It’s hard to believe it’s been two decades since Nautilus Marine Insurance first came onto the scene—and at the heart of that journey has been Lyndon Turner. Lyndon has led the business since 2007 and, together with his dedicated team, has driven its growth and diversification to become the trusted provider of insurance solutions we know today.
With more than 25 years in the insurance industry, Lyndon brings extensive experience across all areas of the business—claims, underwriting, broking, advocacy, and business development. It’s a rare combination of skills that has helped shape a company that truly understands both its customers and the assets it protects.
“We’re close to our customers and passionate about providing the best experience, products and support,” Lyndon explains. “Our team brings together deep technical knowledge and real-world insurance expertise to deliver strong outcomes. Simply put—we’re passionate about what we do, and we know our stuff.”
Lyndon is a Senior Associate of ANZIIF, sits on the Marina Industries Association’s Board of Directors, is a founding committee member of the New Zealand Underwriting Agencies Council, a member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors, a former Chair of the Underwriting Agencies Council (Australia), and a former Director of the Boating Industry Association. Away from the office, he’s a keen boatie and trail rider who loves nothing more than sharing time on the water—or on the trails—with family and friends.
Many of us in the marine and insurance world have had the pleasure of working with Lyndon over the years. From his early days in the industry to his position now as a respected leader and advocate, Lyndon has left a positive mark on everyone he’s worked with.
To mark the 20th anniversary of Nautilus Marine Insurance, I caught up with Lyndon for a chat. Here’s what he had to say.
Congratulations on your 20th Anniversary. How has Nautilus Marine Insurance been able to contribute to the marine industry since it started?
Thank you Dom, and a big congratulations to you regarding Marine Business News and how it continues to thrive as a trusted source of marine industry information.
Insurance offers both comfort and protection. Over the last two decades, Nautilus Marine Insurance, has been able to support tens of thousands of boat owners to enjoy the freedom and enjoyment of boating.
For the marine industry, we have partnered with repairers and support partners of our customers in time of need. Hundreds of millions have been paid to customers and repairers via claims, and to partners who have assisted.
Our bi-monthly Nautilus Marine Magazine is promoted to thousands of boat owners across Australia and New Zealand giving exposure for the industry, and for the marina industry specifically.
Our continuing partnership with the Marina Industries Association, highlighted at the recent Nautilus Marine Insurance Marina of the Year Awards, supports best practices, advocacy and key data on insurance trends and support back to us to shape products, services and support.
The Nautilus Marine journey began in April 2005 with a focus on recreational boat insurance. What was the strategy and offering at that time?
Nautilus Marine Insurance started with a strategy to offer premium coverage and service at competitive rates. That offer has not changed as we have grown and diversified over the last two decades.
We felt then, as we still do now, that a premium coverage and service is valued in the market, with competitive rates to support. Boat owners know good value and actively research to find the best option. I don’t think this has changed over the 20 years.
What changes have you seen in the marketplace since you started?
A lot has changed… We continue to go through economic and political change locally and overseas, and we live in a smaller world that can affect boat ownership and usage. It is the same in the insurance world. Consistent events affect buying chain costs of insurance markets, this includes inflationary costs, and natural catastrophe events.
These events have changed the local boating environment. From how owners are attracted to the lifestyle, ownership and usage options, shows and events, and the share economy. The industry, in investment and strategy, have adapted and continue to offer great outcomes for boat owners.
Since its inception, Nautilus Marine Insurance has broadened it’s offering to market. How did these new offerings come about?
We continue to look short, mid and long term in our business. This in an annual process that I push our business to consider. Over the 20 years, we have identified strategically aligned opportunities to grow through. All good businesses consider opportunities; it’s the discipline to ensure it’s the correct path for the stakeholders.
Trans-Tasman expansion, with our Auckland office and local New Zealand team, was a natural progression. New Zealand’s mature boating industry has provided some great opportunities and brought further scale into our operations.
We also widened market access to specific products and services for the boating industry, tailored packages for marinas, marine trades, clubs and dealerships. These products and services have now been in the market consistently for over 10 years.
Your theme for your anniversary celebrations is “On the journey with you for 20 years”. How does this apply to your broker and dealer partners and your customers?
