Headquarters:
Suite 902, 30 Kent Street, Sydney, NSW 2000
Year founded:
2017
Number of employees:
35
Phone:
+61 2 9136 0100
Email:
amar.roomi@bzi.com.au
Website:
bzi.com.au
LinkedIn:
au.linkedin.com/company/blue-zebra-insurance
“The Blue Leopard platform is an evolution
of Blue Zebra Insurance’s core business technology. It sets us apart from other technology providers as we have lived and learnt from our own experiences”
Matt Hodson,
Blue Zebra
Read on
Award Winner
BLUE ZEBRA INSURANCE
Colin Fagen
Managing Director
Amar Roomi
Chief Technology Officer
Matt Hodson
Chief Operating Officer
Leadership
Colin Fagen is a highly respected financial services executive with over 30 years of experience and a track record of delivering superior financial results whilst maintaining strong customer focus. He also enjoys long-established relationships within the broker community. Colin has held global C-suite roles at QBE, including group chief operations officer, group chief strategy officer, and CEO of QBE Australia and New Zealand. He has also been president of the Insurance Council of Australia and a director of the Australian and New Zealand Institute of Insurance and Finance.
Managing Director
Colin Fagen
Amar Roomi is the chief technology officer of Blue Zebra. In this role, he leads the company’s technology development and co-ordinates a growing team of technology specialists and tech partners in delivering BZI’s technology promises. With extensive cross-sector experience, Amar previously held a number of technical and distribution roles at QBE and JWT, including recently leading the design and implementation of their Australian operation’s SME strategy. Having been involved in a number of large technology transformation programs, he is now bringing to life the opportunity to positively disrupt the general insurance market through a combination of product innovation and technology advancement.
Chief Technology Officer
Amar Roomi
Matt Hodson is the COO of Blue Zebra. He has previously worked for EY in London and Sydney in roles spanning insurance, risk and analytics consulting, as well as a role as an outsource appointed actuary for a start-up insurer. Matt has held roles as CRO and COO in start-up and scaling businesses in Australia, including the establishment of a Berkshire Hathaway insurance license. In his current role at BZI, he oversees key elements of strategic development and business execution by working closely with the team and its outsourced business partners to deliver on its promise of being a different breed in insurance.
Chief Operating Officer
Matt Hodson
SPECIAL REPORT
Home
Bio
“There were a number of business and technological improvements that we were solving through this migration, but prime amongst these improvements is the need for a truly multi-tenant technology platform that is able to efficiently meet the needs of multiple agencies and insurers”
Amar Roomi,
Blue Zebra
Read on
Award Winner
BLUE ZEBRA
INSURANCE
Stephen Jeffery
Chief Underwriting Officer, Personal Lines
Amar Roomi
Chief Technology Officer
Colin Fagen
Managing Director
Leadership
Headquarters:
Suite 902, 30 Kent Street, Sydney, NSW 2000
Year founded:
2017
Number of employees:
35
Phone:
+61 2 9136 0100
Email:
amar.roomi@bzi.com.au
Website:
bzi.com.au
LinkedIn:
au.linkedin.com/company/blue-zebra-insurance
Colin Fagen is a highly respected financial services executive with over 30 years of experience and a track record of delivering superior financial results whilst maintaining strong customer focus. He also enjoys long-established relationships within the broker community. Colin has held global C-suite roles at QBE, including group chief operations officer, group chief strategy officer, and CEO of QBE Australia and New Zealand. He has also been president of the Insurance Council of Australia and a director of the Australian and New Zealand Institute of Insurance and Finance.
Managing Director
Colin Fagen
Amar Roomi is the chief technology officer of Blue Zebra. In this role, he leads the company’s technology development and co-ordinates a growing team of technology specialists and tech partners in delivering BZI’s technology promises. With extensive cross-sector experience, Amar previously held a number of technical and distribution roles at QBE and JWT, including recently leading the design and implementation of their Australian operation’s SME strategy. Having been involved in a number of large technology transformation programs, he is now bringing to life the opportunity to positively disrupt the general insurance market through a combination of product innovation and technology advancement.
