Profile
“Westfield Specialty and I have been trying to make sure we are opportunistic in the marketplace and that has allowed us to grow profitably and create a broader and more diversified portfolio”
Jack Kuhn
Westfield Specialty
Joshua Scutts approaches insurance with a builder’s mindset shaped outside the industry. With a background in tech and sales, he saw early how the broker model could be rebuilt if approached differently and has made deliberate decisions to act on that view.
As principal of Shielded Insurance Brokers, he has focused on building a business that reflects those choices. His inclusion in Insurance Business’ Hot List 2026 follows a period in which that approach has been put into practice.
Scutts describes a gap between the pace of technology and the industry’s willingness to adopt it. He identifies that gap as where many operators stall. His response has been to build the tools required and move forward without waiting for change. That approach connects to what he sees as his core professional strength. He can build systems and sell the outcomes, which removes the need to pass work between separate operators.
Over the past 12 months, he has focused on how the industry is using technology. He argues that attention has been placed on AI, while a more pressing issue has been overlooked in the workforce.
“The brokers who are winning right now are those using technology to do more with smaller, younger teams, not the ones throwing more bodies at old processes,” he says.
Scutts starts each decision with a consumer-first mindset. He sees a pattern of the industry optimising for itself and then questioning why trust remains low. His role, as he describes it, is to bring the focus back to the person paying the premium. He has applied that approach to technology, with a focus on consumer-side AI and its effect on submissions.
“We've shown that consumer-side AI and technology doesn’t break the broking model; it raises the quality of every submission flowing through it,” Scutts explains. “Long-term, that lifts the entire industry. Better data means better pricing, risk selection and fewer disputes at claim time.”
He identifies the growth of Shielded as his most significant achievement. The business was built from the ground up into a recognised national brokerage, supported by a team working towards a shared goal. He places greater value on building that team than on awards, describing it as the more difficult outcome.
Scutts looks outside insurance when shaping his approach to leadership. He studies founders and operators in other industries, particularly those building without a set playbook. He contrasts this with what he sees as an inward-looking pattern in insurance, where firms replicate what others are doing. His approach is to learn from those with no experience in writing policies and apply those lessons to his own business.
He describes leadership as the result of repeated actions a team picks up on. In his own approach, he treats each day as a starting point and focuses on building and creating opportunity, supported by emerging technology that he sees as expanding what is possible.
Sunshine Coast, QLD
1800979899
josh@shieldedinsurance.com.au
linkedin.com/in/lukehillaamc
Joshua Scutts
Principal
Shielded Insurance Brokers
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Milestones
“The biggest challenge is getting everyone comfortable with the pace that I’m looking for to drive our buildout and growth. How I deal with it is by being open and transparent, and responsive to questions or concerns”
Jack Kuhn
Westfield Specialty
2020
2021
2023–2024
2024
2025
Australian Young Gun of the Year, Insurance Business
2020
Broker of the Year
2021
Australian Financial Review Fast 100
2023–
2024
Top Brokerage, Insurance Business
2024
Top Brokerage and Fastest Growing Brokerage, Insurance Business
2025
Milestones
Kuhn says, “I would say my career has been one of more of chance and opportunities than a set plan. And it’s interesting how one decision has a ripple effect on putting you on a different path than maybe where you thought you would be.”
He highlights his spell at Endurance as his biggest professional achievement to date.
“It took some time, but we took them from really being viewed as a reinsurance company to being viewed as a global insurance company.”
It’s this type of innovative attitude that is powering Westfield Specialty forward so successfully.
Kuhn explains, “Westfield Specialty and I have been trying to make sure we are opportunistic in the marketplace and that has allowed us to grow profitably and create a broader and more diversified portfolio.”
Part of this has seen the firm acquire the existing Lloyd’s of London Syndicate 1200 in February 2023. It is also Kuhn’s ingenuity that has allowed Westfield Specialty to outperform expectations in challenging market conditions.
“I would say it’s been the understanding that there is a limited window of time. We're in this unique market, we need to be fast and decisive to take advantage of market opportunities before the market begins to move away,” he comments. “Additionally, I'd like to say we move with a lot of speed, but we do it in a thoughtful and methodical approach, not just to be the first.”
However, it has been an intricate process to ensure his team are onboard with his vision. Kuhn places importance of explaining his targets and the blueprint to achieve them.
He adds, “The biggest challenge is getting everyone comfortable with the pace that I’m looking for to drive our buildout and growth. How I deal with it is by being open and transparent, and responsive to questions or concerns. This way, everything gets thoroughly discussed and resolved.”
With almost four decades in the industry, Kuhn has developed methods that have consistently delivered. It is why he has been tasked with so many leadership roles and he intends to maintain his focus on creating more success at Westfield Specialty.
“I think I am and have always tried to be methodical. I look at the big picture yet stay focused on executing the different opportunities or plans that I have in front of me. I don’t get emotional or make emotional decisions.”
Chief underwriting officer of executive risk at Chubb
President of financial insurance solutions at Kemper
Chief underwriting officer at Axis Capital
CEO of global Insurance at Endurance
CEO of global Insurance at Sompo International
Kuhn joined Westfield Specialty in the firm’s first year (2021) and has established the company’s presence in the specialty market. By the end of 2023, the firm is expected to surpass $1.3 billion in GWP after writing $300 million in 2021.
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