Headquarters:

Heritage Lanes, 80 Ann Street, Brisbane, 4000, Qld

Origins dating to:

1833

Number of employees:

600+

Phone:

13 18 13

Email:

claims@vero.com.au

Website:

vero.com.au

LinkedIn:

linkedin.com/company/vero

“We prioritise embracing cutting-edge technologies, creative problem solving and continuous improvement to enhance our premium funding solutions and provide exceptional value to our clients”

Brett Bastow, IQumulate Premium FundinG

Claims Relationship Leaders

Kira Pellicano is the head of commercial claims and an experienced insurance professional with more than 20 years at Vero and the broader Suncorp group of companies. She is responsible for leading a large claims business encompassing property, liability, financial lines and engineering across Australia, including a dedicated supply chain. Pellicano is passionate about delivering a best-in-class experience to broker partners and their clients, being there in the moments that matter.

Head of Commercial Claims

Kira Pellicano

Michael Knight started his insurance career in long-tail claims more than 30 years ago. He has held many positions over that time, predominantly in the intermediated commercial claims space and, more recently, in relationship management. Knight currently leads Vero’s claims relationship team, servicing brokers across Australia, as well as the commercial claims supplier performance team.

National Manager, Claims Relationships

Michael Knight

Vincent Norton-Scott is the national manager, Vero specialty lines claims, leading the claims proposition for an evolving suite of niche products supporting increasingly complex and specialised risks. With more than 20 years of experience across property and casualty claims, he is recognised for his expertise in commercial property, liability, business interruption, strata and farm claims, with a strong focus on large, complex losses. Norton-Scott plays a key role in delivering new products, ensuring claims capability evolves in step, while driving consistent, high-quality outcomes for brokers and customers.

National Manager, Vero Specialty Lines Claims

Vincent Norton-Scott

Nick Russell is the commercial motor claims manager and is responsible for overseeing the management of all commercial motor claims for SME and motor trade policyholders. An experienced industry professional, he has built a strong career with Vero, working across both small fleet and commercial fleet claims. Russell is passionate about identifying opportunities to enhance and improve the service offering, with a clear focus on delivering a market-leading claims experience for valued commercial motor customers.

Commercial Motor Claims Manager

Nick Russell

Sharyn Bignell is an insurance professional with more than 26 years of experience across claims, customer relationship management and leadership roles in both direct and commercial lines. She is passionate about people, building strong relationships, and delivering positive outcomes for customers, clients and partners. Throughout her career, Bignell has focused on leading high-performing teams, strengthening stakeholder partnerships, and creating customer experiences that build trust and long-term value.

Claims Relationship Manager – QLD

Sharyn Bignell

Stevens & Associates Lawyers is a leading and trusted employment law firm based in Sydney known for delivering high-quality legal expertise in the area of employment law and industrial relations across Australia, alongside a proven track record of effectively and swiftly resolving a variety of workplace law issues. In the past year, the firm’s growth has been notable. It has: • experienced a 213% growth in the number of client matters, increasing from 149 client matters in the 2022 financial year to 390 client matters in the 2023 financial year • improved its online visibility, leading to over 50 online enquiries each month and a conversion rate of client leads of up to 40% • significantly expanded the breadth and type of matters that it advises on day to day, which has increased the firm’s skillsets, diversity and resilience • expanded its community outreach by collaborating with local Sydney venues for client seminars and continuing active participation in a Sydney small/family business group Stevens & Associates Lawyers has adapted to digital trends by implementing an effective strategy with SEO and web design, resulting in a structural shift that has seen increased representation of employees where the firm previously mainly advised employers. The firm’s recognition as a “Fast Firm” attests to its momentum in the employment law space.

“IQumulate is on a technology journey, and we’re just getting started”

Wayne Tower, IQumulate Premium Funding

Marina Christopoulos is a highly experienced professional with more than 30 years in the banking and insurance industries. Throughout her career, she has developed deep expertise across sales, underwriting, claims, project delivery and relationship management. Christopoulos is recognised for her collaborative approach, strategic thinking, and commitment to building lasting client and stakeholder relationships. She is passionate about achieving fair and balanced outcomes for customers while driving positive business results. Her broad industry knowledge, combined with her dedication to service excellence, has enabled her to contribute successfully across a wide range of roles and initiatives throughout her career.