Chief Technology Officer
Amar Roomi
Stephen Jeffery, the chief underwriting officer (personal lines) of Blue Zebra, has worked in the insurance industry for over 20 years. He is a qualified actuary and has worked with large insurers in a variety of leadership positions. For the last eight years, he has worked in roles related to starting, maturing and scaling start-ups, as well as developing leadership and establishing a strong personal lines portfolio. Stephen is deeply involved in the technology-enabled product delivery of BZI and has developed real-time insights into portfolio performance, enabling the company to maintain momentum and focus on its profitable growth.
Chief Underwriting Officer, Personal Lines
Stephen Jeffery
SPECIAL REPORT
Home
Bio
For the second year running, Shielded Insurance Brokers has claimed the number-one spot among IB’s Top Brokerages. In 2020, it was record-setting growth that drove the company’s impressive success. This year, says managing director Stuart Brady, the key ingredient behind the win is the Shielded culture. Brady is proud of the shared vision for constant improvement across all aspects of the business. “We are thrilled to take out the win again, and it’s hats off to the team for their hard work over the past year,” he says.
“The Blue Leopard platform is an evolution of Blue Zebra Insurance’s core business technology. It sets us apart from other technology providers as we have lived and learnt from our own experiences”
Matt Hodson,
Blue Zebra
Read on
Award Winner
BLUE ZEBRA INSURANCE
Mark Polglase
Chief Underwriting Officer
Amar Roomi
Chief Technology Officer
Colin Fagen
Managing Director
Leadership
Headquarters:
Suite 902, 30 Kent Street, Sydney, NSW 2000
Year founded:
2017
Number of employees:
35
Phone:
+61 2 9136 0100
Email:
amar.roomi@bzi.com.au
Website:
bzi.com.au
LinkedIn:
au.linkedin.com/company/blue-zebra-insurance
SPECIAL REPORT
Home
Bio
Colin Fagen is a highly respected financial services executive with over 30 years of experience and a track record of delivering superior financial results whilst maintaining strong customer focus. He also enjoys long-established relationships within the broker community. Colin has held global C-suite roles at QBE, including group chief operations officer, group chief strategy officer, and CEO of QBE Australia and New Zealand. He has also been president of the Insurance Council of Australia and a director of the Australian and New Zealand Institute of Insurance and Finance.
Managing Director
Colin Fagen
Amar Roomi is the chief technology officer of Blue Zebra. In this role, he leads the company’s technology development and co-ordinates a growing team of technology specialists and tech partners in delivering BZI’s technology promises. With extensive cross-sector experience, Amar previously held a number of technical and distribution roles at QBE and JWT, including recently leading the design and implementation of their Australian operation’s SME strategy. Having been involved in a number of large technology transformation programs, he is now bringing to life the opportunity to positively disrupt the general insurance market through a combination of product innovation and technology advancement.
Chief Technology Officer
Amar Roomi
Stephen Jeffery, the chief underwriting officer (personal lines) of Blue Zebra, has worked in the insurance industry for over 20 years. He is a qualified actuary and has worked with large insurers in a variety of leadership positions. For the last eight years, he has worked in roles related to starting, maturing and scaling start-ups, as well as developing leadership and establishing a strong personal lines portfolio. Stephen is deeply involved in the technology-enabled product delivery of BZI and has developed real-time insights into portfolio performance, enabling the company to maintain momentum and focus on its profitable growth.
Chief Underwriting Officer, Personal Lines
Stephen Jeffery
For the second year running, Shielded Insurance Brokers has claimed the number-one spot among IB’s Top Brokerages. In 2020, it was record-setting growth that drove the company’s impressive success. This year, says managing director Stuart Brady, the key ingredient behind the win is the Shielded culture. Brady is proud of the shared vision for constant improvement across all aspects of the business. “We are thrilled to take out the win again, and it’s hats off to the team for their hard work over the past year,” he says.
Stephen Jeffery
Chief Underwriting Officer, Personal Lines
Stephen Jeffery, the chief underwriting officer (personal lines) of Blue Zebra, has worked in the insurance industry for over 20 years. He is a qualified actuary and has worked with large insurers in a variety of leadership positions. For the last eight years, he has worked in roles related to starting, maturing and scaling start-ups, as well as developing leadership and establishing a strong personal lines portfolio. Stephen is deeply involved in the technology-enabled product delivery of BZI and has developed real-time insights into portfolio performance, enabling the company to maintain momentum and focus on its profitable growth.
