Constant improvement wins Trade Risk 2024 Small Insurance Broker of the Year

A positive, can-do approach has enabled Trade Risk, a trade insurance company founded in 2010, to go from strength to strength.

“Nothing is too small to bother with, and nothing is too challenging to have a crack at,” says Shane Moore, Managing Director and founder of the company, which last year won the ANZIIF Australian Insurance Industry award for Small Insurance Broker of the Year.

Starting “from humble beginnings in a home office in Brisbane”, Trade Risk now assists with the insurance needs of around 5,000 trade business owners across all states and territories in Australia.

Change is a constant for Moore, who describes himself as “obsessed with improving every part of the experience for both the client and our team”. This focus on striving to do better is, he believes, what gave Trade Risk the winning edge in the 2024 awards.

It’s also a winning formula for the company. As the sole shareholder of Trade Risk, he has the advantage of being able to “make quick decisions in a way that may not work for corporate owned brokerages.”

While Moore shoulders the responsibility for decision-making, improvement is a team effort.

“The win is a credit to our special team, who embrace change and understand that continuous improvement is just as important to Trade Risk as the actual broking work,” he says.

Company overhaul pays off

Trade Risk has developed a very strong customer focus, as its2024 rating of 99 per cent client satisfaction clearly shows. The company also achieved an exceptional 95 per cent client retention rate in 2024.

This success reflects the company’s commitment to ensuring that processes and procedures are as smooth as possible for clients.

In 2023, Trade Risk overhauled its client renewal process, after recognising that clients found the industry’s standard processing time-consuming and frustrating.

A new system was created, utilising client data mapping to foster a smoother and more efficient renewal process, which ensured a higher completion rate. “As a result of this innovation, Trade Risk’s team was able to generate 23 per cent higher revenue without an increase in head count,” Moore says.

While technology plays a significant role in Moore’s strategy, he insists on a “non-negotiable rule that any tech [implemented] must not detract from the client experience.

“In many cases, the way we integrate tech into our business improves the client experience by making it faster and/or easier for clients to deal with their insurance,” he says.

Automating several tasks within the business has freed up Trade Risk’s brokers and support staff, allowing them more time to actually speak with clients. “When you combine the tech with an amazing team who genuinely care about the outcomes they achieve for their clients, it’s an unbeatable combo,” Moore enthuses.

Dealing with challenges head on

Moore recognises that many brokers face challenges with legacy tech and poor data integration. His company has dealt with the issue head on by developing its own systems. 

“I have no doubt that the industry will eventually build tech that outperforms our own, but how long do you keep waiting for? That’s the question that brokerage owners must ask themselves,” he says. “And if you are going to do it yourself, you must commit 100% and really throw yourself into it, otherwise you’re destined to fail.”

Staffing has also been a major challenge for many brokers in the 2020s and Moore understands that attracting and retaining great talent is “super important”.

“You need to create an environment and culture that your team really want to be a part of, and that allows and encourages them to do their best work,” Moore advises. “The quality of your team will have a massive impact on the success of your business.”

Trade Risk reached a massive 90 per cent staff retention rate in 2023 and maintained this rate in 2024. Staff turnover was slashed from 51 per cent in 2021 to 19 per cent in 2024.

According to the awards judges, “Trade Risk’s devotion to its people’s happiness and wellbeing is evidenced by the company’s impressive performance in terms of workplace measures.”

More confirms that the benefits of continuous improvement are cumulative. “Once you start getting it right, it can really snowball in a positive way,” he says.

“Providing better systems and processes for our team, along with automating large parts of the workload, has led to improved profitability and more time available for more rewarding work. Improved profitability has allowed for increased remuneration, and when you combine that with the more rewarding work, better retention is the obvious outcome.”

Trade Risk’s dedication to the development and wellbeing of its people and the community is evident in many of the company’s initiatives.

For example, three years ago, the business created an entry-level role to allow young people with no prior experience to be brought into the industry. In 2023, Trade Risk promoted a broker and two assistant brokers who had progressed through this entry-level program.

Another initiative was the financial support of “This is a Conversation Starter”, a free mental health support program for blue collar workers.  

Embracing change

Moore’s willingness to embrace the unfamiliar is a feature of his success. “Growing up, I had no family history in either financial services or small business,” he says, “but from somewhere came an interest in numbers along with an entrepreneurial spirit.” This entrepreneurial spirit has enabled him to “grow something from nothing, against all odds.”

Reflecting on the early days of Trade Risk, Moore says, “I was so naive when I started the business. It should have failed numerous times along the way, but I risked everything and persevered through some dark times. I didn’t take the traditional brokerage owner pathway, but I believe that has made us stronger.”

Moore, who has lived in Brisbane for most of his life, completed his Diploma of Financial Services (Financial Planning) while working in the industry and completed his Tier 1 through ANZIIF.

Asked about his philosophy of great leadership in challenging times for brokers, Moore replies, “You need to be the rock within the business. The team needs to know that however bad things get, you’ll be there doing whatever is necessary to see it through.

"They need to know that you’ll provide whatever resources they need and that you’ll have their back no matter what happens. Most importantly, you need to demonstrate that you will follow through on it.” 

With following through one of his hallmarks, Moore has great plans for the future.

“I want Trade Risk to be a household name among SME owners in the trades and building industry,” he says.

“I believe we are the market leader in our niche when it comes to service, so the next step is being the market leader by scale, which is a big challenge for a privately owned brokerage. We won’t achieve all that within 3-5 years, but we’ll continue building towards it."

Entering the awards is worth it

While winning is always enjoyable and brings both pride to the team and industry credibility, Moore wholeheartedly encourages small broking firms to apply whether they win or not.

“The nomination process forces you to think about your business in ways that you normally wouldn’t,” he says. “As owners we’re thinking about our businesses virtually every waking hour, but to articulate what makes your business stand out in written form, and in a way that someone outside of your business can understand, really forces you to think deeply.

“Identifying what is great about your business can also help you to identify what isn’t so great, and what can be improved.” 

There's still time to get a submission in. Entries close 4 May