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“I will continue to empower and encourage my staff to perform at their best as I have done for the last decade. I will continue to advocate for my clients, embracing new technology and being open to business and industry changes”
Ken Dixon,
Dixon Insurance Services
As the saying goes: Insurance – you’re either born into it or fall into it. In 2017, Nicole “Nikki” Kubit fell into it. After graduating from La Roche College with a bachelor’s degree in communications and a minor in sustainability, she got a job working as a receptionist at a global reinsurance carrier. The idea was to make coffee and clean dishes and use the role as an opportunity to get started in a marketing career.
The fates had other ideas, however. A colleague, Max Libman, took her under his wing. In 2018, she earned her property and casualty license and the following year she started as an underwriting assistant with Risk Placement Services (RPS). She soon acquired her Construction Risk and Insurance Specialist certification and transitioned into brokering while managing an excess-and-surplus book. She was promoted quickly to senior broker.
“As someone who has only been in the industry for five years, I have used my inexperience to better myself,” explains Kubit. “I have had to be resourceful and use the tools available to me. My desire to ’fall down the rabbit hole’ of projects and forms made me stronger. Being self-sufficient has taught me a lot along the way.
“Now I am an ambitious and energetic senior broker with an underwriting background who specializes in commercial construction, specifically crane and scaffold. One of my core values is open communication with clientele, which I believe will always lead to harmonious resolutions. My main responsibility is managing a $21-million bound premium renewal book, and all of the nuances that come with excess and surplus. I currently hold a 91% retention rate per the expiring year.”
Retail agents and underwriters say her strongest quality professionally is managing expectations and troubleshooting a path forward on risks, in addition to keeping up with them on their family lives and hobbies. What’s more, she’s not one to overpromise and underdeliver, always erring on the side of transparency.
“By working through multiple paths to success, I am often able to find a harmonious resolution between the client and carrier,” she says. “If not, my relationship is strengthened through honest communication. It’s a win-win.”
Along the way, she’s enjoyed the mentorship support of a few individuals. One is Libman, an area vice president in casualty facultative underwriting at Munich Re. The other is Rikki Concannon, a 2023 IBA Top Specialist Broker.
“I have always been a self-starter and motivated individual,” she says. “However, working alongside such powerhouse of a woman in the industry has lit a fire inside me. I believe surrounding yourself with people you aspire to be, and who have similar goals, facilitates success in your own personal career.”
444 Liberty Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15222
866 595 8413
ContactRPS@RPSins.com
linkedin.com/in/nicole-kubit
rpsins.com
Nikki Kubit
Senior Broker
Risk Placement Services
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“To be able to give back to the community is rewarding and fulfilling. I am honoured to be in a position where I can raise funds for those less fortunate and in need”
Ken Dixon,
Dixon Insurance Services
2017
2018
2019
2020
2022
Started role as a receptionist at a local insurance agency
2017
Obtained Property and Casualty license
2018
Began role as an Underwriting Assistant at Risk Placement Services
2019
Completed Construction Risk Insurance Specialist certification and transitioned into the Brokerage Unit managing E&S book
2020
Promoted to Senior Broker
2022
Assistant Vice President and Senior Broker at MJ Hall & Company since 2018
Present
Milestones
Aug 2022
Milestones
Sept 2021
Feb 2022
Apr 2022
Jul 2022
Aug
2022
Suncorp Bank introduces Solar Home Bonus offer for customers who are choosing renewable energy for their homes
Sept 2021
Month-on-month market share growth commences
Feb 2022
Suncorp Bank wins the Canstar award for most outstanding value in investment loans
Apr 2022
Suncorp Bank wins Money Magazine’s Bank of the Year and Business Bank of the Year awards for the fifth year in a row
Jul 2022
Suncorp Bank’s turnaround times are the lowest they have ever been. The lender becomes Australia’s first certified carbon neutral bank for both its operation and transaction services
Aug 2022
Milestones
How does he distinguish himself among fellow brokers?
“I believe all brokers are working very hard in a difficult market,” he says. “However, I have demonstrated continued growth, advocacy and performance on my client’s behalf, which is now recognised [for 10 consecutive years] in the Elite Broker awards.”
In 1990, Dixon got started with FAI, working in claims and as a team leader. From the late 1990s up until 2003, he worked at FAI and Suncorp in underwriting and as an area manager at VACC, CGU (South East Queensland). From 2003 to 2012, he got into broking and eventually started Dixon Insurance in 2013. Since then, he’s accumulated numerous acccolades, including Elite Broker, Diversity and Equity, and Fast Broker awards.
During the pandemic, Dixon challenged insurers over the Quarantine Act application to insurance wordings. His argument was that the Quarantine Act does not apply as an exclusion, as the Biosecurity Act was invoked by the Morrison Government, and this was not a subsequent amendment to the Quarantine Act. The test case in the Appeals court was won for Dixon’s client with a unanimous five-judge verdict.
He remains focused on transport, manufacturing, motor trade, engineering and large farm clients.
What are his plans for the future?
On a business level, “more of the same. I will continue to empower and encourage my staff to perform at their best as I have done for the last decade. I will continue to advocate for my clients, embracing new technology and being open to business and industry changes.”
On a personal level, Dixon invests significant time, effort and funds, along with his GT3, to support many charities through his passion for motorsport. From participating in and sponsoring the Thunderbolt Run (which provides tens of thousands of dollars in support for Beyond Blue and Prostate Cancer), to organising and running the Track Knights for Amira charity night where 28 Exotic Supercars raised funds through passenger laps in wet conditions, Dixon states “this is our time to give back to the community and those in need. My friendships and association with those seeking to do the same, allows us to contribute to those less fortunate and raise funds and awareness”.
He adds: “To be able to give back to the community is rewarding and fulfilling. I am honoured to be in a position where I can raise funds for those less fortunate and in need.”