Chief Underwriting Officer, Personal Lines
Stephen Jeffery
Matt Hodson
Chief Operating Officer
Matt Hodson is the COO of Blue Zebra. He has previously worked for EY in London and Sydney in roles spanning insurance, risk and analytics consulting, as well as a role as an outsource appointed actuary for a start-up insurer. Matt has held roles as CRO and COO in start-up and scaling businesses in Australia, including the establishment of a Berkshire Hathaway insurance license. In his current role at BZI, he oversees key elements of strategic development and business execution by working closely with the team and its outsourced business partners to deliver on its promise of being
a different breed in insurance.
Chief Operating Officer
Matt Hodson
Matt Hodson
Chief Operating Officer
Matt Hodson is the COO of Blue Zebra. He has previously worked for EY in London and Sydney in roles spanning insurance, risk and analytics consulting, as well as a role as an outsource appointed actuary for a start-up insurer. Matt has held roles as CRO and COO in start-up and scaling businesses in Australia, including the establishment of a Berkshire Hathaway insurance license. In his current role at BZI, he oversees key elements of strategic development and business execution by working closely with the team and its outsourced business partners to deliver on its promise of being a different breed in insurance.
Chief Operating Officer
Matt Hodson
Mark Polglase
Chief Underwriting Officer
Mark Polglase is the chief underwriting officer (SME) of Blue Zebra, where he brings significant experience from major international insurers. Most recently, he was group head of SME and customer retention for QBE, accountable for the development and execution of a global SME strategy.
With Blue Zebra, Mark is realising his ambition to redefine how SME insurance solutions are delivered via brokers, with easy-to-understand product modules, a clear and consistent underwriting and pricing approach, and a claims response that exceeds the expectations of both brokers and their clients.
Chief Underwriting Officer
Mark Polglase
Mark Polglase
Chief Underwriting Officer
Mark Polglase is the chief underwriting officer (SME) of Blue Zebra, where he brings significant experience from major international insurers. Most recently, he was group head of SME and customer retention for QBE, accountable for the development and execution of a global SME strategy.
With Blue Zebra, Mark is realising his ambition to redefine how SME insurance solutions are delivered via brokers, with easy-to-understand product modules, a clear and consistent underwriting and pricing approach, and a claims response that exceeds the expectations of both brokers and their clients.
Chief Underwriting Officer
Mark Polglase
Stephen Jeffery
Chief Underwriting Officer, Personal Lines
Mark Polglase is the chief underwriting officer (SME) of Blue Zebra, where he brings significant experience from major international insurers. Most recently, he was group head of SME and customer retention for QBE, accountable for the development and execution of a global SME strategy.
With Blue Zebra, Mark is realising his ambition to redefine how SME insurance solutions are delivered via brokers, with easy-to-understand product modules, a clear and consistent underwriting and pricing approach, and a claims response that exceeds the expectations of both brokers and their clients.
Chief Underwriting Officer
Mark Polglase
Blue Zebra Insurance (BZI) wrote its first insurance policy in April 2018. Since that time, it has grown to offer seven products – motor, home, landlord, commercial motor, SME, personal accident, and cyber – through its Blue Leopard platform. The company is now one of the largest underwriting agencies in Australia, supported by a team of 35 people across all of Australia’s major states.
BZI was established in 2018 on a foundation of technology and insurance,
with digital innovation at the core of its business model. It maximizes the ability of intermediaries to transact electronically, enabling them to quote,
bind and service their clients efficiently (over 96% straight-through processing). BZI now competes with the biggest insurers in Australia in their heartland, personal and SME insurances. The company’s growth trajectory is proof positive that its digital strategy is working, with more than 15,000 registered brokers and more than $350 million GWP bound to date.
BZI has built its technology platform, Blue Leopard, from the ground up, based on broker insights and with insurtech at its heart.
As the leader of Sephora Canada’s strong e-commerce business, Laura Unger focuses her team on driving growth through industry-leading online client experiences.
Laura has worked for Sephora for nearly six years, leading the e-commerce merchandising team for makeup, and has hands-on experience at Sephora inside JC Penney. She is passionate about developing and leading teams and has earned a reputation for driving business results by doing so.