Our relationships are long standing and built on a high level of trust and honesty. We are so proud of our partnerships with insurance brokers and boat dealers, they entrust their customers with us, including being able to call upon us 24/7 at all levels if a customer needs claims support.
We know there are options for owners and our partners in the market, I’m proud to lead such a great team at Nautilus Marine Insurance that our partners enjoy dealing with, and trust. Many of these partners, and customers, have been there from day one with us, some now in different businesses, and in different boats. It’s very rewarding.
Your team now encompasses over 100 staff working across five offices across Australia and New Zealand, with some of those team members having been with Nautilus Marine Insurance since the beginning. What role has your team played in the success and growth of Nautilus Marine Insurance?
Our team drive the success, and as I’ve said numerous times, I’m so proud of what our team does every day, they make my role easier to drive strategy and our desires.
We spend a lot of time and effort listening to our team, working with them to see how we can improve, how they can challenge and support us, and how our customers and partners are experiencing working with us. All in the team have grown either within their individual environments or by developing across the business.
Where we cannot promote from within, we like to bring good people in and foster their growth with ours. It takes a lot of effort but is good business practice. Underpinning each of our teams KPIs are our base values and behaviours that supports a good culture. But also, we like to have a bit of fun sometimes, good downtime together is helpful.
How is your portfolio of insurance products distributed? Talk to us about which insurance products can be purchased directly from Nautilus Marine Insurance and which products must be purchased via an insurance broker?
Our Nautilus Marine Insurance products and services are split into two divisions, consumer and commercial.
For consumer, recreational boat insurance across Australian and New Zealand is multi-channel via insurance brokers, distributors, referrers and customers direct to us. These are common on underwriting acceptance and pricing, giving consistency to the market and owners, regardless of their purchase choice.
Within our commercial business, that is business insurance for the boating industry, this is exclusively via insurance brokers who can provide the appropriate advice for the industry, including the products and services we offer.
I recall over many years that within the industry we lamented at the volume of uninsured boats were in the marketplace. Do you have any data to indicate if that is still a problem, and if so, how do we as an industry educate consumers about the importance of insurance?
With no legislated mandatory insurance requirement over boat ownership, insurance is a choice for owners. They can elect to offset the risks aligned to ownership to an insurer or choose not to. Most owners do, however there are market factors they may lead to a restrictive appetite from the market. This may be location based or pre-approval requirements (e.g. surveys to be provided to show condition).
The insurance market has tightened up over the last five-to-eight years in regard to acceptance criteria, and pricing. This, coupled with catastrophe losses and inflationary repair costs, has expedited the pressures. While we do not have direct access to data to accurately answer the question, in my opinion, yes, there continues to be a high number of owners not purchasing insurance for their boat.
How do you see the market evolving into the future? As an industry, what opportunities does Nautilus Marine Insurance have to help our industries prosperity?
I’ve very positive about what’s coming up. Economic pressures seem to be settling, including an opportunity for boating to continue to grow as a focussed recreational pursuit. There has been good investment in infrastructure across the industry, this drives comfort. As mentioned before, alternate usage and ownership options exist.
We may also continue to see the public wanting to focus on local recreation, and this is good news for the boating sector. Our job at Nautilus Marine Insurance is to support these options. We use the channels we have to promote the many lifestyle benefits of boating, but most importantly, we continue to put customers back on the water quickly if they have a claim.
On a personal note, you have grown with the industry over the years from your early days as a representative of an insurance brand, to now the CEO of one of Australia’s leading marine insurance brands. What have you learnt along the way? What advice would you give to young talent or emerging leaders within our industry on things to focus on for their personal growth within our industry?
I’m not sure the time opportunity here would be adequate to discuss all the learnings, but I listen a lot and entrust good people around me to drive success. I split challenges down and believe I am very strategic in my thinking.
We have some great partners and stakeholders. Our youth and emerging leaders are the future for our industry and our business. It rewards well to invest in them, both in the investment to bring them into our businesses, but also to spend time with them, to learn from them, and hopefully help them by imparting some of our knowledge. Hard work offers rewards, and in my experiences with young and emerging leaders, I’ve seen that they want to be empowered to drive change and success also. So, don’t hold them back, give them opportunities with appropriate authority and support, and they will provide strong returns.
For more information about NM Insurance Visit www.nautilusinsurance.com.au
