit multiple closings or send separate premium remittances, reducing their back-end administrative requirements, while customers with multiple policies will have a single point of contact across Delta’s insurance product lines.

“Effectively, the amalgamation will establish a multi-line underwriting capability,” Group Executive Director Underwriting and Co-Founder Craig Kirk said. “This is about greater organisational cohesion.

“Operating under a single administrative and claims team increases our internal efficiencies and will ultimately enable us to diversify our product lines into new areas. This makes it easier for us to scale in the long term, and it makes it much easier for our partners and customers to transact with us.”

The two businesses insure more than 24,000 risks in New Zealand.

In December, Delta was named underwriting agency of the year for the fifth consecutive time at the Australian and New Zealand Institute of Insurance and Finance (ANZIIF) New Zealand insurance industry awards, while Mr Kirk was crowned insurance leader of the year.

“We’ve faced and overcome serious hurdles within our business over recent years which haven’t been easy on our team or our leadership group. I want to thank our amazing team for believing in our vision,” Mr Kirk said on receiving the award.

Delta has offices in Australia and Singapore.