pidirect.com.au
“It is a priority for us to continue to tap the unmet needs of our clients and grow with them to understand how to service them properly and give them what they need in this ever-changing landscape”
Vivianne Gauci,
HomeEquity Bank
Read on
Award Winner
PI DIRECT INSURANCE BROKERS
Leadership
Headquarters:
Level 4, 15 Astor Terrace Spring Hill, QLD 4000
Year founded:
1998
Number of employees:
15
Phone:
07 3387 2800
Email:
pidirect@pidirect.com.au
Website:
LinkedIn:
au.linkedin.com/company/pi-direct-insurance-brokers-pty-ltd
SPECIAL REPORT
Home
Bio
As managing director, Paul Burton is responsible for strategic planning, managing relationships, providing leadership and using his expertise to assist the team with larger and more difficult placements.
With over 40 years of insurance experience through various underwriting and management roles, he uses his wealth of experience and product knowledge to provide a framework for the broking team to deliver for its retail brokers.
Managing Director
Paul Burton
Emma Burke manages the company’s broking operations, focusing primarily on corporate accounts, and has over 20 years of experience in financial lines products.
A true “local product,” Burke joined PI Direct from school. She has worked in numerous roles within the company, which has enabled her to develop an in-depth knowledge of its products from various perspectives. Having a strong customer focus, she uses this knowledge and her long-standing relationships with the company’s underwriters to leave no stone unturned in finding a solution for her clients.
Account Principal
Emma Burke
After a career in retail broking, Sturgeon joined PI Direct’s former subsidiary, Professional Risk Placements, in Perth. In 2018, she joined the Brisbane office and has now progressed to become an account director.
As a design and construction risk specialist, Sturgeon assists with the company’s corporate business while lending her wealth of experience across all financial lines products to assist the broking team with difficult and difficult-to-place risks.
Account Director
Gemma Sturgeon
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.
Before joining PI Direct as the company’s claims counsel, Behm enjoyed 25 years’ experience as a claims manager and risk management consultant, holding roles with APILL, GIO and St Paul.
A qualified solicitor, Behm has expertise not only in assisting the company’s clients through the often difficult and lengthy process of financial lines claims; he also provides invaluable insight to the company’s brokers when working through potential exposures on a risk.
Claims Counsel
Michael Behm
Jamie Schibuk serves as executive vice president of professional liability and cyber for Arch Insurance. In 2009, Schibuk joined Arch Insurance North America as an underwriting manager in executive assurance. Prior to joining Arch Insurance, Schibuk spent four years working for The Hartford in the financial services department within the Hartford Financial Products unit. Schibuk has a master’s degree in risk management from St. John’s University in Queens, New York, and a bachelor’s degree in economics and mathematics from Hamilton College in Clinton, New York. He has also earned the chartered property casualty underwriter and registered professional liability underwriter designations.
Executive Vice President, Professional Liability and Cyber
Jamie Schibuk
Hela Trerotola is a senior vice president at Arch Insurance, where she oversees the growth and middle market team. She has almost 20 years of technical, management and sales experience, specializing in directors and officers, employment practices, fiduciary, fidelity, kidnap and ransom and cyber liability insurance. Trerotola joined Arch Insurance in 2009 and previously held various roles at Hartford Financial Products. She holds a BA in mathematical economics from Colgate University and an MBA from NYU
Senior Vice President, Executive Assurance, Growth and Middle Market
Hela Trerotola
Stephen Swartley is the chief underwriting officer and senior vice president of executive assurance at Arch Insurance. He has over 20 years of experience in management liability and product line expertise in directors and officers liability, employment practices liability, fiduciary liability, fidelity, kidnap and ransom and cyber liability. Prior to joining Arch Insurance in June 2009, he served in a variety of underwriting and managerial positions in management liability at The Hartford and as an underwriter at Reliance National. Swartley holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration from the University of Pittsburgh.
Chief Underwriting Officer and Senior Vice President, Executive Assurance
Stephen Swartley
Chris Christon is a senior vice president at Arch Insurance where he oversees the large commercial group and transactional risk portfolio nationally. Christon has nearly 20 years of experience specializing in directors and officers, employment practices and fiduciary liability. Prior to joining Arch in 2009, Christon held various roles at Hartford Financial Products. He has a BA in English from Emory University and a JD from Brooklyn Law School.
Senior Vice President, Executive Assurance, Large Commercial Group
Chris Christon
Micah Ponto serves as senior vice president, head of financial services for Arch Insurance, a position he’s held since 2021. He joined Arch Insurance as an assistant vice president in the large commercial department in 2009. His prior roles at Arch Insurance included senior vice president, national manager of the large commercial department, regional vice president – central region, head of employment practices liability and head of the real estate investment trust group. Ponto previously worked at The Hartford in their financial products division, where he focused on management liability risk in both financial institutions and large commercial D&O. He has a bachelor’s degree in finance, investments and banking from the University of Wisconsin–Madison.
