Region: New Zealand wide, with the head office in Auckland and a South Island branch in Christchurch, employing 160 specialists across both locations.
Industry: Engineers, Planners, Surveyors, Architects, Urban Designers
Website: www.woods.co.nz
Wood & Partners Consultants Limited (Woods) are market disruptors. Daniel and the team are quick to look to overseas trends and adopt new technology, so they needed to partner with a broker nimble and personal enough to understand their business and rather specific requirements.
Their previous insurance broker of 7 years lacked communication and proactiveness, and as the company evolved, they received no additional advice or risk assessment, so their cover remained the same.
When Daniel Williams (Director of Woods) met Glenn at a Survey and Spatial board meeting Glenn was excited at the prospect of working with Woods. Woods are respected market leaders in the survey and spatial sector and GSI had started making inroads into facilitating more specific cover options with insurers and advocating for changes to policy wordings for this market. Glenn visited the Woods office prepared to give a substantial presentation, but on gut instinct Daniel decided then and there to work with GSI, even before any discussion around technical policy requirements. Daniel trusted that Glenn had the company’s best interests at heart, and he has not let them down.
Since appointment the GSI team has worked alongside Woods to evolve their cover as their company has expanded and as they have created in-house technologies, systems and software to efficiently run every aspect of a project and uptake new ideas early. An example of this is their use of drone technology. GSI was able to work alongside Woods to develop one of the first drone cover policies available in New Zealand at the time, one to comprehensively cover risks faced using UAV technology while also being cost-effective, then having this roll out for other survey and spatial professionals. Woods also recently purchased one of only two mobile laser scanners in New Zealand. This equipment requires substantial cover and the GSI team now have a better understanding of the requirements and risks for this type of technology, which benefits the entire survey and spatial industry.
It’s very much a partnership in growth for both businesses.
“Unlike other brokers who can pay lip service to clients then scramble for solutions later, GSI asks questions, understands the industry and isn’t afraid to negotiate with the underwriters. Because of this, we wouldn't change brokers.”
Daniel Williams
Director • Wood & Partners Limited (Woods)
