Headquarters:

Sydney

Year founded:

2014

Number of employees:

Phone:

0409458020

Email:

info.au@penunderwriting.com

Website:

penunderwriting.com.au

LinkedIn:

linkedin.com/company/pen-underwriting---australia

“What drives our success is our results-driven people. Capable, entrepreneurial Rohitians are the driving force behind our growth”,

Masa Idelbi, Manager - Human Resources

Ken Keenan

Chief Executive

Alisa Martins

Chief Operating Officer, Underwriting Operations

Lenu Lukose

Property Portfolio Manager

Leadership

Ken Keenan has over 35 years of insurance industry experience across numerous countries. He was appointed Pen chief executive in January 2018. Prior to this, he spent 10 years in Canada in a variety of roles, including CEO at Gallagher’s Canada, President at Noraxis Capital Corporation and President at Canadian Northern Shield. Earlier in his career, Keenan worked with RSA Zurich and Eagle Star in Ireland. He also spent two years with Eagle Star in the UK. In his role with Pen, Keenan has overall responsibility for the direction and performance of the Pen business. “It is all about the people, the wonderful team members we have right across the Pen business, including those in its service centre in India, the people who work in the brokers we deal with across Australia every day who trust us to provide great solutions for their clients and finally, the incredible support we get from the executives and underwriters at the insurance companies we represent,” Keenan says. Keenan lives in Sydney and is excited to have just been approved for his Australian citizenship.

Chief Executive

Ken Keenan

Alisa Martins was appointed COO of underwriting operations at the end of 2021 and is responsible for leading Pen’s property and liability underwriting teams, ensuring the company has the talent and tools to deliver outstanding service to its brokers and great results to its security. She recognises that people are key to the success of business and is dedicated to the growth, development and wellbeing of the company’s teams. Over the 12 years Martins has been with Pen, she has led the analytics team and been responsible for BINDER governance and management. Martins has experience with both agencies and insurers in Australia and the UK and deep knowledge of the coverholder model across a broad range of products.

Chief Operating Officer, Underwriting Operations

Alisa Martins

Lenu Lukose started with Pen in October 2021 as a property portfolio manager, working with the underwriting teams in Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane. He previously worked at One Underwriting, where he established the complex risk portfolio. Prior to that, he held underwriting roles at QBE and Calliden. Lukose believes strongly that solution-based underwriting is the greatest catalyst for underwriting agency growth and strives to bring his team’s expertise to the market. Outside of insurance, Lukose spends most of his time fishing or talking about fishing.

Property Portfolio Manager

Lenu Lukose

“What drives our success is our results-driven people. Capable, entrepreneurial Rohitians are the driving force behind our growth”,

Masa Idelbi, Manager - Human Resources

“We continue to see cyber as a key opportunity and will be further developing customer-centric solutions across various geographies and segments in line with our growth aspirations”

Erica Kofie, QBE

Leadership

“We continue to see cyber as a key opportunity and will be further developing customer-centric solutions across various geographies and segments in line with our growth aspirations”

Erica Kofie, QBE

“What drives our success is our results-driven people. Capable, entrepreneurial Rohitians are the driving force behind our growth”,

Masa Idelbi, Manager - Human Resources

Leadership

Nick Best

Team Manager – Property

Nick Best started with Pen in March 2022 as the property team manager, working with underwriting teams in Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane. Prior to joining Pen, Best was a branch manager and broker at Insurance House. He also held a number of roles at QBE across underwriting, sales and distribution. Best believes strongly that the insurance industry is very much a people business, and as a team, they are focusing strongly on the existing broker relationships and are continually looking to foster new relationships across Australia. The team underwrites a wide variety of occupations, including food and beverage, manufacturing, hospitality and wholesale. The team has extensive experience and the authority to make quick decisions and develop solutions with their partners. Outside of insurance, Best is heavily involved in his local junior cricket teams despite an admission of his inability to play the sport.

