Headquarters:
Suites 1 and 2, 766-770 Hunter Street, Newcastle, NSW 2300
Year founded:
1972
Number of employees:
101
Phone:
+61 2 4925 6666
Email:
enquiry@uaa.com.au
Website:
uaa.com.au
LinkedIn:
linkedin.com/company/underwriting-agency-uaa
“As leaders, we inspire our team, valuing collaboration and spearheading change while sharing our knowledge to mentor the upcoming legal minds”
Oatley Vigmond
Underwriting Agencies of Australia (UAA)
Marc Crossman
Executive General Manager – Distribution Strategy
Jane King
Executive General Plant and Machinery
Michelle Morrissey
National Claims Manager
Leadership
As the group executive general manager, distribution strategy, Marc Crossman holds a pivotal position within the UAA organisation. With a remarkable career spanning 18 years in the insurance industry, he brings a wealth of expertise and strategic vision to his role.
Crossman's leadership abilities led him to take on numerous roles since joining UAA, covering operations manager SA/NT, taking charge of UAA's expansion into the Asian market as regional manager, Asia, stationed in Singapore, and more recently as regional manager, VIC/TAS/SA/NT. These roles showcased his ability to navigate complex markets and drive success.
Recognising his skills and accomplishments, Crossman was appointed as group executive general manager, distribution strategy, assuming a key role within the wider UAA Group. He oversees sales/market strategy, strategic distribution, marketing/branding and advertising/events across both UAA and MECON brands, extending to our global offices. His academic achievements further enhance his qualifications.
Crossman holds a Masters in Business from the University of South Australia and is a distinguished graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors. Additionally, he completed the highly regarded Stanford LEAD executive leadership program, further augmenting his expertise in corporate governance and strategic leadership.
Executive General Manager – Distribution Strategy
Marc Crossman
Based in UAA’s Brisbane office, Jane King joined the company in December 2005 and has since built a distinguished career. Starting with hands-on experience and external study, she became head of compliance – global, where she played a key role in developing and monitoring compliance processes across institutional and industry governance. King was later promoted to regional manager, north, overseeing UAA’s operations in the northern region. More recently, she joined the executive team as group chief underwriting officer, where she now leads the underwriting function for UAA’s Australian business, bringing extensive expertise and strategic oversight to the role.
Executive General Plant and Machinery
Jane King
Michelle Morrissey, UAA’s national claims manager, brings over 14 years of experience in the insurance industry. Throughout her career, she has specialised in claims management, process improvement and team leadership, successfully managing large-scale claims operations across multiple states. Now leading UAA’s national claims team, Morrissey is dedicated to ensuring efficient service delivery, compliance, and client satisfaction. Her passion for innovation continues to drive her efforts in enhancing both the client experience and operational efficiency, making her a key leader in UAA’s ongoing commitment to excellence in claims management.
National Claims Manager
Michelle Morrissey
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Howaida Nakhla
National Underwriting Manager
Howaida Nakhla brings over 48 years of experience in the insurance industry, with the last 38 years specialising in underwriting and managing engineering and casualty portfolios. Before joining MECON Insurance, she held senior underwriting management roles across Queensland and NSW.
Nakhla is renowned for her exceptional service ethic and deep passion for underwriting, earning her a strong reputation in the market. Her commitment to her clients and her expertise in managing complex portfolios make her a highly respected figure in the industry.
National Underwriting Manager
Howaida Nakhla
Blake Baxter
Head of Claims and Incident Response
Blake Baxter is an experienced insurance professional with over a decade of expertise spanning insurance, accounting, and the legal sector. A cyber insurance specialist, he has a strong background in building incident response and claims handling functions. He has worked extensively across financial lines claims, including professional indemnity, D&O and cyber and has also gained valuable experience in corporate insolvency, managing complex claims portfolios, liaising with defence counsel and brokers and refining claims handling policies.
Baxter joined Emergence Insurance in March 2020 to establish an in-house claims handling and incident response function. This strategic move has given Emergence a competitive edge, providing quicker and more efficient support to clients and helping them recover faster from cyber incidents.
Head of Claims and Incident Response
Blake Baxter
PROVIDING CONFIDENCE THAT YOUR FUTURE IS PROTECTED
With more than 50 years of experience, Underwriting Agencies of Australia (UAA) has built a strong reputation for providing innovative insurance solutions to the mobile plant industry across Australia, New Zealand and globally. It is committed to fostering long-term relationships with its clients, founded on mutual respect and reliability. The company’s track record includes numerous consecutive broker-voted awards for excellence in insurance solutions, innovation, claims handling and customer service. As part of the wider UAA Group, UAA continues to set a high standard in the construction and machinery insurance sectors, always striving to deliver the best possible experience.
UAA understands the unique challenges of the mobile plant industry and has assembled a team of experts with deep experience in managing insurance claims. Backed by a network of top-quality service providers, UAA’s claims service team ensures a smooth process, offering clients peace of mind and prompt resolution.
One of UAA’s flagship offerings is the Industrial Special Plant (ISP) insurance, which brings together seven comprehensive coverage options into one tailored package. This specialised insurance is designed specifically for mobile plant and equipment, ensuring clients’ needs are met with precision and care. UAA’s customer-focused, skilled team delivers expertise and professional services, providing exceptional responsiveness and commitment.
UAA provides insurance policies through QBE Insurance (Australia) Limited (ABN: 78 003 191 035; AFSL 239545).