Before joining Sephora, Laura honed her talents at such well-known companies as Google and Gap, as well as e-commerce start-ups Minted and Shop It To Me.
Laura is a graduate of Smith College, and earned an MA from Stanford University and an MBA from UC Berkeley Haas School of Business. She enjoys hiking and being outdoors and loves spending time with her family, especially her four-year-old son. In quiet moments, you might find her reading The New Yorker.
Vice President/General Manager, .CA
Laura Unger
Paul Mayer has over 20 years of sales and marketing experience at the vice president level. He is a graduate of Queen’s University and has an MBA from IESE Business School in Spain. He speaks English, French, and German, and has an understanding of Spanish.
Executive Vice President, Investment Sales
Paul Mayer
Karen Bannister has over 20 years of marketing expertise and has a Chartered Marketer designation from the Canadian Marketing Association. She is a strategic marketing leader with a career record of success in developing and executing effective marketing strategies, growing revenue, and overseeing multi-talented teams. She also holds five certifications for marketing and brand management.
Karen has successfully completed the Mini-MBA, Essentials of Management program at Schulich School of Business, and most recently completed the Communications and Leadership Program at The Ivey Academy.
Vice President, Marketing
Karen Bannister, CM
Sarah M Stewart has more than 15 years of strategic leasing and customer care experience in residential property management. She is responsible for overseeing all aspects of Centurion’s national leasing platforms, residential lead generation, and overall customer experience excellence through operation of the company’s internal customer service department.
Associate Vice President, Leasing and Call Centre Operations
Sarah M Stewart
Laura Unger
Vice President/
General Manager, .CA
Sarah M Stewart
Associate Vice President, Leasing and Call Centre Operations
Karen Bannister, CM
Vice President, Marketing
Paul Mayer
Executive
Vice President, Investment Sales
As the leader of Sephora Canada’s strong e-commerce business, Laura Unger focuses her team on driving growth through industry-leading online client experiences.
Laura has worked for Sephora for nearly six years, leading the e-commerce merchandising team for makeup, and has hands-on experience at Sephora inside JC Penney. She is passionate about developing and leading teams and has earned a reputation for driving business results by doing so.
Before joining Sephora, Laura honed her talents at such well-known companies as Google and Gap, as well as e-commerce start-ups Minted and Shop It
To Me.
Laura is a graduate of Smith College, and earned an MA from Stanford University and an MBA from UC Berkeley Haas School of Business. She enjoys hiking and being outdoors and loves spending time with her family, especially her four-year-old son. In quiet moments, you might find her reading The New Yorker.
Vice President/General Manager, .CA
Laura Unger
Paul Mayer has over 20 years of sales and marketing experience at the vice president level. He is a graduate of Queen’s University and has an MBA from IESE Business School in Spain. He speaks English, French, and German, and has an understanding of Spanish.
Executive Vice President, Investment Sales
Paul Mayer
Karen Bannister has over 20 years of marketing expertise and has a Chartered Marketer designation from the Canadian Marketing Association. She is a strategic marketing leader with a career record of success in developing and executing effective marketing strategies, growing revenue, and overseeing multi-talented teams. She also holds five certifications for marketing and brand management.
Karen has successfully completed the Mini-MBA, Essentials of Management program at Schulich
School of Business, and most recently completed the Communications and Leadership Program at
The Ivey Academy.
Vice President, Marketing
Karen Bannister, CM
Sarah M Stewart has more than 15 years of strategic leasing and customer care experience in residential property management. She is responsible for overseeing all aspects of Centurion’s national leasing platforms, residential lead generation, and overall customer experience excellence through operation of the company’s internal customer service department.
Associate Vice President, Leasing and
Call Centre Operations
Sarah M Stewart
Laura Unger
Vice President/
General Manager, .CA
Karen Bannister, CM
Vice President, Marketing
Paul Mayer
Executive
Vice President, Investment Sales
Sarah M Stewart
Associate
Vice President, Leasing and Call Centre Operations
As the leader of Sephora Canada’s strong e-commerce business, Laura Unger focuses her team on driving growth through industry-leading online client experiences.