Team Manager – Property

Nick Best

Kerrie Coxell

Team Manager – Care Liability

Kerrie Coxell joined Pen in February 2018, initially as an underwriter in the care team, and was appointed team manager in 2021. Prior to joining Pen, Coxell was an insurance broker for more than 25 years with experience servicing aged and disability care clients and as a loss adjuster for three years. The Pen Care liability team offers bespoke combined liability (GL/PI malpractice and ML) products to the aged care and retirement village sectors and disability and home and community care providers. The team of four full-time underwriters pride themselves on their superior knowledge and insight into these sectors. They are passionate about assisting brokers and their clients to manage the risks associated with being service providers. Coxell loves to engage and work with brokers to understand their clients’ needs, providing first-class service, knowledge and support that continues into the claims process. Coxell spends her time living between the sunny Gold Coast and the thriving metropolis of Sydney – living her best life.

Team Manager – Care Liability

Kerrie Coxell

Pen Underwriting is recognised as one of the leading agencies in Australia. With offices in Sydney, Brisbane and Melbourne, they have a team of 60 underwriters and support teams. Over the last decade, Pen has developed into a multi-line agency with extensive expertise in their product range, which spans property, casualty, financial lines, transportation and construction. Pen has established a strong presence across a variety of industry sectors, including manufacturing, wholesale, food and beverage, logistics, hospitality, aged and community care, construction, and transport and storage. They focus on medium-hazard trades and risks, where their expertise allows them to work in partnership with their broker partners to develop bespoke solutions for the end client. All of their products are supported by highly rated insurers and reinsurers, sourced both locally in Australia and at Lloyd’s. Pen looks to attract and retain the best underwriters and support people in the market by making Pen a great place to work, by promoting a positive and inclusive culture, and by delivering on their employee value proposition. They aim for exceptional service to make Pen the agency brokers turn to and be worth recommending to colleagues. They build and maintain close and sustainable relationships with capacity providers by delivering superior underwriting results through their data-led risk selection and pricing strategies.

“We continue to see cyber as a key opportunity and will be further developing customer-centric solutions across various geographies and segments in line with our growth aspirations”

Erica Kofie, QBE

Paul Behm

Underwriting Manager – Hospitality

Barry Long

Team Manager – General Liability

Chris Bounos

Underwriting Manager – Professional Risks

Simon Williams

Chief Strategy & Distribution Officer, Arch Insurance International and Active Underwriter, Syndicate 1955

Paul Behm joined Pen in 2017 as hospitality underwriting manager. Behm is a career insurance industry professional with 25 years of experience covering underwriting, business development, relationship management, broking and portfolio management. For the last 13 years, Behm has been focused on the delivery of products to the hospitality sector and has built significant relationships across this industry group. Behm has a passion for service that is translated into speed to market and deep knowledge of Pen’s products and how they relate to the hospitality industry.

Underwriting Manager – Hospitality

Paul Behm

Barry Long joined Pen in May 2021 and was appointed team manager at the end of 2021. He leads a team of highly experienced liability underwriters across the Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane offices and is dedicated to providing outstanding service and technical expertise to the company’s brokers. Long and his team collaborate with brokers to develop innovative products and risk solutions across a wide range of liability classes, both primary and excess. The company’s broad appetite and superior capacity enable it to tailor its coverage to meet its clients’ needs. Long began his insurance career after university, first in broking and then in underwriting financial lines. He moved into casualty underwriting in 2011, where he has underwritten and managed portfolios of complex corporate, energy, mining and construction risks, most recently at Zurich.

Team Manager – General Liability

Barry Long

Chris Bounos is the professional risks underwriting manager at Pen. He has been with the company since 2016. Bounos has been underwriting PI for 16 years, having worked at Dual, Allianz and Quanta. The professional risks team specialises in excess loss, professional indemnity and cyber. The PI focus is mostly on the construction and engineering sectors for medium-sized and smaller corporate accounts, as well as lawyers and other miscellaneous professions. The company’s cyber facility has a very broad appetite and can accommodate risks up to $450m in turnover. The professional risks team prides itself on service, technical knowledge and a solution-driven attitude for their broking partners.