Senior Vice President, Executive Assurance, Financial Services
Micah Ponto
LinkedIn:
au.linkedin.com/company/pi-direct-insurance-brokers-pty-ltd
Website:
pidirect.com.au
Email:
pidirect@pidirect.com.au
Phone:
07 3387 2800
Number of employees:
15
Year founded:
1998
Headquarters:
Level 4, 15 Astor Terrace Spring Hill, QLD 4000
“It is a priority for us to continue to tap the unmet needs of our clients and grow with them to understand how to service them properly and give them what they need in this ever-changing landscape”
Vivianne Gauci,
HomeEquity Bank
PI Direct Insurance Brokers (PI Direct) is one of Australia’s leading financial lines markets for retail brokers. It provides access to specialist financial lines products, advice, services and support through its long-established local and international relationships and exclusive facilities.
Established in 1998, the company brings decades of financial lines insurance experience, which, coupled with the strength of Steadfast, enables it to provide scale, leverage and additional power in today’s complex and difficult market.
PI Direct partners with brokers to ensure the best experience and outcome for their clients. From submission through its in-house claims service, the PI Direct team ensures brokers are in the strongest position with the best insurance solution for their clients.
Brigid Rauwhero
Claims Manager
John Hogan
Head of Claims
Meg Dempsey
Operations Manager
Robert Collins
Head of Underwriting
Anthony Porter
Head of Business Development
Gemma Sturgeon
Account Director
Michael Behm
Claims Counsel
Emma Burke
Account Principal
Paul Burton
Managing Director
Leadership
Micah Ponto serves as senior vice president, head of financial services for Arch Insurance, a position he’s held since 2021. He joined Arch Insurance as an assistant vice president in the large commercial department in 2009. His prior roles at Arch Insurance included senior vice president, national manager of the large commercial department, regional vice president – central region, head of employment practices liability and head of the real estate investment trust group. Ponto previously worked at The Hartford in their financial products division, where he focused on management liability risk in both financial institutions and large commercial D&O. He has a bachelor’s degree in finance, investments and banking from the University of Wisconsin–Madison.
Senior Vice President, Executive Assurance, Financial Services
Micah Ponto
Chris Christon is a senior vice president at Arch Insurance where he oversees the large commercial group and transactional risk portfolio nationally. Christon has nearly 20 years of experience specializing in directors and officers, employment practices and fiduciary liability. Prior to joining Arch in 2009, Christon held various roles at Hartford Financial Products. He has a BA in English from Emory University and a JD from Brooklyn Law School.
Senior Vice President, Executive Assurance, Large Commercial Group
Chris Christon
Stephen Swartley is the chief underwriting officer and senior vice president of executive assurance at Arch Insurance. He has over 20 years of experience in management liability and product line expertise in directors and officers liability, employment practices liability, fiduciary liability, fidelity, kidnap and ransom and cyber liability. Prior to joining Arch Insurance in June 2009, he served in a variety of underwriting and managerial positions in management liability at The Hartford and as an underwriter at Reliance National. Swartley holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration from the University of Pittsburgh.
Chief Underwriting Officer and Senior Vice President, Executive Assurance
Stephen Swartley
Hela Trerotola is a senior vice president at Arch Insurance, where she oversees the growth and middle market team. She has almost 20 years of technical, management and sales experience, specializing in directors and officers, employment practices, fiduciary, fidelity, kidnap and ransom and cyber liability insurance. Trerotola joined Arch Insurance in 2009 and previously held various roles at Hartford Financial Products. She holds a BA in mathematical economics from Colgate University and an MBA from NYU.
Senior Vice President, Executive Assurance, Growth and Middle Market
Hela Trerotola
Jamie Schibuk serves as executive vice president of professional liability and cyber for Arch Insurance. In 2009, Schibuk joined Arch Insurance North America as an underwriting manager in executive assurance. Prior to joining Arch Insurance, Schibuk spent four years working for The Hartford in the financial services department within the Hartford Financial Products unit. Schibuk has a master’s degree in risk management from St. John’s University in Queens, New York, and a bachelor’s degree in economics and mathematics from Hamilton College in Clinton, New York. He has also earned the chartered property casualty underwriter and registered professional liability underwriter designations.
Executive Vice President, Professional Liability and Cyber
Jamie Schibuk
After a career in retail broking, Sturgeon joined PI Direct’s former subsidiary, Professional Risk Placements, in Perth. In 2018, she joined the Brisbane office and has now progressed to become an account director.
