Queensland-based Ivory Insurance has been granted a general insurance (GI) licence from the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA).

Ivory touts itself as a “new [and] innovative Australian-owned insurer”, boasting “capacity and expertise” for Australian underwriting agencies.

Ivory chair Gregor Pfitzer said the APRA licence “has been in the making for some time”.

Targeted at small to medium-sized businesses, the insurer offers professional indemnity, IT liability, and general liability insurance.

Ivory states its focus is on “overcoming the prominent market issues of unaffordable and unavailable insurance”.

The SME-specialist insurer’s claims model focuses on the “expeditious resolution of claims and, in particular, the vigorous defence of unmeritorious claims,” the firm said on its LinkedIn.

“This has been shown to lead to very favourable claim outcomes for insurers, whose strong reputations and claim records are fundamental to the claims model.”

Commenting on the APRA accreditation, Ivory chief executive and chief underwriting officer Scott Lawrence said the insurer aims to build strong, mutually beneficial relationships with its underwriting agency partners.

“Our capacity allows our partners to grow their businesses through an insurance model designed to improve customer experience and retention and, at the same time, reward our partners through a fair and equitable commission structure.”

“We are linking with an award-winning law firm so that our underwriting agency partners’ clients receive the support they need when claims are made.”

Ivory has confirmed Woodina Underwriting Agency, which specialises in the Australian SME professional indemnity sector, as its first underwriting agency.

“Utilising long standing London reinsurance contacts, Ivory offers its underwriting agency partners and their customers, strong, long-term underwriting support and protection, and applies an award-winning claim management model built on more efficient funding of legal services.”