Claims Relationship Manager – VIC, TAS

Marina Christopoulos

Courtney Mills is the NSW/ACT claims relationship manager within commercial property and specialty claims at Vero, where she has worked for three years. She builds strong broker relationships, promotes best-practice claims service, and supports complex and escalated matters. With 19 years of industry experience, Mills has worked across property, commercial and heavy motor, contract works, ISR, corporate travel, accident and health, recoveries, and investigations, bringing a detail-oriented and collaborative approach to delivering effective claims outcomes.

Claims Relationship Manager – NSW, ACT

Courtney Mills

Frank Hillerich has more than 20 years of insurance industry experience across customer service, property claims, assessing and claims leadership. Since joining Vero in 2017, he has supported brokers across Western Australia, South Australia and the Northern Territory, drawing on his extensive claims expertise to build strong broker relationships, promote best-practice claims service, and assist with complex and escalated matters.

Claims Relationship Manager – WA, SA NT

Frank Hillerich

Stephen McMillan first entered the financial services Industry when he joined GE Capital as a finance analyst in 2008, from which he progressed through roles working both onshore and offshore. From there, he moved into Pacific Premium Funding as a financial planning and analysis leader in 2012 and was a key resource in the evolution of the business, first with the successful sale to Macquarie Pacific Funding and then the following progression into IQumulate Premium Funding, where he is now the commercial manager. As commercial manager, McMillan leads a team that is responsible for commercial analysis and business support, identifying and reporting improvement initiatives, and the securitization and treasury functions of the business.

Commercial Manager

Stephen McMillan

One culmination of these efforts has been the real-world, needs-based IQEdge solution. A one-stop online quoting tool designed for both the Australian and New Zealand markets, IQEdge delivers quotes in under 60 seconds. Plus, the solution offers quote comparison and quote versioning capabilities, enabling users to review vital historical and financial data in a single page view. IQEdge can streamline and automate application processing, underwriting document verification and payment collection, cutting the need for manual labour and minimising processing errors. A digital “self-service” platform, IQEdge, reduces the need for customer and administrative support. Meanwhile, borrowers can access their accounts, make payments and manage their policies independently and through sales and support teams, which are always available for further assistance. “We’ve created a quality platform that simplifies the quoting process yet amplifies the customer experience,” says Gordon. “It’s a real game changer.” IQumulate offers an online digital quoting tool to clients. The best-in-market solution enables IQumulate to tailor funding offerings to brokers that align with their prefered distribution channel.

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What does IQumulate have in mind for the future? “IQumulate is on a technology journey, and we’re just getting started,” says Wayne Tower, CEO. “Through continuous engagement with our clients, partners, marketplace and industry, we will listen to the needs as they arise and position our business to be agile and respond to changes as they occur. “Faster decision-making innovations such as AI-powered decision support systems can expedite the underwriting and approval process, leading to quicker responses to clients. This can improve client satisfaction and potentially attract more business, with the potential to allow IQumulate to capture a larger market share, whilst continuing to deliver service excellence to clients.” “As forward-thinkers with a digital and ‘do it better’ mindset, we collectively and proactively look to learn and improve on our customer experience for our clients, paving the way for successful business outcomes for our clients and our business in the coming years ahead. “We’re excited for the future and look forward to what’s on the horizon.”

