Marina Industries Association (MIA) CEO Suzanne Davies sat down with NM Insurance CEO Lyndon Turner to discuss Nautilus Marine Insurance’s 20th anniversary.

Congratulations on reaching the 20th anniversary, Lyndon. It’s a big milestone and it has been an incredible journey. How does it feel?

It’s an important milestone for Nautilus Marine Insurance and an opportunity to reflect on how we’ve grown as a business and what we want to achieve in the future. It’s a privilege to lead such a brilliant team and work with some fantastic customers and partners. The credit shouldn’t be with me but with our team and the support we’ve had across the market. There’s been so much change over the last 20 years, from market movements to natural disasters, but we’ve been able to respond to these changes and keep growing. I take the approach that this anniversary is an important milestone but it’s just part of our journey, as we look ahead and plan for the next 20 years and beyond.

Our business philosophy from day one has been to offer a premium level of coverage and a premium level of service at competitive rates. That’s remained consistent over the past 20 years, and we stand by the strength of our coverage. Most importantly, when something goes wrong, we strive to provide the highest levels of service and support within the claims environment. One of our core business values is ‘doing what is right’ this guides our approach to the claims process.

I would also like to extend my thanks to you and the Nautilus Marine Insurance team for the support that you give to the MIA. You came on board as our Official Insurance Partner in 2021 and have been a great supporter of our programs such as Gold Anchor and Clean Marinas. I think our MIA members have also gotten a lot of value from this partnership through all the insurance information you and your team have given them.

That collaboration and partnership certainly goes both ways. We want to ensure we’re listening to MIA members and the industry and making sure we’re deploying the right insurance products and placements.

Nautilus Marine Insurance began with a focus on boat insurance, before you expanded into providing insurance solutions for marine businesses. When did that happen?

That expansion occurred within a short period of time, within two years of Nautilus Marine Insurance starting, and evolved from a history of involvement with the broking side of insurance. So, we’ve been in the marine business insurance space across Australia for around 18 years now. There’s been significant growth and change within the market over that period of time. Today Nautilus Marine Insurance specialises in providing business insurance solutions for marina operators and owners, yacht clubs and boat clubs, boat dealerships and most marine trades, along with covering pleasurecraft ranging from sailing dinghies and PWCs through to luxury motor yachts as well as commercially operated boats.

On the topic of business changes over time, while you began with the Nautilus Marine Insurance brand, you now have nine insurance brands under the NM Insurance overarching brand, and also offer insurance for caravans, motorcycles and cargo. Can you talk through that evolution?

Within any business you look at growing in scale and diversity. The evolution into other product lines and brands evolved over time through both strategic commercial partnerships with major manufacturers and moving into areas we had expertise within the business. We also grew our footprint within the region by expanding into the New Zealand market in 2010. Nautilus Marine Insurance, encompassing both recreational pleasurecraft and marine industry business insurance, remains our largest brand and portfolio by far.

NM Insurance is never going to be a mass market provider of insurance solutions who covers everything; we’re a specialist provider of insurance solutions. We’re a business that wants to keep growing and with the size we are now, those growth opportunities come to us. However, it’s important we consider these growth opportunities carefully and remain very selective to ensure we maintain our level of specialist expertise and continue to meet the needs of our customers.

With over 100 staff now working across five offices within Australia and New Zealand, your team has grown significantly too hasn’t it?

Yes, our growth and staff count is proportionate to the fact that we want to ensure we have a local footprint across Australia and New Zealand and offer a personalised level of service. While there are obviously many transactions that occur online, insurance is a relationship business and we’re good at that. We’ve put a lot of effort into building a strong team who are very engaged and have a high level of expertise. As I mentioned before, it’s such a privilege to lead our team. They do work very hard and go above and beyond in everything they do.

Do you have any advice about how marina managers can work better with their insurance brokers?

The reason behind the distribution through a broker is that we’re not the advisor to the marina about their insurance needs. We’re a supplier that specialises in this market through the breadth of our coverage, the competitiveness of our premiums and the level of our support when a claims incident occurs. We always say that you should think of your insurance broker in the same way you do an accountant or lawyer – they are there to support your business and find the best insurance products for your business. As marina owners/operators you need to work closely with your broker to make sure they understand your business. Be proud of running a good marina or club and make sure all the relevant information is passed through to your insurance provider each year at your renewal.

I agree, when I was running marinas, I would also tell my broker to invite the insurance representatives to visit if they wanted to. Would you encourage that approach?

Very much so. Our team are not here to sit in an office and assess a piece of paper or an email that’s coming through. The more we can have our leaders and team members be close to the marinas we cover the better. We have a number of customers that have been with us for many years. We want to continue to be their insurance provider of choice so we recognise the work they do with their marinas, including their operations, good risk practices and their accreditations through the MIA. If they have a claim, we support them, because that’s what we are here for.

The 2025 Nautilus Marine Insurance Marina of the Year Awards is coming up in May and there’s been lots of interest in the two new Award categories this year, which are Woman of the Year and the Emerging Talent Award. Can you share your thoughts on the Awards?

The team and I are really looking forward to the event and the two new categories are a great addition to the Awards. The aim behind these new categories is of course to recognise diversity within the industry and embrace emerging leaders at different levels of their careers. Across all categories, a win for a business is also a win for their entire team and should be recognised and celebrated as a team effort. However, whether your application is successful or not, the Awards are a great opportunity to recognise the achievements and successes of businesses and individuals within the industry.

This article is published in the latest issue of MIA’s Waterline Magazine. Visit marinas.net.au to find out more about the MIA.