Howden New Zealand acquires Apex Insurance

Howden New Zealand acquires Apex Insurance

Auckland, 6 September 2023 - Howden, the global insurance group, announces today that it has successfully completed the acquisition of Apex Insurance New Zealand and its associated subsidiaries (Apex), effective Thursday, 31 August 2023. 

This acquisition greatly accelerates Howden’s strategy to form a leading broking operation in the Pacific region and builds on the solid foundation for the ongoing delivery of Howden’s growth plans in New Zealand and the overall servicing capabilities across the region. 

Established in 1999, Apex is currently one of the largest privately owned insurance brokers in New Zealand and was formed initially to provide innovative insurance solutions in the fire and general insurance market. Today, Apex is a full-service brokerage focused on servicing commercial mid-market, SME and domestic customers across a wide range of industries including property, bodies corporate, marine, sport, transport, as well as many schemes and affinities. Apex’s headquarters are based in Auckland, New Zealand, with additional offices in Christchurch, Thames, North Shore, and Tauranga. The organisation has an extensive team of highly experienced brokers and claims managers servicing over 14,000 customers and managing over 2,500 client claims annually.

This acquisition strengthens Howden’s New Zealand Broking operations and will be an integral part of the combined New Zealand broking business comprising of Apex, Wallace McLean and Howden Broking NZ. This structure will enable Howden to meet the end-to-end needs of the full spectrum of corporate to micro-SME clients.

James McGhie, Managing Director, Apex, said: “The decision to join Howden was easy because of shared values and cultural alignment. Howden is similarly committed to delivering exceptional client service, building long-term relationships to deliver practical and cost-effective solutions. As a privately-owned business, Howden’s independence was a key consideration, and we are confident that together we will deliver the very best results for clients.” 

Matt Bacon, CEO, Howden Pacific, said: “We are very excited with the acquisition of Apex and honoured that they have chosen to partner with Howden. Apex has long been a fixture of the New Zealand insurance landscape and we’re proud to be at the beginning of the next chapter in Apex’s future. This acquisition builds upon and enhances our New Zealand broking strategy, which has seen us grow significantly over the past 18 months, further expanding our presence in this key geographical region. We see so many opportunities for the future between Howden and Apex, with an unwavering commitment to continue to offer a choice to clients and access to key broking talent to provide leading insurance solutions.”