Youi appoints David Foster as Chairman

Youi board director David Foster will become Chairman on January 1, taking over from Campbell Corfe who has served in the role since 2011 and will stay on as Non-Executive Director.

Mr Foster joined the board in August 2019 as Non-Executive Director and has more than 25 years’ financial services experience.

He currently sits on the board of Bendigo and Adelaide Bank and previously was a director at Helia, formerly known as Genworth Mortgage Insurance Australia. He has also held executive roles including CEO of Suncorp Bank and worked 14 years including as general manager at Westpac.

Youi CEO Hugo Schreuder says Mr Foster’s experience will be invaluable to the board and executive team as the business addresses opportunities and challenges in the Australian insurance market.

“[He] has already made a significant contribution to the board over the last few years and I am looking forward to working with him as Chairman,” Mr Schreuder said.

“[His] extensive financial services experience, both as a director and in executive roles, means that he is well placed to lead the board and support Youi’s executive team, as we continue to rapidly grow our business in Australia and provide awesome service to our customers.”

Mr Foster says the insurer, owned by South Africa’s OUTsurance, has worked to establish itself as the “leading” general insurance challenger brand and successfully expanded into other products such as compulsory third party insurance in NSW and SA.

Youi also added small business cover to its offerings via a five-year capacity deal with underwriting agency Blue Zebra in 2020.

“Australia’s insurance industry is evolving rapidly and I’m looking forward to working with the board and executive team to ensure Youi continues to differentiate itself through careful risk selection and the awesome service it provides to its customers,” Mr Foster said.

Outsurance 2022 financial report says the partnership with Blue Zebra contributed 15% to Youi gross written premium (GWP) for the year to June 30.

“This channel provides a wider distribution footprint for both Personal and Commercial Insurance,” the report says. “It provides a strong and complementary growth opportunity for Youi over the medium term.

The report says Youi also exercised its full 30% call option in Blue Zebra to raise its interest in the underwriting agency to 34.17% from 4.17%, giving it “significant influence” in the business.

“Due to the nature of the underwriting relationship that Youi has with [Blue Zebra], the [Blue Zebra] platform plays a strategic role as an intermediated channel to market in Australia,” the report says.

Youi’s Australian business posted a 38.7% fall in operating profit to $57 million in the last financial year, due largely to a big rise in retained natural perils losses.

“Australia endured various large weather events, the most notable being the major flood events in Queensland and NSW in February and March 2022,” the report says.