Laura has worked for Sephora for nearly six years, leading the e-commerce merchandising team for makeup, and has hands-on experience at Sephora inside JC Penney. She is passionate about developing and leading teams and has earned a reputation for driving business results by doing so.
Before joining Sephora, Laura honed her talents at such well-known companies as Google and Gap, as well as e-commerce start-ups Minted and Shop It To Me.
Laura is a graduate of Smith College, and earned an MA from Stanford University and an MBA from UC Berkeley Haas School of Business. She enjoys hiking and being outdoors and loves spending time with her family, especially her four-year-old son. In quiet moments, you might find her reading The New Yorker.
Vice President/General Manager, .CA
Laura Unger
Paul Mayer has over 20 years of sales and marketing experience at the vice president level. He is a graduate of Queen’s University and has an MBA from IESE Business School in Spain. He speaks English, French, and German, and has an understanding of Spanish.
Executive Vice President,
Investment Sales
Paul Mayer
Karen Bannister has over 20 years of marketing expertise and has a Chartered Marketer designation from the Canadian Marketing Association. She is a strategic marketing leader with a career record of success in developing and executing effective marketing strategies, growing revenue, and overseeing multi-talented teams. She also holds five certifications for marketing and brand management.
Karen has successfully completed the
Mini-MBA, Essentials of Management program at Schulich School of Business, and most recently completed the Communications and Leadership Program at The Ivey Academy.
Vice President, Marketing
Karen Bannister, CM
Sarah M Stewart has more than 15 years
of strategic leasing and customer care experience in residential property management. She is responsible for overseeing all aspects of Centurion’s national leasing platforms, residential lead generation, and overall customer experience excellence through operation
of the company’s internal customer
service department.
Associate Vice President,
Leasing and Call Centre Operations
Sarah M Stewart
“There were a number of business and technological improvements that we were solving through this migration, but prime amongst these improvements is the need for
a truly multi-tenant technology platform that is able to efficiently meet the needs of multiple agencies and insurers”
Amar Roomi,
Blue Zebra
“The Blue Leopard platform is an evolution of Blue Zebra Insurance’s core business technology,” says Matt Hodson, the company’s chief operating officer. “This sets us apart from other technology providers as we have lived and learnt from our own experiences. That deep understanding of what is required to build a successful digital-first insurance offering is seen throughout the Blue Leopard platform and we stand behind our offering as it is what supports our own rapidly scaling business which delivers operational efficiencies to BZI and its customers.”
BZI’s entire insurance process is simple and digitally enabled, from obtaining a quote to settling claims with the company’s TPA partners. In 2021, BZI delivered more than one million quotes to brokers in Australia, leveraging more than 100 million external data points.
The Blue Leopard platform is accessed by over 1,400 brokers every day via the online portal called Zebra Lounge, available on any internet-enabled tool. Since the onset of the pandemic, its user numbers have steadily grown as brokers have gravitated towards the easy-to-use digital platform.
BZI has implemented more than 150 design changes (35 in 2021) to help improve efficiency through the entire insurance process. In addition, the company has made numerous changes to both underwriting questions and information on the portal, to continue driving down the need to refer, therefore saving brokers time.
As a result of this success, and due to organic market demand, BZI rebuilt its core technology to offer its “platform as a service” (PaaS) and is now offerings its PaaS to a number of carefully selected current partners. BZI plans to expand its PaaS internationally from the end of 2022, with significant demand for its cost efficient, easily configurable technology insurance solution,
Blue Leopard.
“Just three years after launching, we are enhancing our technology stack by moving from Blue Leopard 1.0 to Blue Leopard 2.0,” says Amar Roomi,
chief technology officer. “There were a number of business and technological improvements that we were solving through this migration, but prime amongst these improvements is the need for a truly multi-tenant technology platform that is able to efficiently meet the needs of multiple agencies
and insurers.”
By focusing on technology, automation and a feedback-led enhancement process, BZI ensures that its broker users can support their customers efficiently. The roll out of the Blue Leopard 2.0 platform makes BZI ideally positioned to safely scale to achieve its lofty ambitions.
