2023 December 17
Financial Independence, Bay of Plentys’ leading privately owned insurance brokering business, and ICIB Brokerweb, a leading New Zealand wide insurance brokering business, are pleased to announce their merger to form ICIB Financial Independence.
The newly formed subsidiary of ICIB Brokerweb will continue to provide clients with a full suite of general, life & health risk services, and advice through their local Bay of Plenty team of 43 insurance professionals.
Financial Independence has thrived in both the Life & Fire and General insurance sectors. The leadership of its original directors: Ben Ruthe, Matthew Beattie, and Steve Freeman, along with Alana Collinson as their Operations Manager, charted a path of expansion focusing on exceptional client outcomes. Their merger now creates one of Bay of Plenty’s largest insurance brokerage businesses whilst retaining all the good things that have made both businesses successful including a symbiotic employee ownership model, and a strong local and loyal focus on client care.
The Tauranga Financial Independence management team will remain at the head of the new entity with Ben and Alana running the day-to-day operation. This will be complemented by the skills, knowledge, and experience of Grant Milne and Warren Paterson of ICIB Brokerweb at board level.
ICIB Brokerweb Managing Director, Grant Milne commented, “We are absolutely thrilled to have the Financial Independence team join the ICIB Group. They are a well-respected team in the Bay of Plenty and their ethos on client service and having a professional and family friendly business culture aligns completely with ICIBs. We look forward to continuing to support our clients and the local community, as ICIB Financial Independence, under the stewardship of Ben and Alana.”
ICIB Financial Independence Managing Director, Ben Ruthe said, “We are excited to be expanding in the Bay of Plenty and adding the local ICIB Brokerweb staff and resources to our team. This is an exciting opportunity to blend our local investment with nationwide scale, additional capacity, and expertise.”
The merger is effective from 1 December 2023.