Underwriting Manager – Professional Risks

Chris Bounos

Kimi Shah leads the Estate Planning and Wealth Protection team and is a member of the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners. She understands the complex and delicate nature of family estate planning, the technical requirements around probate and estate administration, and the importance of preserving wealth for future generations. Her advice is accurate, commercial, strategic, and tailored to each situation.

Partner

Kimi Shah

Kimi leads the Estate Planning and Wealth Protection team and is a member of the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners. She understands the complex and delicate nature of family estate planning, the technical requirements around probate and estate administration, and the importance of preserving wealth for future generations. Her advice is accurate, commercial, strategic and tailored to each situation.

Partner

Kimi Shah

Partner

Kimi Shah

“Despite the challenging claims environment, QBE’s coverage and risk appetite have remained consistent. Brokers and customers know and understand our risk appetite and the cover we offer, providing them with certainty for the future,” says Erica Kofie, head of cyber proposition. “We put our customers at the centre of our business, responding to brokers in a proactive and timely manner and working with the customer to understand their unique risk profile and tailor appropriate solutions.” Kofie adds, “Through 2022, QBE successfully delivered significant growth in the cyber sector, reflecting the depth and strength of our team. We continue to see cyber as a key opportunity and will be further developing customer-centric solutions across various geographies and segments in line with our growth aspirations.”

Read on

IB Top Brokerages

Award Winner

PEN UNDERWRITING

SPECIAL REPORT

Home

Bio

Read on

Award Winner

SPECIAL REPORT

Home

Bio

Read on

Award Winner

SPECIAL REPORT

Home

Bio

Medal

Small business

Brokers’ Pick – Professional liability

Broker's Pick – Personal Accident and Illness Insurance

Turnaround time – claims

BDM support

Broker communication, training and development

Overall service level

BDM support

Medal

Overall service level

Broker communication, training and development

BDM support

Turnaround time – claims

Broker's Pick – Personal Accident and Illness Insurance

Brokers’ Pick – Professional liability

Small business

Medal

Overall service level

Broker communication, training and development

BDM support

Turnaround time – claims

Broker's Pick – Personal Accident and Illness Insurance

Brokers’ Pick – Professional liability

Small business

The Rohit Group acknowledges the importance of mental health awareness and supports all its employees and their families by offering a Customized Mental Health Program with regular Mental Health Workshops to all Rohitians. The program covers up to $2,500 per employee for additional psychologists, psychiatrists, mental health specialists, marriage counsellors, and more. The company also collaborates with its psychologist partner to cover the cost of all confidential counselling sessions for staff and their family members. Under Rohit University, the company introduced customized mental health workshops where every employee can learn about mental health, proactively address mental health issues on personal and professional levels and become more resilient. Over the past two years, the Rohit Group celebrates Mental Health Awareness Week in Canada (May 1-7) by having a townhall to discuss the year’s theme. With emphasis on living a culture of continuous learning and development, Rohit University is launched by the Human Resources team to address the drive for growth. It offers a variety of different technical and interpersonal courses to address the needs of Rohit’s growing business. Rohit University’s Leadership Development Program is the first program launched in November 2022 in collaboration with University of Alberta’s Executive Education Program. Since launching, Rohit University has provided meaningful learning experiences for 40 people leaders on Emotional Intelligence (learning about self), how to manage others (different personality), financial and strategic management, and being comfortable with discomfort (decision making). To build on its exceptional employee learning programs, the Rohit Group regularly partners with other organizations to provide Rohitians with a variety of courses on problem solving in home building, construction and condo fundamentals, stress management, and work-life balance to mention few.