“The Blue Leopard platform is an evolution of Blue Zebra Insurance’s core business technology. It sets us apart from other technology providers as we have lived and learnt from our own experiences”
Matt Hodson,
Blue Zebra
Blue Zebra Insurance (BZI) wrote its first insurance policy in April 2018. Since that time, it has grown to offer seven products – motor, home, landlord, commercial motor, SME, personal accident, and cyber – through its Blue Leopard platform. The company is now one of the largest underwriting agencies in Australia, supported by a team of 34 people across all of Australia’s major states.
BZI was established in 2018 on a foundation of technology and insurance, with digital innovation at the core of its business model. It maximizes the ability of intermediaries to transact electronically, enabling them to quote, bind and service their clients efficiently (over 96% straight-through processing). BZI now competes with the biggest insurers in Australia in their heartland, personal lines and SME lines. The company’s growth trajectory is proof positive that its digital strategy worked, with more than 15,000 registered brokers and more than $350 million GWP bound to date.
BZI has built its technology platform, Blue Leopard, from the ground up, based on broker insights and with insurtech at its heart.
“The Blue Leopard platform is an evolution of Blue Zebra Insurance’s core business technology,” says a company executive. “This sets us apart from other technology providers as we have lived and learnt from our own experiences. That deep understanding of what is required to build a successful digital-first insurance offering is seen throughout the Blue Leopard platform and we stand behind our offering as it is what supports our own rapidly scaling business which delivers operational efficiencies to BZI and its customers.”
BZI’s entire insurance process is simple and digitally enabled, from obtaining a quote to settling claims with TPA partners. In 2021, BZI delivered more than one million quotes to broker partners, leveraging more than 100 million external data points.
The Blue Leopard platform is accessed by over 1,200 brokers every day via an online portal called the Zebra Lounge, available on any internet-enabled tool. Since the onset of the pandemic, its user numbers have steadily grown as brokers have gravitated towards the easy-to-use digital platform.
BZI has implemented more than 150 design changes (35 in 2021) to help improve efficiency through the entire insurance process. In addition, the company has made numerous changes to both underwriting questions and information on the portal, to continue driving down the need to refer, therefore saving brokers time.
Blue Zebra Insurance (BZI) wrote its first insurance policy in April 2018. Since that time, it has grown to offer seven products – motor, home, landlord, commercial motor, SME, personal accident, and cyber – through its Blue Leopard platform. The company is now one of the largest underwriting agencies in Australia, supported by a team of 34 people across all of Australia’s major states.
BZI was established in 2018 on a foundation of technology and insurance, with digital innovation at the core of its business model. It maximizes the ability of intermediaries to transact electronically, enabling them to quote, bind and service their clients efficiently (over 96% straight-through processing). BZI now competes with the biggest insurers in Australia in their heartland, personal lines and SME lines. The company’s growth trajectory is proof positive that its digital strategy worked, with more than 15,000 registered brokers and more than $350 million GWP bound to date.
BZI has built its technology platform, Blue Leopard, from the ground up, based on broker insights and with insurtech at its heart.
“There were a number of business and technological improvements that we were solving through this migration, but prime amongst these improvements is the need for a truly multi-tenant technology platform that is able to efficiently meet the needs of multiple agencies and insurers”
mar Roomi,
Blue Zebra
“The Blue Leopard platform is an evolution of Blue Zebra Insurance’s core business technology,” says a company executive. “This sets us apart from other technology providers as we have lived and learnt from our own experiences. That deep understanding of what is required to build a successful digital-first insurance offering is seen throughout the Blue Leopard platform and we stand behind our offering as it is what supports our own rapidly scaling business which delivers operational efficiencies to BZI and its customers.”
BZI’s entire insurance process is simple and digitally enabled, from obtaining a quote to settling claims with TPA partners. In 2021, BZI delivered more than one million quotes to broker partners, leveraging more than 100 million external data points.
The Blue Leopard platform is accessed by over 1,200 brokers every day via an online portal called the Zebra Lounge, available on any internet-enabled tool. Since the onset of the pandemic, its user numbers have steadily grown as brokers have gravitated towards the easy-to-use digital platform.
BZI has implemented more than 150 design changes (35 in 2021) to help improve efficiency through the entire insurance process. In addition, the company has made numerous changes to both underwriting questions and information on the portal, to continue driving down the need to refer, therefore saving brokers time.