Product Manager

Claire Watson

Commercial Manager

Stephen McMillan

xxxxx

xxx

xxxxx

xxxx

Ivan Verescuk

Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director

Shaun O’Brien

Head of Underwriting

Emily Walker

Head of Strata and Development

Rex Oakman

Head of Operations and Risk

Sandy Newton

Head of Underwriting

Andrew Mitchell

Manager – NSW

Michael Prokopis

Manager – Southern Region

Pam Chhabra

Manager – Residential Strata

Jeffrey Valdivia

Manager – Commercial Strata

Adam Basaldella

Manager – Claims

Vero Insurance has been recognised as a 2026 Insurance Business’ 5-Star Claims provider, reinforcing its strong reputation for claims excellence and its ongoing investment in people, capability and service outcomes for brokers and their clients. As a specialist commercial insurer, the firm is focused on delivering consistent, high-quality claims experiences, recognising that a claim is where the real value of the product is determined. This philosophy is supported by a track record of great people and performance, including multiple Gold Mansfield Awards for Claims Excellence. Continuous improvement remains central to Vero’s approach. Recent enhancements, such as increasing the simple claims* threshold, are enabling faster, more efficient resolution for a broader range of claims while ensuring complex matters continue to receive the appropriate level of technical expertise from our dedicated claims professionals. With the theme of continuous improvement comes a focus on additional offerings. Launching a suite of new Vero Specialty Lines products over the past 18 months, including the most recent venture into Strata, the firm has built a dedicated claims team around the products, targeting tailored high-value support alongside technical claims experience. This same focus on minimising disruption to customers’ businesses is evident in commercial motor claims, where it is especially critical. Backed by a national network of preferred repairers and partners, Vero delivers fast assessments and pre-booked repairs, helping customers return to operations quickly and safely. Vero’s Claims Relationship Manager model includes dedicated state-aligned team members working closely with brokers year-round to align expectations and deliver smoother, more responsive outcomes. Underpinned by a commitment to responsiveness, transparency and clear communication, Vero continues to deliver a claims experience that brokers trust and clients value, combining technical expertise with genuine care when it matters most.

IQumulate invests in education and people, which are vital to attracting new business and talent to the company. “We have long tenures for several of our key staff, including some in leadership positions, and this sound working knowledge of our business, practices and industry provides great insights and a wealth of experience to offer our clients,” says Bastow. “Our new head of sales, Graeme Gordon, formerly manager for New Zealand, joins us in Australia to drive our sales strategy and lead our team to successful outcomes for our clients and our business. We look forward to great things ahead with Graeme as he continues to be active and present in the New Zealand market as well as building sound working relationships and new connections in Australia.” Clients can also expect a lot from working with IQumulate. “Through active engagement with our trusted broker network, IQumulate provides relevant information, education and training content,” says Graeme Gordon, head of sales. “Our clients can expect IQumulate to support their business in several ways, providing an understanding of what premium funding solutions are available and how IQumulate can spread the cost of insurance and help borrowers get the right level of insurance cover to free up their cash flow for other expenses or business growth opportunities. Premium funding is often considered a tool for those who simply cannot afford to pay their premiums in full. While this is certainly a significant driver for many, it is also successfully used by profitable companies who use premium funding to manage their cash flows more wisely or better manage their liquidity.”

Adam Basaldella

Manager – Claims

Pam Chhabra

Manager – Residential Strata

Frank Hillerich

Claims Relationship Manager – WA, SA NT

Courtney Mills

Claims Relationship Manager – NSW, ACT

Marina Christopoulos

Claims Relationship Manager – VIC, TAS

Sharyn Bignell

Claims Relationship Manager – QLD

Nick Russell

Commercial Motor Claims Manager

Vincent Norton-Scott

National Manager, Vero Specialty Lines Claims

Michael Knight

National Manager, Claims Relationships

Kira Pellicano

Head of Commercial Claims

Disclaimer: This article is sponsored by and insurance is issued by AAI Limited, ABN 48 005 297 807, trading as Vero Insurance (‘Vero’). Read the Product Disclosure Statement (PDS) before buying this insurance. Go to vero.com.au for a copy. Target market determination also available. Terms, conditions, limits and exclusions apply. See the PDS or Policy Wording for further details. This advice has been prepared by Vero and has been prepared without taking into account your particular objectives, financial situations or needs, so you should consider whether it is appropriate for you before acting on it. *The Vero Simple Claims process applies only to Vero Small to Medium Business claims up to $25,000 (excludes Commercial Motor and Fleet Motor), an increase from $15,000.