As a design and construction risk specialist, Sturgeon assists with the company’s corporate business while lending her wealth of experience across all financial lines products to assist the broking team with difficult and difficult-to-place risks.
Account Director
Gemma Sturgeon
Before joining PI Direct as the company’s claims counsel, Behm enjoyed 25 years’ experience as a claims manager and risk management consultant, holding roles with APILL, GIO and St Paul.
A qualified solicitor, Behm has expertise not only in assisting the company’s clients through the often difficult and lengthy process of financial lines claims; he also provides invaluable insight to the company’s brokers when working through potential exposures on a risk.
Claims Counsel
Michael Behm
Emma Burke manages the company’s broking operations, focusing primarily on corporate accounts, and has over 20 years of experience in financial lines products.
A true “local product,” Burke joined PI Direct from school. She has worked in numerous roles within the company, which has enabled her to develop an in-depth knowledge of its products from various perspectives. Having a strong customer focus, she uses this knowledge and her long-standing relationships with the company’s underwriters to leave no stone unturned in finding a solution for her clients.
Account Principal
Emma Burke
As managing director, Paul Burton is responsible for strategic planning, managing relationships, providing leadership and using his expertise to assist the team with larger and more difficult placements.
With over 40 years of insurance experience through various underwriting and management roles, he uses his wealth of experience and product knowledge to provide a framework for the broking team to deliver for its retail brokers.
Managing Director
Paul Burton
Read on
IB Top Brokerages
Award Winner
SHIELDED INSURANCE BROKERS
Award Winner
PI DIRECT INSURANCE BROKERS
SPECIAL REPORT
Home
Bio
“It is a priority for us to continue to tap the unmet needs of our clients and grow with them to understand how to service them properly and give them what they need in this ever-changing landscape"
Vivianne Gauci,
HomeEquity Bank
As an award-winning mortgage brokerage company with time-tested results, XIN Mortgage strives to be on top of the game. The company offers independent advice, develops personalised and customised solutions, and ensures that customers receive a lifetime customer service experience backed by customer reviews.
To leave no stone unturned, XIN Mortgage employs its in-house CRM X-Online, which focuses on transparent reporting and analytics system between the company and brokers to develop a healthy and pleasant competitive atmosphere.
Unlike traditional systems, XIN Mortgage’s platforms provide transparency and confidence by enabling brokers to have a complete overview of their customer portfolio at any moment, including property details, home loan details, application histories, home loan health check reminders, annual rate review tasks, leads management functions, and much more. A key breakthrough feature is to introduce new brokers to intensive and careful mentoring to work towards success, using the client service team to assist brokers and marketing teams to build their personal brands and drive high levels of customer satisfaction.
As a leading company, XIN Mortgage offers ongoing professional training and case study to its whole team, which helps the brokers develop highly effective solutions and guarantees the best interest of customers.
Micah Ponto
Senior Vice President, Executive Assurance, Financial Services
Chris Christon
Senior Vice President, Executive Assurance, Large Commercial Group
Stephen Swartley
Chief Underwriting Officer and Senior Vice President, Executive Assurance
Hela Trerotola
Senior Vice President, Executive Assurance, Growth and Middle Market
Jamie Schibuk
Executive Vice President, Professional Liability and Cyber
Gemma Sturgeon
Account Director
Michael Behm
Claims Counsel
Emma Burke
Account Principal
Paul Burton
Managing Director
Leadership
LinkedIn:
au.linkedin.com/company/pi-direct-insurance-brokers-pty-ltd
Website:
pidirect.com.au
Email:
pidirect@pidirect.com.au
Phone:
07 3387 2800
Number of employees:
15
Year founded:
1998
Headquarters:
Level 4, 15 Astor Terrace Spring Hill, QLD 4000
Read on
PI DIRECT INSURANCE BROKERS
Award Winner
Micah Ponto serves as senior vice president, head of financial services for Arch Insurance, a position he’s held since 2021. He joined Arch Insurance as an assistant vice president in the large commercial department in 2009. His prior roles at Arch Insurance included senior vice president, national manager of the large commercial department, regional vice president – central region, head of employment practices liability and head of the real estate investment trust group. Ponto previously worked at The Hartford in their financial products division, where he focused on management liability risk in both financial institutions and large commercial D&O. He has a bachelor’s degree in finance, investments and banking from the University of Wisconsin–Madison.
Senior Vice President, Executive Assurance, Financial Services
Micah Ponto
Chris Christon is a senior vice president at Arch Insurance where he oversees the large commercial group and transactional risk portfolio nationally. Christon has nearly 20 years of experience specializing in directors and officers, employment practices and fiduciary liability. Prior to joining Arch in 2009, Christon held various roles at Hartford Financial Products. He has a BA in English from Emory University and a JD from Brooklyn Law School.
