Double Hill Station
Tim and Anna Hutchinson
High Country Station
3,000 Hectares, Double Hill
"With Sean, we went from sitting on hold for hours and feeling like we were arguing our case, to a direct line with an ‘all good, it’s sorted’ professional. The knock-on effect for us is substantial."
For Tim and Anna Hutchinson, managing a 3,000ha station while raising 3 boys meant the time it took to manage insurance themselves impacted their business and family. The land (having been in Tim’s family for over 100 years), has transformed from a traditional run to an intricate operation with fenced high country, water systems and a lot of sowing and dressing with their own on-farm lamb sale yearly.
With such an active operation Tim would often lodge insurance claims while still out on the farm and Anna would receive follow up phone calls from their insurer at the homestead.
“Having no understanding of what was insured and what our policy wording meant made it impossible to manage. I always felt like a number and more often than not it was problem after problem that required more time on hold, more paperwork and more following up ourselves” Anna says.
Lacking the confidence of understanding their policies in detail and how the process worked meant potential claims were sometimes not pursued.
Tim and Anna met Sean, who was keen to help them out, in 2015. “Sean asked to review our insurance and I said he could come up, but he had to bring donuts. He turned up with donuts” Tim says. Since then, Tim and Anna have been impressed with the difference.
“Sean got to know our land and processes, the he explained each required policy in detail which gave me the confidence to know what we were insured for and to ask questions that related to our business and property” says Anna.
Since appointing Sean, Tim and Anna’s business has grown by 40%. Their insurance requirements are updated regularly to align with this growth.
“When you know what is covered and that is it insured correctly, you sleep much easier. Our land is our livelihood and protecting it however we can means when things go wrong it doesn’t have such a large impact on not just our business, but our life” says Tim.
“A good working relationship with someone is gold to us. Sean appreciates that. We feel so much trust in his work and advice that even if the premiums he negotiated increased, we would still stick with him. Having that person in your corner who knows the requirements, has the industry experience to insure what can be, and will deal with claims and the underwriters if any disputes arise, that’s worth gold to our operation. It gives us time, which for us isn’t an endless commodity and one we value. Sitting on hold all day just isn’t feasible. Having that direct line to the person in your corner is essential. We see that now.”