Andrew Young first started up his business, Andrew Young & Associates P/L (AY&A) Insurance Brokers in 1985, as “something to do”.
There’s more awareness now,especially with all these disasters taking place, that’s making people more aware of the circumstances that could work against them.
After the recession hit he he said he turned the hobby into a business, and now 25 years later, business is still going strong.
Prior to AY&A, Young owned his own cleaning services, owned and drove a few taxis, and had businesses in the building and property development.
He attributes his success in business to “just hard work”, plain and simple.
Young prides his business on offering personal service in an age where face to face contact is rapidly disappearing.
“Personal service is not as great as it used to be. Face to face contact is not as prevalent, but this is what we thrive on. We maintain contact with our clients and visit them on a regular basis, especially with claims,” Young said.
“A lot of people do jump onboard the Internet and then find themselves in a bit of strife when it comes to making insurance claims. Direct claim service is just about non existent.”
Young’s 11 staff members come from a range of nationalities, including Indian, Chinese, Thai, Sri Lankan and French, which allows the company to offer its services in a multitude of languages.
“Most of our clientele, 70 percent, are Australian but we offer multilingual service; we want to make ourselves available to service,” he said.
AY&A covers everything in the way of general insurance, Young said.
Though domestic insurance, like travel and car insurance, are a small part of the business, 85% of the clientele is made up of commercial, industrial and corporate clients.
“We basically specialize in all commercial and small businesses; we’re very big in cafes and restaurants.
We have 1700 businesses, restaurants and cafes on the books,” he said.
With many years working in insurance under his belt, Young said the industry continues to change.
“Premiums have changed, they fluctuate according to the economy. Loyalty is no longer there, everything is price driven rather than people driven. Policy wordings are getting better and better, and the conscience is greater when it comes to insurance,” he said.
“There’s more awareness now,especially with all these disasters taking place, that’s making people more aware of the circumstances that could work against them,” he said.
Insurance is a fast changing occupation as a result of changes to the insurance industry and as a result of the increasing number of natural disasters, Young said.
“Disasters will change the face of insurance as more people will take on insurance,” he said.
“The bush fires or the floods are great examples. A lot of people were without insurance, or didn’t have flood insurance,” he said.
Following these disasters there was an automatic increase in insurance of about 10 to 15 percent, Young said.
“Awareness is a thing that’s coming out in a big way in the general public, even if it’s for minimal levels of insurance”.