“We’re committed to delivering the highest level of service, assuring clients that their welfare is the firm’s utmost priority”
Oatley Vigmond
Nikil Deo
Head of Technology
Gerald Chan
Partner
Nader R. Hasan
Partner
Liane Brown
Partner
Nikil Deo is a seasoned technology professional with over 20 years of experience in the financial services sector, specialising in technology and cyber solutions. Throughout his career, he has witnessed and contributed to the transition from mainframe computing to today’s cloud ecosystem, alongside the evolving landscape of cyber risks. He has been part of several pioneering initiatives, including becoming the first APAC customer for Microsoft’s BPOS cloud offering and helping launch Australia’s first “pay as you drive” product.
Now with Emergence Insurance, Deo is excited to apply his extensive expertise to help deliver innovative cyber insurance solutions to the Australian market.
Head of Technology
Nikil Deo
Gerald Chan has been named one of the Top 25 Most Influential Lawyers in Canada (Canadian Lawyer, 2019), one of the Top 50 Trial Lawyers in Canada (Benchmark Litigation, 2023–24), White-Collar Crime/Enforcement Litigator of the Year (Benchmark Litigation, 2023), and Criminal Defence Lawyer of the Year, Toronto (Best Lawyers, 2024). He is a fellow of the International Academy of Trial Lawyers and a faculty member with the National Criminal Law Program.
Chan is a bencher of the Law Society of Ontario. He serves as vice chair of the Law Society Tribunal, Appeal Division, and a Trustee of the Law Foundation of Ontario.
Partner
Gerald Chan
Nader R. Hasan, a partner at Stockwoods LLP, practises criminal, regulatory, and constitutional law at both the trial and appellate levels. He is an adjunct professor at the University of Toronto, Faculty of Law, where he has taught courses on the law of evidence and currently teaches a seminar on criminal punishment from a US-Canada comparative perspective.
He is a co-author of Search and Seizure (Emond, 2021), Digital Privacy: Criminal, Civil and Regulatory Litigation (LexisNexis, 2018), and Sentencing, ninth edition (LexisNexis, 2017), and an author of numerous articles on criminal and constitutional law.
Partner
Nader R. Hasan
Liane Brown is committed to representing individuals who have suffered serious personal injuries and to families who have suffered the loss of a loved one. Her practice concentrates on personal injury law, including accident benefits, motor vehicle collisions, medical malpractice, occupiers’ liability, product liability and wrongful death cases.
Partner
Liane Brown
Liane Brown is committed to representing individuals who have suffered serious personal injuries and to families who have suffered the loss of a loved one. Her practice concentrates on personal injury law, including accident benefits, motor vehicle collisions, medical malpractice, occupiers’ liability, product liability and wrongful death cases.
Partner
Liane Brown
Ben Irantalab enjoys the complexities of personal injury litigation. His practice is exclusively devoted to representing clients with brain injuries, spinal cord injuries, and severe orthopedic injuries. For him, the cases that require special creativity and thinking outside the box are the most gratifying.
Partner
Ben Irantalab
On a larger scale, HSH handles class action and mass tort lawsuits representing groups of people injured by dangerous products, medications, medical devices, and negligent organizations.
The HSH team is known for providing caring and attentive service to clients, and is proud of the firm’s excellent reputation within the legal and medical communities.
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“We will continue to strengthen our service proposition and customer experience as a key differentiator, as we build on the momentum we have achieved to date across multiple business lines and territories,” says McLean. “Our im is to continue to grow our market relevance and strengthen our partnerships with our strategic brokers as we expand our leadership position in key sectors.
“We will also continue to invest in talent. We are committed to drawing from the broadest pools of talent, and to creating an environment that attracts and retains stellar employees. We recognise the importance of building teams that are diverse, collaborative, and innovative and are dedicated to cultivating a supportive and inclusive workplace culture in which all our employees can thrive.”
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By partnering with FTA, businesses gain a trusted, reliable ally that’s fully committed to both their success and the protection of their clients.
Fast turnaround: FTA quotes more than 65% of new business submissions within 48 hours, helping clients secure coverage quickly.
Competitive rates: Whether your client’s risk is large or small, FTA offers premiums starting at just $400, making insurance affordable and accessible.
Long-term stability: With a three-year long-term capacity agreement in place with eight highly respected Lloyd’s Syndicates, FTA guarantees long-term security and reliability.
Award-winning expertise: As a five-time 5-Star award winner, FTA is recognised as an industry leader in risk solutions.
Expert underwriting: FTA’s team of experienced underwriters provides tailored solutions to meet the unique needs of each client.
Exceptional service: FTA is known for its commitment to clear communication, quick responses and a relentless focus on exceeding client expectations.
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Ben Irantalab
Partner
Ben Irantalab enjoys the complexities of personal injury litigation. His practice is exclusively devoted to representing clients with brain injuries, spinal cord injuries, and severe orthopedic injuries. For him, the cases that require special creativity and thinking outside the box are the most gratifying.
Partner
Ben Irantalab
Ben Irantalab
Partner
Ben Irantalab enjoys the complexities of personal injury litigation. His practice is exclusively devoted to representing clients with brain injuries, spinal cord injuries, and severe orthopedic injuries. For him, the cases that require special creativity and thinking outside the box are the most gratifying.
Partner
Ben Irantalab
Ben Irantalab
Partner
Liane Brown is committed to representing individuals who have suffered serious personal injuries and to families who have suffered the loss of a loved one. Her practice concentrates on personal injury law, including accident benefits, motor vehicle collisions, medical malpractice, occupiers’ liability, product liability and wrongful death cases.
Partner
Liane Brown
Medal
Construction
(mobile plant and machinery)
Management liability
Professional indemnity
Turnaround time – claims
BDM support
Broker communication, training and development
Overall service level
BDM support
BDM support
What FTA covers:
Professional indemnity (standalone and combined with general liability for white-collar professionals)
Information technology liability
Management liability
Design and construct liability
Public and products liability
Associations liability
Cyber insurance
Excess layers
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