Senior Vice President, Executive Assurance, Large Commercial Group
Chris Christon
Stephen Swartley is the chief underwriting officer and senior vice president of executive assurance at Arch Insurance. He has over 20 years of experience in management liability and product line expertise in directors and officers liability, employment practices liability, fiduciary liability, fidelity, kidnap and ransom and cyber liability. Prior to joining Arch Insurance in June 2009, he served in a variety of underwriting and managerial positions in management liability at The Hartford and as an underwriter at Reliance National. Swartley holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration from the University of Pittsburgh.
Chief Underwriting Officer and Senior Vice President, Executive Assurance
Stephen Swartley
Hela Trerotola is a senior vice president at Arch Insurance, where she oversees the growth and middle market team. She has almost 20 years of technical, management and sales experience, specializing in directors and officers, employment practices, fiduciary, fidelity, kidnap and ransom and cyber liability insurance. Trerotola joined Arch Insurance in 2009 and previously held various roles at Hartford Financial Products. She holds a BA in mathematical economics from Colgate University and an MBA from NYU.
Senior Vice President, Executive Assurance, Growth and Middle Market
Hela Trerotola
Jamie Schibuk serves as executive vice president of professional liability and cyber for Arch Insurance. In 2009, Schibuk joined Arch Insurance North America as an underwriting manager in executive assurance. Prior to joining Arch Insurance, Schibuk spent four years working for The Hartford in the financial services department within the Hartford Financial Products unit. Schibuk has a master’s degree in risk management from St. John’s University in Queens, New York, and a bachelor’s degree in economics and mathematics from Hamilton College in Clinton, New York. He has also earned the chartered property casualty underwriter and registered professional liability underwriter designations.
Executive Vice President, Professional Liability and Cyber
Jamie Schibuk
After a career in retail broking, Sturgeon joined PI Direct’s former subsidiary, Professional Risk Placements, in Perth. In 2018, she joined the Brisbane office and has now progressed to become an account director.
As a design and construction risk specialist, Sturgeon assists with the company’s corporate business while lending her wealth of experience across all financial lines products to assist the broking team with difficult and difficult-to-place risks.
Account Director
Gemma Sturgeon
Before joining PI Direct as the company’s claims counsel, Behm enjoyed 25 years’ experience as a claims manager and risk management consultant, holding roles with APILL, GIO and St Paul.
A qualified solicitor, Behm has expertise not only in assisting the company’s clients through the often difficult and lengthy process of financial lines claims; he also provides invaluable insight to the company’s brokers when working through potential exposures on a risk.
Claims Counsel
Michael Behm
Emma Burke manages the company’s broking operations, focusing primarily on corporate accounts, and has over 20 years of experience in financial lines products.
A true “local product,” Burke joined PI Direct from school. She has worked in numerous roles within the company, which has enabled her to develop an in-depth knowledge of its products from various perspectives. Having a strong customer focus, she uses this knowledge and her long-standing relationships with the company’s underwriters to leave no stone unturned in finding a solution for her clients.
Account Principal
Emma Burke
As managing director, Paul Burton is responsible for strategic planning, managing relationships, providing leadership and using his expertise to assist the team with larger and more difficult placements.
With over 40 years of insurance experience through various underwriting and management roles, he uses his wealth of experience and product knowledge to provide a framework for the broking team to deliver for its retail brokers.
Managing Director
Paul Burton
SPECIAL REPORT
Home
Bio
“Our long-term vision is to reimagine our customer and partner journeys to deliver a simple, efficient and highly pleasing experience supported by empowered teams and enabled with leading digital capabilities”
Vivianne Gauci,
HomeEquity Bank
“Our long-term vision is to reimagine our customer and partner journeys to deliver a simple, efficient and highly pleasing experience supported by empowered teams and enabled with leading digital capabilities”
Vivianne Gauci,
HomeEquity Bank
“Our long-term vision is to reimagine our customer and partner journeys to deliver a simple, efficient and highly pleasing experience supported by empowered teams and enabled with leading digital capabilities”
Vivianne Gauci,
HomeEquity Bank
Management Liability
Arch Insurance’s professional underwriting team specializes in providing management liability insurance to a broad range of industries.
Cyber
Arch Insurance’s experienced underwriting team takes a forward-looking approach to writing network security, privacy and media liability.
Professional Liability
Arch Insurance’s professional liability team is positioned to offer liability insurance solutions for lawyers, architects and engineers; design-build professionals, contractors and consultants; franchisors, insurance agents and brokers; real estate agents and brokers; property managers; registered investment advisors; travel agents and tour operators; and a host of other miscellaneous professional classes.
Medals
Overall service level
Financial Lines
Product innovation
Directors and Officers
Turnaround time – claims
BDM support
Broker communication, training and development
BDM support
BDM support
