Omnisure: Vision, enabled.

Omnisure is taking their family-founded Sydney insurance brokerage to new heights, leveraging Macquarie Business Banking’s growth capital funding and deep understanding of insurance businesses.

Australia’s insurance broking industry is navigating a period of significant market consolidation, a competitive labour market, and the ever-present threat of cyber risk. In this environment, the brokerages that thrive are those that can strategically scale while preserving the trust and client-centric service that sets them apart.

A legacy that drives performance

Founded by the Van Der Merwe family in 2000, Omnisure is an insurance brokerage and premium funder that specialises in tailored, innovative insurance solutions for their clients.  

What began as a family business in Pymble, NSW has grown to a large and successful brokerage. Their growth is thanks to a combination of commitment, expertise and passion for the industry from the senior Van Der Merwes, and forward-thinking, measured risk from their junior successors: their sons, Ben and Schalk.

As Managing Director and CEO respectively, Ben and Schalk Van Der Merwe are positioning Omnisure for further scale, while holding onto the culture and client trust that defined its origins.

“The way that our brokers learned from us is the way I learned from my mother – she just loves people and genuinely cares about her clients. That’s been carried along in the business. Our team have taken that family culture and pushed it forward themselves.”

This unique blend of personal care and commercial discipline set up Omnisure and the Van Der Merwe family for a smooth changing of the guard and growth strategy under its second-generation successors, with a focus on:

• Strategic acquisitions
• Streamlining operations with technology
• Managing fraud and cyber risk

Putting ambition into action

Ben and Schalk Van Der Merwe officially acquired their parents’ business in 2022, but their ambitious vision was already in motion.

“We saw the consolidation happening across the industry and the service issues customers were experiencing elsewhere – we wanted to recognise those opportunities and put our ideas into action,” says Schalk.

“We started making big decisions, and as we grew, we doubled down. Business doubled over two and a half years. We didn’t expect to grow that quickly.”

As Omnisure’s operations scaled rapidly, it was the right time for the Van Der Merwes to find a banking partner that understood their business and their industry.

Funding the vision for growth

Omnisure was outperforming, and the team knew they needed a financing solution that was more focused, tailored, and relationship-driven. They made the switch to Macquarie Business Banking, based on their reputation as experts in insurance banking.

“With the Macquarie team, were able to match our funding to our growth aspirations for the business. We were on a steady growth trajectory, and you don’t want to slow that down. The team knew we had multiple acquisitions on the horizon; their deal structuring helped us manage cashflow, reinvest in our growth, and be ready to move on the next deals as they arose.”

“They took the time to understand what’s important to us.”

A long-term strategic relationship

For the Omnisure team, the value of working with an industry specialist went beyond securing funding. Their relationship with Macquarie Business Banking came with trust, confidence, and strategic guidance to continue growing their business well into the future.

“The Business Banking team are flexible with their funding options, which has been helpful for us. They help us structure deals to suit our business cycle, so we just know it’s going to be taken care of,” says Ben.

“Working with Macquarie has helped us build a better business and informed a lot of our due diligence on future acquisitions,” says Schalk. “The team were always happy to be transparent with us about how they assess and analyse our deals. I don’t think we’ve ever had that from a lender before.”

“The service has been awesome. That’s the experience for us: attention, regular communication, clarity, and comfort knowing our bankers understand our industry.”

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