David Foster, Youi’s director, will become chairman on January 1 and will remain a non-executive director, succeeding Campbell Corfe, who has held that role since 2011.
Mr. Foster joined the Board as a Non-Executive Director in August 2019 and has over 25 years of financial services experience.
He currently serves on the Board of Directors of Bendigo Bank and Adelaide Bank and was previously a Director of Helia, formerly known as Genworth Mortgage Insurance Australia. He also held positions such as CEO of Suncorp Bank, where he served for 14 years, including General Manager of Westpac.
Hugo Schreuder, CEO of Youi, said Mr Foster’s experience will be invaluable to the board and management team as they address the opportunities and challenges in the Australian insurance market.
“[He] Mr. Schreuder has already made significant contributions to the Board over the last few years and I look forward to working with him as Chairman.
“[His] His extensive financial services experience, both as a director and senior executive, means he is well positioned to lead the board and support Youi’s management team to rapidly grow the business in Australia. , continue to provide excellent service to customers. ”
Mr Foster said the insurer, which is owned by South Africa’s OUTsurance, will strive to establish itself as a ‘major’ general insurance challenger brand, with other insurers such as NSW and SA compulsory third party insurers. The company said it has successfully expanded to other products.
Youi also added small business coverage to its offerings in 2020 through a five-year capacity deal with underwriter Blue Zebra.
“The Australian insurance industry is evolving rapidly and I look forward to working with the Board and management to ensure that Youi continues to differentiate itself through prudent risk selection and the excellent service it provides to its clients,” said Foster. looking forward to it.
The Blue Zebra partnership contributed 15% to Youi’s gross premiums written (GWP) for the year ending June 30, according to Outsurance 2022 financial reports.
“This channel offers a broad sales footprint for both personal and commercial insurance,” said the report. “This provides Youi with strong and complementary growth opportunities in the medium term.
According to the report, Youi exercised all of Blue Zebra’s 30% call options, increasing its interest in the underwriter from 4.17% to 34.17%, giving the business a “significant impact.”
“Due to the nature of our underwriting relationship with Youi, [Blue Zebra], [Blue Zebra] The platform plays a strategic role as an intermediary channel to the market in Australia,” the report said.
Youi’s Australian operations fell 38.7% in operating profit last year to $57 million. This was primarily due to a significant increase in losses from natural catastrophes.
“Australia has endured a range of large-scale weather events, most notably large flooding events in Queensland and New South Wales in February and March 2022,” the report said. says.
